Finance Officer

Starting date: 1 March 2023 (pending funding decision)

Contract duration: 12 months full time position (3 month probationary period), with the possibility of extension

Based in: Damascus, Syria, with travel inside Syria when/where possible and applicable

BACKGROUND:

The Syria crisis has been described as the largest humanitarian crisis of the 21st century. 6.8 million Syrians were displaced internally and over 5.5 million Syrians fled outside the country. In 2021, Syria was ranked among the ten most food insecure countries worldwide.[1] Currently, 12 million people are estimated to be severely food insecure across the country and an additional 1,9 million people are at risk of sliding into acute food insecurity. Caritas Austria, through its implementing partners, has provided humanitarian assistance in Syria and neighbouring countries since 2011. Today, Caritas Austria continues to be actively involved inside Syria with a work focus on basic assistance, protection, education and livelihoods. In addition, Caritas Austria is currently developing an impactful early recovery programme in the agriculture and food security sector, which is expected to be funded by EU DEVCO and the third phase of a basic assistance and protection programme, funded by ECHO, which will, once confirmed, be implemented by two national NGOs in Syria.

PURPOSE & RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Finance Officer will play a key role in implementing complex cash-based interventions and procurement/distributions of in-kind support in Syria. The Finance Officer is responsible for the financial management of, and reporting on EU DEVCO and ECHO programmes. All aspects of the position are governed by a strong commitment to humanitarian standards and Caritas Internationalis’ Partnership Principles.

The Finance Officer will be part of Caritas Austria’s Middle East/ Asia team, based in Damascus, Syria and will report to the Finance Manager and respective Programme Coordinators.

SPECIFIC TASKS:

• Support the financial management of Caritas Austria agriculture and food security and basic assistance and protection programmes in Syria
• Support implementing partner organisations in complying with donor rules and regulations, cooperation agreements, project manuals, professional quality standards, and Caritas Austria’s internal and donor financial regulations and policies (EU DEVCO and ECHO)
• Support partners in maintaining effective financial accounting and control systems, including control of data entries and processing (e.g. with the help of SAPI accounting software)
• Prepare consolidated financial donor reports in coordination with partners and in cooperation with the Finance Manager
• Provide capacity training to local partners in order to ensure quality financial reporting

SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS:

• Be a resident of Syria, with the ability to work inside Syria;
• Bachelor’s degree in finance, business administration, or accounting or relevant qualifications and experience as a finance officer
• Minimum of 2-3 years of experience working in finance administration in the humanitarian and development field is a plus
• Excellent IT skills including proven proficiency with Excel and financial databases
• Flexibility and ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously in a fast-paced environment, set priorities, and meet deadlines; organizational and management skills
• Ability to synthesize complex information and communicate it effectively to diverse audiences; ability to design and implement efficient work flows and procedures
• Good command of Arabic and English and excellent numeracy skills with ability to produce excellent written and oral reports/ presentations to a range of audiences Strong attention to detail, organizational and time management skills

[1]UN OCHA (2023) Humanitarian Needs Overview Syria 2023.