Finance and Administration Officer

Job Title: Finance and Administration Officer

Location: Cotabato, Philippines

Reporting to: Operations Manager, Philippines

Duration: 12-month Fixed Term (Subject to funding)

Salary: PHP 532,097 per annum plus pension (PHP 44,341 per month pro-rated)

Conciliation Resources

Conciliation Resources is an independent international organisation working with people in conflict to prevent violence, resolve conflicts and promote peaceful societies. We believe that building sustainable peace takes time. We provide practical support to help people affected by violent conflict achieve lasting peace. We draw on our shared experiences to improve peacebuilding policies and practice worldwide. We have worked in the South East Asia and the Pacific regions since 1994 and currently have four programmes: A regional Pacific Programme, a Fiji Programme, a Papua New Guinea Programme and a Philippines Programme.

We work with partner organisations and individuals to create an environment in which long-term change is possible, supporting key actors in the conflicts (officials, civic actors and politicians) to explore options for progress through dialogue, analysis and access to new thinking; engaging with hardliners and enabling broad participation including marginalised groups. We help civil society groups become more effective in advocating for rights, encouraging debate and achieving policy change, which will contribute to potential reconciliation.

Job Purpose

We are headquartered in London, with a South East Asia and the Pacific (SEAP) branch office in Melbourne and an office in the Philippines. The Finance and Administration Officer will have responsibility for a range of finance, administration, office management and human resource functions and services. The role will be focused and is responsible for handling financial management, administrative tasks, and HR-related duties for the Philippine office to ultimately support the operation and delivery of the work of Conciliation Resources.

The Finance and Administration Officer works closely with others in the Operations Team and other staff across Conciliation Resources as well as our organisational partners. The position is directly supervised by the Operations Manager in the Philippines. This is a key role in both delivering and assist in developing our internal controls framework, policies, processes and procedures and being able to respond and solve problems.

Please note that all candidates who apply for this position must have the right to work in the Philippines as the role is based in Cotabato City, Philippines.

Specific Responsibilities and Tasks

Financial Management

• Responsible for day-to-day entry of financial information and maintaining all financial records for projects and for the Philippine Office in accordance with established financial procedures and in compliance with relevant accounting standards.
• Responsible for the preparation and submission of financial reports and other related reports and supporting documentation for the Philippine Office.
• Ensure compliance and timely reporting of periodic financial reports and all other reports as required by the SEAP Finance team.
• Responsible for supporting the handling of key aspects of the end-to-end process for processing and posting income and expenditure entries onto the organisation's financial systems.
• Responsible for supporting the organisation's accounts payable function.
• Responsible for supporting a number of month-end and quarter-end account reconciliations.
• Ensure that supplier details are maintained and updated at all time in the accounts system and organisational database.
• Process authorised transactions following established accounting procedures and ensure they are charged to the correct approved budget.
• Maintain proper physical and electronic files and folders including current and archived information to enable retrieval of information by the organisation and others.
• Maintain and update payment / receipt / payment logs.
• Responsible for supporting the fixed asset register and processing relevant journals as required.
• Other ad hoc finance duties as required.

Statutory requirements and Payroll

• Support in the set-up of financial and banking system, and other localized systems and processes.
• Assist with the statutory reporting of accounts and other reportorial requirements.
• Support the preparation of the monthly payroll processing cycle including all aspects of adjustments, and ensure compliance with mandatory government benefits and taxes.
• Assist with donor audit processes when required.
• Assist in the preparation of the year-end audit file for internal and external audit processes as requested.
• Support month end procedures in line with reporting to the budget holder in accordance with agreed deadlines.
• Monitor budgets and expenditures, contributing to budget planning and necessary revisions.
• Coordinate with the programme team for partner finances and reports, liaising with colleagues to resolve queries.
• Assist with donor reports, transaction lists and make corrections according to compliance needs as required.
• Respond to internal & external payment queries and take corrective actions when needed.
• Assist teams to meet their financial responsibilities and compliance with the accounting and reporting requirements.
• Contribute to report/s prepared by the Philippine office as required by the CRA and/or Executive Management Team and board on a quarterly basis.

