The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world’s largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you’re a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

Technical Excellence and Grant Operations & Analytics Team

At the IRC, we define and measure our success as positive changes in people’s lives in relation to five outcome areas: health, education, economic wellbeing, safety and power, while helping to narrow the gender gap. To achieve these outcomes – to drive our impact – our programs must be based on the best available evidence and aligned with our theories of change; adapted to context; responsive to client needs and preferences; and continuously improved by generating evidence, measuring what we do, and acting on what we learn. The Technical Excellence (TechEx) team supports the delivery of this.

Established in April 2021, the Grant Operations & Analytics Team (GOAT) brought together grants, business development, finance, and analytics functions and staff from each TechEx Unit to one centralized team to increase efficiency, effectiveness and quality control across the department’s grants and business operations. The primary purpose of this team is to harmonize capacity and capabilities and drive efficiencies by establishing consistent, high-quality standards and best practices to the service of improved budgeting, grants & contracts management, partnership management, business development, and data collection and analytics. GOAT strives to build a diverse and inclusive team at all levels who as individuals, and as a group, create a working environment characterized by critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity for us to achieve our aspirations as a team and deliver the best possible service to our clients!

The Role:

The Deputy Director Finance, GOAT will be responsible for supporting the Director of Business Operations in providing financial management and quality assurance of GOAT and TechEx finances, reviewing journal entries, program budgets, and monthly transactions. They will work with GOAT members by providing feedback and financial support, ensuring that all financial work is at the highest quality. This role will also be required to prepare first drafts of operating budgets and reforecasts, working directly with Technical Excellence Leadership.

Additionally, the role is responsible for providing oversight of partners (including subcontractors) and provide support on financial management more broadly. This position acts as the focal point for financial compliance of our partnerships, including ensuring high-quality budgets, financial reports, and monitoring. This position is also responsible for any financial capacity sharing, guidance and training to partners identified throughout the partnership.

Major Responsibilities

Finance (70%)

Financial Management

• Prepare, for review by Director of Business Operations, first draft of annual departmental operating budgets and reforecasts by inputting financial data from various funding streams, ensuring that financial data align with restricted award spending plans.

• Review unrestricted expenses monthly, preparing reclassifications to correct cost center coding errors.

• Prepare monthly budget vs actuals reports for unrestricted expenses for review by Director of Business Operations.

• Provide financial analysis as required by Director of Business Operations and support with financial modelling for TechEx Leadership.

• Manage temporary restricted funds. Review fund balance report monthly and prepare reclassifications and revenue allocations as required.

• Coordinate with gift processing in the fundraising departments, ensuring that TechEx gifts are coded to the correct accounting codes and budgets, ensuring that the funding is captured and budgeted

• Provide transaction coding guidance to Technical Excellence Leadership as requested.

• Serve as in-house financial management system expert. Support operational troubleshooting as required.

• Keep abreast of changes to IRC’s financial policies and procedures and communicate this to wider team.

Review & Ensure Quality Assurance of GOAT Finances

• Review TechEx journal entries/invoice journals in Integra (Microsoft Dynamics 365), ensuring that reclassifications are corrected before submitting for Finance Approval.

• Review program budgets in Integra before submitting for approvals.

• Review award proposal budgets for personnel allocations and project budget realignments for accuracy and obtain approvals from Finance Dept for submission to donors.

• Review and approve of cost center accounting codes of all TechEx timesheets in TETRA (Time & Effort tracking system), ensuring that HQ and country program payroll will process correct cost center.

• Assist GOAT Sr. Finance Officer in tracking country program TechEx allocations (TU2%) and transactions, ensuring that our TU2% BvA is as accurate as possible.

• Work with Awards Managers to ensure audit readiness of projects.

Partnerships Finance (20%)

• Lead on financial aspects of the due diligence processes including audit review and completing relevant tabs of the Partner Capacity Analysis (PCA) and collaborative partnership risk management.

• Review draft partnership financial agreement terms.

• For cost-reimbursable partnership agreements, agree with partners the specific documentation required to support each type of cost, adjusting standard requirements to the operating context and the partner.

• Participate in PCM, including to review successes, challenges, and lessons learned with the partner, and capture effective finance practices for future partnerships.

• Provide final review and approval of partner financial reports and cash requests. Record partner advances and expenses on Integra. In collaboration with Partnerships Officers, monitor partner budgets and actual spending in collaboration with technical coordinators, identifying issues before confirming final approval for payment.

• Participate in monitoring and reflection including leading on the review of partner financial report support documents and identifying appropriate follow up actions.

• Assist in the closeout of partnership agreements, including financial verification and asset confirmation.

• Participate in the review of the performance of the partner, of the IRC, and of the partnership, including successes, challenges and lessons learned.

Leadership and capacity sharing (10%)

• Provide finance and accounting training and mentoring support to partners, in accordance with partner project support plans, with a focus on supporting the partner to strengthen financial management systems and capacities that are responsive to the needs of the partner (rather than replicating IRC’s systems and policies).

• Coach, train, and mentor GOAT staff with the aim of strengthening their technical capacity, exchanging knowledge within the team and providing professional development guidance.

• Work with the Pre and Post Award team to ensure that financial and other internal processes are followed.

• Deputize for Director of Business Operations as requested. Provide supervision and or surge support to Senior Finance Officer and Budget Operations Manager.

• Represent GOAT FinOps pillar in internal and external meetings as requested.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: Director of Business Operations

Position directly supervises: N/A

Other Internal and/or external contacts:

Internal:

• Regular contact with Finance, Technical Units, Global Supply Chain team and the Awards Management Unit

• Collaborate closely with country program staff.

• External: Interact with donors, partners, vendors, contractors, and consultants.

Job Requirements

• Demonstrable progressive work experience in a non-profit setting overseeing finances.

• Excellent financial and analytical skills, with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, business management or similar and advanced university degree in Finance, Accounting or CCAB, or other relevant national accounting qualification required

• Demonstrated experience of working around relevant national accountancy certification / body

• Experience with managing partners’ projects funded by major institutional donors required.

• Experience in training, capacity building, and mentoring of staff, NGOs/CBOs.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to present to groups of all sizes; exhibiting tact, patience, diplomacy, and appropriate assertiveness

• Self-starter and solutions-oriented, with ability to work independently and part of a team.

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively under pressure and handle multiple simultaneous tasks and demands coming from multiple sources.

• Hard-working, sharp and detailed oriented.

• Proficiency in MS Office software suite including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.

• Experience working with databases and/or other tracking systems.

• Fluency in English required, other language skills a plus

Compensation:

Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.

US Benefits:

The IRC offers a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. All US employees are eligible for sick time, a 403b retirement savings plans: up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus an 3-7% additional IRC contribution, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support in times of crisis and mental health struggles.

In addition, full-time employees are eligible for 10 US paid holidays, 20-25 paid time off days, disability & life insurance, medical, dental, and vision insurance (employee contribution starting at $135, $7, and $5 per month respectively) and FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs. Part-time employees are eligible for a proportionate amount of paid time off. These additional benefits apply to employees who work at least 6 months within a 12 month time period.

Standard of Professional Conduct: The IRC and the IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – our Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality.

Commitment to Gender, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: The IRC is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. The IRC expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying of the IRC persons in any work setting. We aim to increase the representation of women, people that are from country and communities we serve, and people who identify as races and ethnicities that are under-represented in global power structures.