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We are recruiting for a private international charitable foundation which seeks to support environmental recovery, supported by cultures and economies grounded in Earth lore, in line with their “breathe freely” ethos. As such they are committed to grants and other investments that are healing to the climate, to biodiversity, and to human cultural relations with the other-than-human. The foundation is currently based in a Hong Kong family office, with personnel in Hong Kong and the UK, as well as Cameroon, Brazil, Australia, Papua, and the US.
The organization has been in a phase of significant growth and change over the last five years and are increasingly bringing systems, data and associated functions in-house to support the record keeping and analytics they need to inform their growing operations.
Role
This is a new position. Under the general direction of the Director of Operations, you will be involved in all the duties required to maintain a complete general ledger and financial records and support financial planning/forecasting.
International Accountant Responsibilities
— The responsibilities of the International Accountant will include, but are not limited to:
International Accounting Operations
- Develop a General Ledger Chart of Accounts which supports our current grantmaking operations with the flexibility to accommodate various directions in our growth, allows easy consolidation with sister entities, and is IFRS compliant to allow us to provide regulatory and audit reporting in various jurisdictions.
- Implement optimal Chart of Accounts and processes, evaluating current and alternate accounting systems as needed and developing interface processes to existing systems as needed (HRIS, Payroll, Grants Management System, expense reporting) as needed.
- Perform duties necessary for the timely and accurate verification and recording of financial and investment (MRI/PRI) operations including general ledger, entries and reconciliations, investment portfolio tracking and transactions, international payroll, benefits and taxes.
- Work closely with Human Relations Specialist on payroll and benefits administration processes.
- Collaborate with senior management team, Operations Manager and others to determine an optimal process for reviewing and approving expenses.
- Audit corporate credit card(s).
- Identify institution and global consolidated reporting needs with senior management team and agree schedule and distribution for regular financial reporting.
Budgeting and Financial Planning
- Assist in preparation of the annual organisational and department budgets.
- Monitor and provide quarterly budget performance reports and analysis to organisation and departments with close cooperation to develop and implement measures to minimize variance.
- Assist staff to self-manage budgets.
- Support financial planning and forecasting including developing scenarios for growth.
Cash Flow Management
- Reconcile annual and quarterly projected expenses and cash flow requirements and coordinate with family office for redemption decisions.
- With Operations Manager and Human Relations Specialist, maintain and improve policies and organization discipline for accurate and timely processing of accounts payables, employee expense reports, travel guidelines, time reporting, etc.
Regulatory and Audit Compliance (initially in support of regulatory reporting through the family office)
- Strengthen financial systems integrity and controls according to IFRS, tax and regulatory measures and foundation policies.
- Build systems for timely and accurate provision of data and provide direct support for annual audit and tax filing.
- Work with external advisors, as needed, to ensure compliance with relevant country and international regulatory requirements in areas of taxes, documentation requirements, payroll and benefits.
General and Other
- Develop and manage relationships with accounting-related service providers as needed including in-country and global accountants, auditors, payroll and tax experts.
- Develop and maintain an asset inventory/schedule.
- Support for MRI/PRI activities as needed.
- Continually improve internal financial processes.
- Potential management of banking relationships, international wire transfer and/or other payments systems.
- Occasional travel as required for execution of duties.
- Other duties as are consistent with accountant’s role and experience as the foundation continues to evolve, or from time to time as prompted by institutional priorities.
Qualifications
— The successful International Accountant candidate will likely reflect much of the following profile:
Essential
- Several years of progressively responsible professional experience in international accounting, ideally in an international organisation and / or in auditing / tax consulting.
- Accounting experience in philanthropy or non-profit.
- Experience in multiple tax jurisdictions and working in multi-currency environments.
- In-depth IFRS knowledge.
- Excellent, hands-on knowledge of web-based systems including accounting (current platform is Xero), and office suite platforms (proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite preferred).
- Comfortable in complex and highly matrixed environments. Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and effectively with peers across disciplines and functions in shared efforts with proven ability to influence without direct formal authority.
- Comfortable working remotely.