Office and Human Resource Administration and Compliance

• Oversee the general upkeep of the office, including supplies, equipment, and facilities and their maintenance.
• Administer service providers to the office including the landlord, utilities, internet and other service providers and ensure the timely settlement of related bills.
• Oversee procurement processes, ensuring compliance with organizational and donor guidelines and requirements.
• Responsible for asset management, including the setup and maintenance of laptops and other IT equipment.
• Manage asset issuance and monitor asset movement, ensuring proper documentation and tagging.
• Conduct regular asset inventory and maintain and update the records.
• Maintain human resource records and systems, ensuring employee data are up to date and accurate.
• Assist with recruitment processes including posting job ads, organizing job applications, contacting candidates and scheduling job interviews.
• Assist in ensuring that human resource, safeguarding and administrative processes are administered within the team and comply with Philippine laws and regulations, including those related to Labor, taxation, and data privacy.
• Support the creation and implementation of policies and practices related to topics such as human resources, terrorist financing, money laundering, bribery, etc.
• Provide logistical, financial and administrative support to meetings, workshops and other events including travel arrangements, arranging venues, accommodation, logistics, handling expenses, invoices and receipts.
• Liaise with banks, government agencies and other relevant external parties on administrative and financial matters.
• Ensure timely filing and remittance of withholding taxes and social contributions.
• Track and ensure compliance with the required office permits and other regulatory requirements.

Other Responsibilities

• Participate in internal meetings and organisation wide meetings and initiatives when required.
• Participate in regular line management sessions, semi-annual and annual appraisals.
• To provide cover for other members of the Finance team during holidays, sickness or other absences and in emergencies.
• Perform other duties and tasks, consistent with the skills and expertise of the post-holder, as required in non-routine circumstances.
• Coordinate and seek advice from the London finance team when necessary.
• Positively engage in Conciliation Resources' work on safeguarding and help us keep all people safe.
• Support the organisation and delivery of cross-team or cross-organisational learning led by Conciliation Resources and actively participate in learning initiatives or activities within the organisation.

Person Specification

Essential Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Graduate study or bachelor's degree in accounting, business administration, finance or a related field with relevant experience in a similar role.
• Working knowledge and experience using Infor SUN or an equivalent accounting system, databases, and other related application software.
• Knowledge of financial management principles and accounting standards and practices for NGO/non-profit organizations.
• Knowledge of compliance with local statutory and regulatory requirements.
• Experience in human resource processes and office management, including procurement, logistics and IT administration.
• Excellent numeracy and accuracy skills with a high level of attention to detail.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.

Desirable Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Experience handling financial reporting and requirements for institutional donors such as the DFAT, EU and other international funding agencies.
• Knowledge of BIR regulations and processes, including filing and remittance of applicable taxes.
• Understanding of Philippine Labor laws and regulations.
• Experience with payroll processing, including SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG.
• Ability to work effectively with colleagues and adapt to a dynamic work environment.

Other Role Requirements

• Excellent computer and IT skills, preferably in a Mac environment including Excel and Word.
• Excellent English verbal and written communication skills.
• Good problem-solving and innovative skills.
• Willingness to be self-servicing, with a proven ability to work as part of a team as well as independently.
• Commitment to the organizational goals and values.

Added benefits of working at Conciliation Resources Australia:

• We provide 25 days of annual leave each year.
• Days off between 25th December - 1st January with no loss of annual leave.
• Flexible working at home arrangements.
• A generous top-up to the Government Parental Leave payments and the opportunity for parents returning to work to request flexible working arrangements.
• Employee Assistance Program, a free and confidential counselling service.
• Additional sick leave benefits during longer period of sickness.
• 5 paid days of study leave per year.
• Up to 10 days of paid Compassionate leave.
• Option of paid Sabbatical leave for full time and part time permanent employees after 4 continuous years of service.
• Health Insurance
• 9% Superannuation

HOW TO APPLY

Please submit the Applicant Form and Applicant Statement to -r.org by 30 September Do not send your CV or resume at this stage.)

Download the Applicant Form and Statement here: https://www.c-r.org/finance-and-administrative-officer-philippines

If you have specific questions regarding the role, please contact -r.org.

We thank you for your interest in the role and our organisation, however only those applications shortlisted will be contacted.