Job Title: Finance Assistant

About Mercy Corps 

Country Summary 

Mercy Corps works in places of transition, where conflict, disaster, political upheaval, or economic collapse present opportunities to build a more secure, productive, and just communities. Providing emergency relief in times of crisis, we move quickly to help communities recover and build resilience to future shocks, and promote sustainable change by supporting community-led and market-driven initiatives. Recognizing both the great potential and the complex challenges faced by Afghanistan, since 1986 Mercy Corps has been implementing a range of humanitarian assistance and development programs tailored to the specific needs of the country and of those communities where we work.

Mercy Corps has been working in Afghanistan continuously since 1986 with a large portfolio of programs addressing the promotion of sustainable licit livelihoods, agriculture development, youth vocational training, Renewable Energy and natural resource management; it has helped more than 2.5 million Afghans through these wide-range of community–based agriculture and economic development programs.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.
Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, colour, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.
Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct eLearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

General Position Summary

Working in the Finance Department under the direction of the Senior Finance Officer and will ensure the accuracy and completeness of Mercy Corps accounting records and will have primary responsibility for managing the monthly accounting cycle.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Program Management

• Support the Senior Finance Officer on daily management of the Herat office.
• Manage the month end accounting close process, ensuring the accuracy and completeness of the ledger, sub journals and all supporting documentation in assigned field office.
• Responsible for cash and bank batches in Herat office
• Perform the financial review of purchase requests, Purchase orders and Payment requests to ensure compliance with MC policies and Procedures and as per established limit in AAM.
• Oversee the maintenance of all accounting records for cash and bank, ensuring that records are complete, accurate and safeguarded in the assigned field office.
• Reviewing of Herat offices transactions supporting documents on monthly based.
• Prepare field office CFP and cash request.
• Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian mission.
• Other duties as assigned.

Team Management

• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations, and provide constructive feedback via regular performance reviews.
• Provide team members with information, tools, and other resources to improve performance and reach objectives.
• Contribute to country team-building efforts, help team members identify problem-solving options and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.

Security

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

Organizational Learning 

• As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

Accountability to Beneficiaries

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically
  to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
• Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Supervisory Responsibility

Accountability

Reports Directly To:  Senior Finance Officer

Works Directly With: Finance team, Program team, Operations teams.

Knowledge and Experience

• Three or more years of general ledger accounting experience is required.
• A university degree in finance/management is required and/or Accounting Qualifications.
• Three years’ experience in the Finance Department of an international NGO is preferred.
• Demonstrated competency with computerized general ledger software.
• Advanced computer skills in MS Office programs, particularly Excel.
• Prior management experience and strong organizational skills.
• Excellent oral and written English skills.

While sending your CV & Cover letter, please state the title/ subject line as:

MCA027-2023 Application for Finance Assistant

*Application received after the closing date or with a different subject line will not be given consideration.

Only short listed candidates whose application responds to the above criteria will be contacted for interview. Interested candidates should send their Application to: af-vacancieskbl@mercycorps.org

af-vacancieskbl@mercycorps.org