COOPI is looking for a Country Administrator in Venezuela
Since 2019 COOPI establishes a presence in Venezuela to attend the local population after the worsening of the country’s socioeconomic crisis. Starting in July 2020, a regional crisis response program begins, which is implemented in consortium with Venezuelan organizations for the protection of vulnerable groups. In these years COOPI has expanded its interventions and is currently executing projects with different donors in Caracas, Sucre, Delta Amacuro and Bolivar in protection (GBV, Trafficking and Trafficking in Persons), reproductive sexual health, WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) and school feeding.
Job description
The person will be accompanying the Country Coordination in the management and supervision of the work of COOPI and its local partners, ensuring timely coordination, management, training and support for all the planned administrative activities and with which the organization has to comply in the country, also ensuring compliance with the same COOPI and donor procedures.
Areas of responsibility
Planning
- Coordinate and follow up on financial management of the National Coordination and of the programs carried out by COOPI and its partners in the Country.
- Ensure the application in time and form of the corresponding institutional tools, necessary for the correct implementation of financial and accounting procedures, administrative and logistical both of COOPI and of the donors with whom it collaborates.
- Develop and monitor the budget of the Country Coordination, of ongoing projects and support their development for new interventions.
- Ensure the constant updating of accounting instruments, in order to allow monitoring and control of expenses.
- Evaluate and monitor financial commitments necessary and the availability of funds to guarantee the operation in the country, the timely implementation of the projects, as well as the eventual co-financing planned.
- Collaborate in the preparation of the purchasing plans identified by each project and ensure its monitoring and / or re-approach and the correct application of the organization’s purchasing procedures.
- Provide the appropriate actions in the necessary times for the presentation of the information required for the annual balances (internal and / or national).
- Accompany the definition and monitoring of the project accountability plan towards the beneficiaries and the main strategic allies.
- Support in the definition and strengthening of the local administrative-logistical management and coordination structure in the country.
Management and control
- Supervise the financial flows between the headquarters and the bank accounts managed by the Country Coordination and by the implementing partners, ensuring the proper management of the accounts and bank reconciliation.
- Authorize in coordination with the Country Coordinator the contracts, payments and bank transfers to be made for the execution of the projects.
- Coordinate and supervise operations with identified banking institutions inside and outside the country for the implementation of COOPI interventions. Coordinate and ensure the identification, registration and filing of all project supporting documents, as well as the formulation of the first notes of the same and of the financial and banking documentation.
- Ensure the correct imputation of costs to projects, according to COOPI and donor procedures.
- Maintain constant control of the expenses of each project and the Country Coordination office, in coordination with project managers and local partners, in order to supervise the execution of the budgets and periodically define (once a month) the forecast of expenses and requests for treasury to the headquarters in Milan.
- Supervise the updating of merchandise inventories (owned and projects by COOPI and partners) with the logistics structure in the country.
- Manage the correct maintenance of assets owned by COOPI or acquired by projects, using corporate tools.
- Ensure the reconciliation and financial consolidation of project accounts before they are sent to the Regional Coordination and headquarters.
- Coordinate the periodic transmission of information and data to the Regional Coordination and headquarters (Local grants, Annual balance sheet closing, Financial reports, Audit reports).
- Manage the supervision of movements of funds from donors for projects to be implemented in the country, including advances and post-approval payments of financial reports.
- Carry out the necessary actions so that the organization complies with the tax laws provided in the country, as well as with the regulation of prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing for non-profit organizations.
- Carry out those tasks inherent to the objectives of the position, and that are requested by the coordination team according to the context and needs of the projects.
Reports, audits and files
- Coordinate with project managers and the country representative for the preparation and timely presentation of the provisional and final financial reports of the implemented projects.
- Coordinate the sending to the Regional Coordination and to the headquarters of all the documents and the necessary information to the presentation of the financial reports of the implemented projects, for donor accountability and eventual internal or external audits to be carried out.
- Prepare communications / correspondence for donors, budget modifications and amendments, in collaboration with project coordinators, local partners, Country Coordinator and Regional / headquarters Coordination.
- Ensure the registration and filing of all documents related to the acquisition, guarantee, depreciation and maintenance of durable equipment and goods within the framework of projects, as well as its transfer from one project to another and / or to direct beneficiaries and / or local partners.
Administration and training of Human Resources
- Select, train, follow and evaluate administrative and logistical personnel hired by the on-site organization.
- Provide training and technical assistance to administrative staff of local partners on financial management and accountability instruments and processes, according to donor requirements and local regulations.
- Collaborate with project managers and the Country Coordinator in drafting and approving contracts for local staff.
- Ensure that contracts signed with local staff comply with the country’s labor and financial laws, as well as ethical procedures and codes defined by the organization and donors.
- Supervise the preparation and updating of the dossiers of local and expatriate personnel, including all the documentation provided by the COOPI procedures and the country regulations.
- Supervise the preparation and periodic updating of the salary scale and regulations for local staff.
- Supervise the fulfillment of the contractual obligations by the contracted personnel, as well as the registration of work days, vacations and permits, as provided by the internal regulations and the contracts signed between the parties.
- Support the Country Coordinator in the preparation of the Country regulation and security protocols and ensure that they are applied in a timely manner.
Desired profile
Requirements Needed
- Professional studies (minimum degree, desirable postgraduate or master) in Economic Sciences, Business Administration, Management of non-profit and / or related entities.
- Demonstrable experience of minus 5 years in administration of INGOs and / or companies abroad.
- Experience in International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and / or related.
- Previous experiences with procedures for managing institutional donor funds ECHO, DEVCO, USAID, UN agencies and private sector.
- Verifiable experience in handling purchasing systems and logistics.
- Experience in security management and institutional risks.
- Inter-institutional and inter-agency coordination capacities (donors).
- Written and oral negotiation powers.
- Excellent capacity for teamwork, face-to-face and remotely.
- Demonstrable experience in team management and supervision of local partners.
- Ability to work in emergencies and under pressure, as well as in contexts with high complexities.
- Interest, availability and work experience in multicultural environments and with multidisciplinary teams.
- Flexibility, adaptability and availability to move to the interior of the country.
- Ability to work autonomously (organization, work planning, analytical development, synthesis).
- Respect for the Vision and Mission of COOPI and its charter of values.
- Motivation, honesty, pro-active and decisive attitude, common sense, discretion.
- Capacities in process systematization and preparation of documents and reports.
- Languages: Spanish and English.
- Management of computer tools (Microsoft Windows operating system) and office tools (Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
Desirable
- Work experience and knowledge of internal COOPI procedures.
- Previous work experience in the country and in the region.
- Consortium work experience.
- Languages: desirable Italian.
COOPI reserves the right to close a recruitment before the announcement deadline. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Interviews will be conducted continuously and the vacancy will be closed when filled. Thank you for your understanding.
COOPI Cooperazione Internazionale is a secular and independent NGO, founded in Milan in 1965. It carries out development projects to contribute to the fight against poverty in particularly degraded areas and emergency programs to support people affected by natural disasters or conflicts. COOPI is currently present in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean.