British Embassy
DUE: 18 JUN 2025
Main purpose of job:
The Finance and Compliance Officer plays a crucial role in managing and delivering British Embassy Harare’s (BEH) financial portfolio in accordance with internal policies and procedures. The role will provide support to the Finance and Compliance Manager in maintaining high level financial excellence across all programme and operating spend. The successful candidate will ensure that BEH adheres to internal policies, manages the risks of fraud and error and safeguards the organization against risks and penalties. This position is vital for maintaining the integrity of financial operations and supporting BEH’s overall objectives.
Roles and responsibilities:
The role will be part of the Finance and Compliance team at BEH and will work closely with corporate, policy and programme teams and central and regional finance teams. The key focus of the role will be:
Ensuring successful day-to-day operation of financial processes across BEH in accordance with financial policies.
Ensuring correct implementation of BEH internal policies while best meeting internal customers’ needs in a fair and effective manner.
Be a deputy fraud liaison officer and support in the delivery of BEH counter fraud strategy.
The main duties include:
Financial management
- Coordination of budget monitoring and reporting at post, ensuring bottom up budgets are correctly profiled against approved allocations.
- Review and challenge of forecasting data monthly ensuring relevant financial targets are met and propose for corrective action where required.
- Monitoring recharges to other government departments.
- Provide monthly input into financial reports for monthly, quarterly and annual reporting.
- Co-chair the monthly finance meetings with budget managers and senior budget holders.
- Provide suggestions and recommendations for improved financial results based on monthly financial performance reports.
- Preparing ad-hoc financial modelling reports as and when required.
- Review the monthly payroll pack ensuring errors are quickly identified and rectified.
- Review monthly balance sheet reconciliations such as cash, bank, stocks, debtors and creditors.
- Tracking foreign currency forecasts and re-allocation of budget by currency to take account of USD and sterling spend.
- Preparation of the annual funding requirement and monthly cash forecasting return.
- Prepare qualitative and timely interim and final accounting returns ensuring all supporting evidence is available.
- Preparation of monthly prepayment journals and review of accruals in line with resource accounting policies.
- Oversee preparation of tax reports and returns to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority.
- Oversee the accounts filing system to ensure it is always up to date and ensure good record keeping.
- Provide capacity building to budget holders on budgeting and forecasting.
Fiduciary risk management
- As deputy fraud liaison officer, provide periodic fraud awareness training sessions to corporate and programme teams.
- Support the finance and compliance manager in carrying out fiduciary risk assessments.
- Monitor progress against mitigation actions set out in fiduciary risk assessments.
Compliance management
- Review compliance with policies and procedures of all BEH key risk areas such as stores, assets, fuel, cash, procurement and credit card spend.
- Provide input into the monthly compliance reporting pack.
- Support the preparation of the annual assurance commission.
- Carry out periodic spot checks.
- Provide support to audit preparation as and when required.
- Proactively, make recommendations for best practices and improvements to processes.
Resources managed:
Local budget of over £22m.
- Bachelor’s degree in accounting/finance
- Full or Part qualified with a professional accounting body.
- Minimum 5 years work experience in a large institution.
- Excellent IT skills. Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Excel, Word and Outlook.
Language requirements:
Language: English and any local language
Level of language required: Proficient
- Experience in working in the development sector an advantage.
- Experience of working with multiple teams and skills in adapting financial terminology to suit a wide variety of audiences.
- Demonstrated understanding of risk management.
- Experience in leading or participating in internal and external audit engagements.
Learning and development opportunities:
In consultation with the line manager, additional training will be provided to support the job holder’s learning and development needs.
Working patterns:
The full-time working week excluding breaks is 35 hours. Typical working hours are 08:00 – 16:30 per day. Flexible working is available at post in line with the British Embassy Harare (BEH) flexible working policy
- Employees recruited locally by the British Embassy in Harare are subject to the Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law in Zimbabwe.
- All applicants must be legally able to work in the country of application with the correct visa/status or work permit.
- Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary may have their salaries reduced by the equivalent local income tax amount.
- Reference and security clearances checks will be conducted.
- Any questions you may have about this position will be answered during the interview, should you be invited.
- Successful candidates not resident in Zimbabwe will be personally liable for costs and arrangements to relocate, including accommodation and work permits.
- Complete the application form in full as the information provided will be used for screening purposes.
- Check your application and attachments before you submit your application, as you will not be able to make any changes once submitted.
- The British Embassy will never ask you to pay a fee or money to apply for a position
- Please log into your profile on the application system on a regular basis to review the status of your application.
- Appointable candidates who were unsuccessful may be placed on a ‘reserve list’. If during the reserve period of 6/12 months the same or a largely similar role becomes available, that role may be offered to the second or subsequent candidate.
TO APPLY
Click here to apply
To apply for this job please visit fco.tal.net.