Jesuit Refugee Service Jobs in Italy

About Jesuit Refugee Service

Jesuit Refugee Service is a Catholic organization that serves to accompany, serve, and advocate for the rights of refugees and forcibly displaced people. RS has programmes in over 50 countries. The areas of work are in the field of education, emergency assistance, health care, livelihoods, reconciliation, and psychosocial support. JRS is also involved in advocacy and human rights work. It undertakes services at national and regional levels with the support and guidance of an international office (IO) in Rome.

About Position

JSU is seeking a motivated, experienced and highly qualified Finance Officer for managing and overseeing the Regional offices financial processes and accounts in Rome. Reporting to the Director of Finance, he/she will play a key role in supporting the Education and Programmes Department through financial project management as well as working with the Philanthropy and Development Department in relation to donors’ reporting.

Major roles and responsibilities

• Build people’s capacity in the area of Finance and Administration, budgeting and project costing;
• Provide technical assistance, training, and development on JRS financial tools and systems to Finance staff in the regions;
• Undertake remote and/or onsite regional financial reviews in close collaboration with the Regional and Country Directors and the Finance team;
• Assist the regions in case of financial investigations following internal procedures;
• Assist staff in determining allowable and allocable costs for a particular award and whether costs should be charged directly, to the service center or to general funds;
• Actively work with all levels of management to gather, analyze, summarize, and prepare financial plans, budgets, cash flow projections, pipeline analyses, and operating forecasts;
• Conduct a review of in-country expenditures and make recommendations for improvement in financial reporting, budget adjustments, and other cost improvement measures, as required;
• Support Regional Offices in preparing for and conducting annual external audits;
• Lead the development and review of new or existing financial policies, procedures, and tools;
• Support Education and Philanthropy and Development Departments, with the design of budgets for funds applications following donor’s requirements in order to maintain a good and sustainable relationship with a key donor.
• Review assigned projects on a monthly basis, assessing cash burn rates, funding requirements, sub-grants, and contract and financial commitments;
• Monitor actual expenditure levels against budgets and funding obligations and proactively work with the field offices to ensure spending is within obligated amounts;
• Work closely with Human Resources to recruit and appraise country/projects offices finance staff;
• Provide accounting and financial support to the International Office when required.

Qualifications and experience

• A University degree in accounting, finance, business and administration, international cooperation, project management or related areas;
• At least three (3) years of professional experience working in an accounting or finance-related role;
• Professional experience in a similar capacity with international, non-profit organizations;
• Financial analysis, financial reporting, cash flow analysis, budget development, and forecasting;
• Understanding of service center, fringe, and indirect rate application and allocation methodologies;
• Knowledge of US government cost principles, GAAP accounting rules, and grant/contract management;
• Demonstrated ability to effectively manage several major activities simultaneously;
• Ability to do both technical works and focus on “big picture” issues;
• Ability to create complex proposal budgets for diverse donors/sponsors.

Technical Skills

• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and one or more internationally-recognized accounting systems;
• Knowledge of Microsoft Dynamics Navision is highly desirable;
• Technical expertise in the project management cycle (education, emergency assistance, healthcare, livelihood activities, and social services) would be appreciated but not essential;
• High analytical and reporting skills;
• Excellent command of Excel and other database applications;
• Prior experience in accounting, bookkeeping procedures, account reconciliation, and data analysis;
• Comprehensive knowledge of concepts, practices, and procedures relating to accounting, financial controls, and financial information systems;
• Strong knowledge of laws and regulations that have an impact on financial analysis and management controls.

Communication skills

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; professional working knowledge of French or Spanish is highly desirable;
• Excellent diplomatic and interpersonal skills;
• Ability to exchange non-routine information using tact and persuasion as appropriate, requiring excellent oral and written communication skills;
• Good knowledge of Italian will be considered as an asset.