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BirdLife Europe and Central Asia in Brussels is looking for: Finance Officer.

BirdLife International - the largest nature conservation organisation in the world - is looking for a dynamic, passionate and committed finance professional to join the BirdLife Europe & Central Asia team.

1. OVERALL PURPOSE OF JOB

Working within a highly focused and collaborative Administration & Finance team, the Finance Officer is responsible for maintaining financial, accounting, administrative and statutory services in order to meet legislative requirements. The Finance Officer assists the Regional Director in decision-making by providing timely and accurate financial information and works closely with a range of policy, conservation, fundraising and communications project managers.

2. MAIN DUTIES/WORK PROGRAMME RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Management of the accounting and financial system in order to ensure that the European and Central Asian Division’s finances are maintained in an accurate and timely manner. This includes encoding invoices, carrying out bank payments and reconciliations, updating cash management, staff expenses, verification of incoming payments, financial excerpts, operating the accounting system;
2. Support to Project Managers to produce project budgets and reports to Donors, including monitoring of project expenses and core recoveries;
3. Provision of financial information and reports to senior managers and to the ECA Committee in support of monthly monitoring of risks and decision-making;
4. Preparation of Financial Reports to the ECA Committee and Board of Directors of Stichting BirdLife Europe;
5. Support to Regional Director to implement BirdLife Europe financial policies and procedures, in compliance with both Belgian and European legislation and BirdLife International policies;
6. Ensure monthly closing of books and the necessary reconciliations, as well as monthly reporting to the Finance and Administration Department in the Global headquarters;
7. Prepare and revise contracts and procurement tenders and maintain the contract database;
8. Perform administrative and contractual checks and controls, ensuring compliance with Belgian and European laws, including the statutes of the Association, under direction of the Regional Director;
9. Maintain relations with banks and external consultants on all financial matters, including the external accountant helping with bookkeeping;
10. Support the preparation of the regarding European Commission operating grant report, including evidence gathering;
11. Work closely with all levels of staff to assist their information needs, including project balances for those managing projects.

3. QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED

• A university degree in business or business-related fields such as business administration, finance or accounting;
• At least 3 years of relevant professional experience after completion of the university studies, preferably in the not-for-profit sector;
• Good knowledge of Belgian and EU financial regulations;
• Strong command of MS Office, in particular Excel, and experience with accounting software (Winbooks);
• Very good command of English and French;
• Strong sense of duty and responsibility;
• Ability to work in multinational and multicultural environment;
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills;
• Accuracy and able to work in an independent way;
• Good interpersonal, networking and team working skills with the ability to collaborate motivate and advise;
• Flexibility and adaptability (multiple assignments, working under pressure, responsiveness to requests, follow-up of decisions);
• Appreciation of cross-cultural sensitivities with the ability to exercise discretion and show sound judgement;
• Strong self-motivation and curiosity;
• Problem solving attitude and ability to resolve potential conflicts;
• Ideally the world of conservation and the protection of our natural environment would be of interest, if not a passion.

4. PERSONAL AND SOCIAL SKILLS

• Good team work skills, ability to work independently and take initiatives. Ability to work in an International environment.

Computer literacy

• Command of Microsoft Office package and main accounting software.

Languages

• Excellent French - Good written English. Other EU languages will be an asset.

5. WHAT WE OFFER

Duration: 1 year (renewable) Belgian contract
Working hours: full-time
Salary range: 3000 to 3500EUR/month (depending on experience) and benefits

6. HOW TO APPLY

Please submit a full CV and a comprehensive cover letter (all in English) setting out your reasons for applying for the post and outlining the qualifications experience, knowledge and skills that you feel you can bring to the role to: recruitment.europe@birdlife.org.

Please include in the email subject: Finance Officer.

Closing date: 27 October 2019 at midnight CET. Please consider that applications received after the closing date will be automatically discarded.

7. SHORTLISTING AND INTERVIEWS

Date of the interview: November 7th or November 13th.

Shortlisting is based on CV and cover letter. Successful candidates will be asked to attend face to face interviews. The possibility for a remote interview may be offered to suitable candidates from abroad.

Please note that due to the large number of expected applications only successful candidates will be contacted.

About us

BirdLife Europe and Central Asia is the European and Central Asian Division of BirdLife International, and is one of the six regional offices of BirdLife International, a global Partnership of autonomous, national non-governmental conservation organisations, with a large grassroots membership in 115 countries and territories.

BirdLife’s mission is to conserve wild birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, by working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources.

BirdLife has an international team of permanent staff covering conservation and science, policy and advocacy, capacity building, fundraising, communication, finance and administration supporting the 47 European and Central Asia Birdlife Partners.

With more than 4.100 staff in Europe, 2 million members and tens of thousands of skilled volunteers, BirdLife Europe and Central Asia, together with its national Partners, owns or manages more than 6,000 nature sites totalling 320 000 hectares.

In Brussels, the BirdLife ECA team works mainly on EU policy issues and aims at improving EU legislation relating to the environment and biodiversity.

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