Search for Common Ground
Brussels, Belgium
Summary of Position
Search for Common Ground (SFCG) seeks a Senior International Grants Officer to be a member of the SFCG Global Grants & Contracts team. The position holder will work closely with the Brussels office, Washington-based divisions and field-based teams within Search for Common Ground. The position reports to the Director of Grants and Contracts based in Washington, DC, and will support the work of the Director of Belgium Headquarters, based in Brussels, Belgium. The purpose of the position is to perform financial management and accounting in a professional, efficient, effective, and compliant manner to maintain and strengthen the effectiveness of the award management life cycle and continue to earn the confidence of donors.
The position-holder will assist in managing grants and contracts from the proposal stage to final award close-out, with the primary focus on grants from the European Commission and other multilaterals and European entities. This will include supporting the program teams to design proposal budgets; the preparation of periodic grant financial reports and invoices; ensuring proper management of grants and contracts throughout project implementation, including monitoring burn-rates and cash flow, and providing guidance on how to avoid disallowed costs; monitoring timing and completion of project audits and working with the program implementers to continuously improve the financial grants management and resolve any identified findings; monitoring compliance by reviewing supporting documentation for all project costs, both for corporate and field-based program.
The position-holder will assist in managing grants and contracts from the proposal stage to final award close-out, with the primary focus on grants from the European Commission and other multilaterals and European entities. This will include supporting the program teams to design proposal budgets; the preparation of periodic grant financial reports and invoices; ensuring proper management of grants and contracts throughout project implementation, including monitoring burn-rates and cash flow, and providing guidance on how to avoid disallowed costs; monitoring timing and completion of project audits and working with the program implementers to continuously improve the financial grants management and resolve any identified findings; monitoring compliance by reviewing supporting documentation for all project costs, both for corporate and field-based program.
Responsibilities
- Manage the assigned portfolio of grants and contracts from the proposal stage to final close-out;
- Play the role of a team leader in working with the finance, grants, and program teams in the country field offices to ensure successful project implementation;
- Contribute to the building of international relationships with internal and external partners;
- Coordinate the designing of grant and contract budgets with field offices, ensuring compliance and financial accuracy and reasonableness, and submit them with recommendations for approval to the Director of Grants & Contracts;
- Prepare accurate financial reports for timely submission to donors in compliance with the financial reporting requirements of the donor;
- Maintain up-to-date data on the SharePoint Finance portal relating to all proposals and awards in the assigned portfolio;
- Upload final award budgets into the system and manage budget revisions from time to time:
- Manage exchange rate fluctuations proactively with the project managers;
- Monitor spending in relation to budgets within donor specified line-item flexibility;
- Ensure full compliance with corporate policy and donor regulations and stipulations;
- Provide guidance to field offices on contractual and accounting matters;
- Work directly with overseas finance directors/managers and HQ finance staff to ensure accurate and complete accounting on awards;
- Monitor receivables, drawdowns, invoicing and collections from donors on awards in the portfolio;
- Monitor audit requirements and support field offices as needed during the audit engagements;
- Liaise (in consultation with the Director of Grants & Contracts and Director of Global Finance) with external auditors on the verification of supporting documents for program financial audits;
- Support the Director of Grants & Contracts in capacity-building activities for field offices;
- Mentor the more junior staff in the SFCG Global Grants and Contracts team;
- Develop expertise and train on EU and European government regulations, specifically in the areas of financial policies and procedures;
- Prepare a Field Financial Grants Management Manual for Field Offices on EU grant policies and procedures;
- Work closely with the Washington-based Accounting and Grants staff to ensure capture of and proper recordation of Brussels-based office costs into the organizational accounting system;
- Process local payments for the Brussels office running costs under the direction of the CFO or
- Director of Global Finance, as may be required;
- Assist with the Belgian regulatory review and support DC and Belgian annual audits, as may be required; and
- Other special projects and duties as assigned from time to time.
As job descriptions cannot be exhaustive, the position holder may be required to undertake other duties that are broadly in line with the above key duties.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, auditing, or related field;
- Minimum of five years progressive financial and/or grants management experience with an NGO in a similar job capacity;
- Minimum of two years of direct work experience in financial grants management under the regulations of the European Commission, as well as other Multilaterals and Belgian and/or other European Donors;
- Strong grasp of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and experience in compliance with International Accounting Standards (IAS) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS);
- Experience with US Government grants and contracts management is a plus;
- Ability to efficiently and effectively prepare budgets using Microsoft Excel;
- Ability to monitor and report on project budgets, effectively communicate compliance with donor rules and regulations and aptly liaise with auditors on accounting and grants management issues;
- Solid leadership and strong oral and written communication skills;
- Strong organizational skills and ability to meet deadlines;
- Ability to work well under pressure with strong attention to detail;
- English fluency and French proficiency (including written);
- Ability to travel overseas to SFCG country offices on short notice; and
- Eligible to work in Belgium.
Salary
Commensurate with education and experience, with excellent benefits.
To Apply
Application Deadline: August 12, 2013. Please send a cover letter and current resume to employment@sfcg.orgor fax to +1 (202) 572-6287 with the subject heading: Sr. International Grants Officer – Brussels. Please be sure to include salary requirements (in currency figures) or current salary, projected start date, and to mention where you found this posting. We are looking to fill this position immediately, but with the right candidate. No phone calls please. Only applicants invited for an interview will be contacted. Please see our web site www.sfcg.org for full details of our work.
Senior International Grants Officer
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