- Strong organizational and time management skills with the ability to be flexible and re-prioritize as needs arise.
- Pleasant and effective communication skills, written and oral. (English is our working language).
- Experiential cross-cultural understanding and perspective, aware and appreciative of differing worldviews and the ability to communicate with and learn from the wide variety of people who comprise our grantees, allies and staff.
- Kind and generous with partners and colleagues.
Desired
- Prior experience with an international non-profit organization or grantmaking foundation.
- Fluency in a second language with preference for dominant languages of one of our working regions (e.g. French, Portuguese, Bahasa, Thai, Lao, Burmese).
- International living and/or working experience including in the Global South.
- Strong analytical, conceptual, and creative problem-solver who continually looks for new ways to improve processes with a “can do” attitude and a sense of humour.
- Located in and able to legally work in the UK or Hong Kong.
Alongside this we will value applicants who are:
- Deeply committed to regenerative/ecological cultures and economies, preferably with experience of holistic/indigenous cosmologies.
- Humble, recognising humanity’s place amongst all living creatures on this one planet.
We pride ourselves on being diverse and inclusive.
TO APPLY FOR THE INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTANT ROLE
Please submit a cover letter of interest outlining your relevant experience and financial requirements with a resume.
The organisation does not maintain a website but will provide more detailed information on the foundation to qualified applicants.
Matching talents to fulfil roles in sustainability organizations, including nature conservation, holistic education and wellness in Asia and the U.K.
The IRC:
Founded in 1933, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a global leader in providing emergency relief, rehabilitation, post conflict development, human rights protection, resettlement services and advocacy for refugees and others uprooted or affected by violent conflict and oppression. Over the past 17 years, the IRC has pioneered and implemented programs that prevent and respond to violence against women and children, as well as other vulnerable groups in refugee settings and in other conflict-affected contexts. IRC is one of the first humanitarian organisations to bring together specific expertise involved in violence prevention and response (VPR) in conflict affected settings to ensure collaborative and still specialized support to survivors and those at risk of violence. IRC presently implements VPR programs in over 26 countries, to support social and political environments that foster freedom from violence, discrimination, and exclusion for marginalized populations in contexts of crisis.
Background:
Building on a growing body of evidence – including IRC’s Cycles of Displacement report and other reports including The Only Way Is Up – in 2022, the IRC launched a flagship technical innovation project ‘TRANSFORM’ to develop mechanisms for humanitarian organizations to systematically embed diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) considerations in conflict and displacement response. Through this BHA-funded project, the IRC is seeking to address the systemic reluctance/capacity issues holding back the humanitarian sector in a way that models a deep involvement of diverse SOGIESC CSOs and extends diverse SOGIESC inclusion across the humanitarian architecture. The TRANSFORM project will develop and socialize new approaches to advancing conversations and furthering commitments to diverse SOGIESC inclusion in the humanitarian sector and architecture.
Job Overview / Summary:
The Inclusion Specialist will support with ensuring the successful delivery of TRANSFORM, including the implementation of all key activities and deliverables.
The Inclusion Specialist will be based within the Violence Prevention and Response Unit (VPRU)’s Inclusion Team, which promotes more inclusive humanitarian programming at the IRC, rooted in a strong analysis of context, power, gender and how intersecting aspects of identity may result in discrimination, oppression and exclusion. The Inclusion Specialist will be based in a sub-team responsible for the delivery of TRANSFORM and may have opportunities to support with other diverse SOGIESC inclusion initiatives.
Major Responsibilities:
In collaboration with the Technical Lead for TRANSFORM, the Inclusion Specialist will play a leading role in the implementation of all aspects of TRANSFORM until the end of the project, with a focus on technical programmatic components linked to diverse SOGIESC inclusion. Responsibilities include:
Project Management and Initiative Oversight and Coordination:
· Support with the management of all programmatic activities and deliverables within TRANSFORM.
· Actively work with relevant IRC country and headquarters staff and support project partners in delivery of project activities in all three pilot locations, ensuring effective implementation and with particular oversight of activities and deliverables in Ukraine and a disaster risk reduction (DRR) context.
