Principal Officer, DAB

Principal Officer, DAB

BSTDB – Black Sea Trade and Development Bank

Thessaloniki, Greece

Ref.No: 072
Division/Department: Accounting, Planning and Budget (DAB)/Finance
Position Type: Professional
Closing Date: 20-Nov-2024, 17:30 (Greece Time)
Appointment Type: Three-year fixed-term

All candidates applying for employment with the BSTDB should be fluent in written and spoken English and have strong Microsoft Office skills.

It is the BSTDB’s policy to offer equal employment opportunities to qualified candidates regardless of their racial, ethnic, religious and cultural background, gender, sexual orientation or disabilities.

Position Purpose

The Principal Officer performs relevant duties in the Department to ensure completeness, accuracy, proper classification of financial information and timeliness at every period-end closing process. The Principal Officer will strengthen the Department by providing expert opinion and support to the Bank’s IFRS compliance regarding financial reporting, internal and external audits, at each reporting period, on an on-going basis.

The position contributes to the efficient and effective preparation of the Bank’s financial statements under IFRS and of other financial reporting, in order to meet effectively and efficiently the requirements of: (i) BSTDB’s statutory reporting (ii) financial management (iii) credit rating agencies (vi) debt issuances and other borrowing needs and (v) other third parties, as appropriate.

Key Functions and Responsibilities

Under the general supervision of the Director, the Principal Officer:

• Leads the coordination and manages the preparation of the financial statements (during each reporting period), acting as business partner to contributors inside and outside finance, including providing challenge and support on compliance with IFRS reporting requirements and disclosures;
• Ensures that all monthly/quarterly/semi-annual/year-end closing activities and other accounting transactions are completed in a timely, accurate and complete manner;
• Assists in the monthly financial accounting and reporting process, including reconciliations, journal entries and internal/external reporting preparation;
• Assesses and ensures proper accounting treatment of IFRS 9 provisions and respective disclosures;
• Reviews and ensures adherence to hedge accounting requirements as per IFRS 9;
• Ensures appropriate classification of financial instruments according to IFRS 13 provisions, including assessment of market activity of financial instruments, assessment of inputs used for fair valuation of financial instruments as Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3, etc.;
• Ensures the completeness, accuracy, and proper classification of IFRS 7 & IFRS 13 Disclosures related to Market Risk (Interest Rate, Liquidity, Foreign Exchange Risk and Fair Value Hierarchy);
• Monitors upcoming developments in accounting standards, including preparing and presenting impact assessments in respect of specific new standards, or upcoming transactions across the Bank;
• Coordinates with the external auditors all matters that relate to the interim and annual financial statements’ closing process, acting as one of the key contact points for the External Auditors;
• Recommends to DAB Director, the VP Finance and the Management Committee, as appropriate, action plans to address findings related to his responsibilities, which are included in the External Auditors Management Letter/Internal Audit Reports/Audit Committee Recommendations;
• Recommends/Reviews relevant input to the Annual Report.

Competencies

• Professionalism: maintains a level of expertise and professional knowledge commensurate with the respective position and job description;
• Results Orientation: demonstrates ability for achieving results against an internal or external standard of excellence;
• Communication and interaction with impact: Transfers efficiently and effectively information and messages, wields effective tactics for persuasion;
• Client/stakeholder orientation – ensures appropriate service of high standard to internal and/or external customers and develops constructive and sustainable business/customer relationships;
• Teamwork: effectively cooperates with others aiming at the achievement of team objectives;
• Cultural sensitivity/Diversity: supports and promotes an environment that holds opportunities for all, regardless of race, gender, culture and age;
• Integrity: maintains standards of objectivity, independence and discretion. Behaves ethically and in consistency with institutional core values;
• Accountability: exhibits a strong sense of responsibility for one’s work and resulting consequences;
• Innovation and change: is open to and applies novel ideas and thinking to improve processes, methods, systems or services. Accepts and adapts to changes;
• Critical thinking: clarifies goals, examines assumptions, evaluates evidence, accomplishes actions, and assesses conclusions.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree, preferably in Accounting, Finance or Economics;
• Professional qualification and Certification in accounting (CPA, ACCA, ACA or CIMA);
• Excellent knowledge of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS);
• At least 8 years of relevant working experience in accounting or financial reporting department of an international financial institution or an international commercial bank or international accounting firm, with at least 3 years in a leadership role responsible for the preparation and issuance of financial statements under IFRS;
• Working knowledge of SAP (esp. SAP FI/CO);
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office.

Desirable Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Master’s degree or equivalent in any of the above areas;
• Working experience in IFRS – especially in IFRS 7, IFRS 9 (including hedge accounting), and IFRS13;
• Knowledge of general requirements for disclosure of sustainability-related financial information and climate-related disclosures (e.g. IFRS S1 &S2);
• Experience in the overall SAP platform;
• Relevant experience in an international financial institution.

For a candidate to participate in the competitive selection for this position, s/he must meet at least the following minimum requirements:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent, preferably in Accounting, Finance or Economics;
• Certification: Professional qualification and Certification in accounting (CPA, ACCA, ACA or CIMA);
• Experience: At least 8 years of relevant working experience.

Application Procedure

In order for your application for the above vacancy to be considered valid, please:

1. Complete the BSTDB Application Form in full:

• Provide an answer to EACH question (box). Please note that if no answer is provided to any of the questions (relevant box is left empty), the application will be disqualified;
• If a question is not applicable to you, please insert “N/A” in the relevant box;
• No additional documents (such as CVs) will be considered.

2. Send the completed BSTDB Application Form as an attachment to: recruit@bstdb.org.

Please include in the subject line of the e-mail only the Reference Number of the vacancy you are applying for and your full name.

Example: 072 John Smith

You will receive an automatic response that your application has been successfully received.

The closing date for applications is Wednesday, 20 November 2024 at 17:30 pm (Greece Time).

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.