Do your qualifications and experience not exactly match all requirements of the job?
At MSF OCG, we are committed to an inclusive culture that supports and amplifies the diverse voices of our staff members. We strive to create workplaces where teams of people with diverse backgrounds, characteristics, perspectives, ideas and experiences work together to advance MSF’s social mission and create better outcomes for our patients and the communities we work with.
We understand that some people may hesitate to apply for employment if they don’t meet all listed job requirements. Research shows that this is especially true for women. If you believe your profile is a good match for this position, we invite you to apply even if you don’t fulfil every listed qualification.
We encourage applications from individuals of all genders, ages, sexual orientations, ethnicities, background, religions, beliefs, ability status, and all other diversity characteristics.
MSF does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of discrimination or harassment, including sexual harassment. All selected candidates will undergo reference checks.
Context & Mission
Médecins Sans Frontières is an independent, international medical and humanitarian organization that provides care to people in need, people affected by natural or man-made disasters, and victims of armed conflict, without discrimination and without regard to race, religion, creed or political affiliation (MSF Charter).
The financial controller plays a pivotal role between finance and operations and is the contact person in the operational unit (cell) for financial management issues. Beyond his/her technical role, his/her extensive experience and understanding of operations are an asset for operational management.
The financial controller is a member of the operational unit, in charge of providing the support and supervision necessary to achieve the operational strategy.
As a member of both the operational unit and the finance department, the financial controller reports to the Head of Programmes (RP) and Head of the Operational Finance who is his/her technical responsible.
The operational cell 1 is currently supervising 4 countries for an overall budget of 35 million CHF.
Responsibilities
Among his/her responsibilities, for the missions monitored within the operation unit, the financial controller:
- Contributes to the definition of the operational objectives and strategy by ensuring budgets are realistic and respect financial constraints, supervises the budgetary process throughout the planning cycle
- Oversees mission management with regards to the relevance and effectiveness of the financial means allocated, follows commitments and controls expenses vs approved budgets, analyses costs
- Provides technical support to the missions in terms of financial and administrative management, anticipates financial risks and problems that missions may have to deal with
- Ensures the implementation of financial policies and procedures concerning financial management as defined by headquarters, vouches for adherence to the basic rules and quality standards. Proposes adjustment of the said procedures to emergency context when necessary.
- Is in contact with other sections operational of MSF to share local and regional information as well as best practices,
- Is in charge of the briefing, training and coaching of all Finance Coordinators and Finance managers present in the missions managed by the cell.
- Is responsible for the proper management of grants and for the quality of financial documents and reports submitted to donors.
Your Profile
Education
- University degree (graduate level), preferably in business administration / finance
Experience
- Successful experiences in humanitarian aid, at least 2 years as finance coordinator for major INGOs (preferably MSF).
- Experience in management, in coaching, excellent analytical and reporting skills, rigorous, attentive to detail, good organisational skills and able to prioritise
- Experience of institutional donors grant management, especially multi-donors co-funding
Languages
- English and French are the working languages of MSF Switzerland. Fluency in English is required for this position (oral and written). French a strong asset.
Skills/ Technical competencies
- Good practise of a field accounting package and ERP (preferably UNIFIELD).
- Excellent knowledge of Excel, very comfortable with numbers and financial analysis
Personal Abilities
- Receptive, inquisitive, capacity to question and propose new ideas and pragmatic solutions
- Team player, able to work with multidisciplinary teams in a multicultural context
- Capacity to understand quickly complex technical concepts, learn fast and adapt
- Capacity to take initiatives and decisions, work under pressure, respect deadlines
- Maturity, open-mindedness, autonomy, sense of diplomacy and good stress management
Terms of Employment
- Open-ended contract (100%) of three years, renewable once i.e. a maximum of 6 years.
- Based in Geneva, with several visits to the field each year
- Ideal start date: January 6th, 2025
- Gross annual salary (for 100%): from CHF 101’172.- to CHF 115’332.- (salary commensurate with equivalent experience and internal salary grid)
- Paid vacation: 25 days per year, prorate temporis, plus any Swiss public holidays falling within the contract period.
- Pension plan: pension contribution covered 3/4 by MSF, 1/4 by staff member.
- Relocation package if moving from a different country to Switzerland.
How to apply
Candidates submit their application following the requirements: CV 2 p. max. – letter of motivation 1p. max. – in French or English.
Deadline for application is October 27th, 2024.
We reserve the right to close the position early if we consider the number and quality of applications received to be sufficient.
The applications will be treated confidentially.
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
Only applications submitted on our recruitment platforms will be considered.
Please note that we do not wish to use the services of recruitment or placement agencies.