· Support the Technical Lead for TRANSFORM and grant management focal point to produce programmatic donor reports, communications, and participate in meetings/calls as needed to keep the donor apprised of program progress.
· Coordinate with a wide range of project stakeholders, including the project team at IRC and the project partners, but also with IRC staff from pilot country locations to ensure timely implementation of project deliverables.
Learning and Impact:
· Document evidence and learning from TRANSFORM at the global level as well as from the pilot countries, in partnership with the MEAL focal point.
· Collaborate with IRC staff and project partners on the development of all knowledge management aspects (including but not limited to case studies, resource package and training materials) of the TRANSFORM project. This will include taking a leading role in the writing of substantial parts of the resources package and training materials.
· Support with documenting and sharing learning internally to support better diverse SOGIESC inclusion in programming – linking learning to IRC frameworks and strategies, and working with colleagues from across the organization as appropriate.
· Convene – with the support of the Technical Lead for TRANSFORM – an internal learning exchange / regularized discussion space to link together counterparts across the IRC and share learning from the TRANSFORM initiative. This may include colleagues from VPRU and other Technical Units, as well as from Policy and Solutions (P&S), People and Culture (P&C), Resettlement, Asylum and Integration (RAI), Country Programs, and employee resource groups (ERGs).
Dissemination and External Representation:
· Support with the ongoing running of the project’s advisory group and ensure ongoing coordination between the advisory group and all project team members.
· Package and disseminate the growing evidence base, learning, and good practices around diverse SOGIESC inclusion on relevant internal and external platforms.
· Ensure dissemination of key project resources and learnings.
· Play a key role in IRC’s external representation for the project, including ensuring continued coordination and collaboration with external stakeholders within the relevant global humanitarian architecture, as well as representative organizations and local and national partners.
· Lead the development of communications materials linked to TRANSFORM.
Capacity Strengthening:
· Support the Technical Lead for TRANSFORM to develop capacity building resources and materials related to diverse SOGIESC inclusion.
· Support the Inclusion Team to provide capacity-strengthening opportunities to IRC staff (both within the Technical Units and in Country Programs).
Key Working Relationships
· Position reports to: VPRU’s Senior Inclusion Specialist
· Position directly supervises: N/A
· Regular internal (IRC) contact with: Fellow members of the Inclusion and Transformative Programming pillar; VPRU’s Deputy Director and Global Practice Leads, Regional Leads and Technical Advisors for Protection & Rule of Law (PRoL), Women’s Protection & Empowerment (WPE), and Child Protection; MEAL and Policy colleagues; and the VPRU Operations Team.
· Regular external contact with: Project partners, and representatives from LGBTIQ+ partner organizations.
Personal Specification:
Skills and Experience:
· Extensive experience within the humanitarian and/or development sector, related to the inclusion of people with diverse SOGIESC.
· Strong understanding of the existing external policy and practice landscape around diverse SOGIESC inclusion, including humanitarian architecture structures for representation at an Inter-Agency level.
· Experience of implementing projects in diverse humanitarian settings/contexts at both the field and global level.
· Experience coordinating multi-country and multi-stakeholder initiatives.
· Proven experience of knowledge management and development of diverse learning products.
· Excellent communication skills and experience representing an organization and building strong relationships at the local, national, and international level.
· Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.
· Experience developing capacity-strengthening resources, preferably including toolkits for use in humanitarian contexts.
· Experience of writing technical documents (an enjoyment of writing is an added benefit).
· Excellent attention to detail and ability to synthesize complex information into written documents in English.
· Previous experience working in communications is an advantage.
Job Qualifications:
· Education: A relevant combination of academic qualifications and extensive experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.
· Language: For this position, strong working proficiency in English is essential and additional languages are an advantage (particularly French, Spanish, or Arabic).
· Ability to manage a complex and varied workload, work under pressure, and travel to insecure environments;
· Excellent IT skills (i.e. Word, Outlook, Excel).
Working Environment
· Some international travel as needed, up to 25%.
· This position is required to have flexible work-day hours to accommodate varying time zones to complete required tasks and coordination functions.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.