Overview

BirdLife Europe and Central Asia (ECA) is looking for a dynamic, passionate and committed finance professional to support BirdLife Partners in Finances.

BirdLife ECA is a Partnership of 48 national conservation organisations and a leader in bird conservation. Our unique local to global approach enables us to deliver high impact and long term conservation for the benefit of nature and people.

BirdLife ECA is one of the six regional Secretariats that compose BirdLife International, the global authority on the status of bird species. Based in Brussels, it supports the European and Central Asian Partnership and is present in 47 countries including all EU Member States.

With more than 4.100 staff in Europe, 2 million members and tens of thousands of skilled volunteers, BirdLife Europe and Central Asia, together with its national Partners, owns or manages more than 6,000 nature sites totalling 320 000 hectares.

In Brussels, the BirdLife ECA team works mainly on EU policy issues and aims at improving EU legislation relating to the environment and biodiversity.

1 OVERALL PURPOSE OF THE JOB

The Finance Officer is responsible for maintaining financial, accounting, administrative and statutory services in order to meet legislative requirements under the supervision of the HR and Admin Finance Manager. The Officer assists the Regional Director in decision-making by providing timely and accurate financial information.

2 DUTIES

  1. Management of the financial system in order to ensure that the European and Central Asian division’s finances are maintained in an accurate and timely manner. This includes encoding invoices, carrying out bank payments and reconciliations, update cash management, staff expenses, verification of incoming payments, financial excerpts, operating the accounting system;
  2. Provision of financial information to senior managers in support of decision-making, including preparation and monitoring of budgets and financial reports together with relevant staff;
  3. Preparation of Financial Reports to the ECA Committee and Board of Directors of Stichting BirdLife Europe under the supervision of the HR Admin and Finance Manager;
  4. Support to Regional Director to implement BirdLife Europe financial policies and procedures, in compliance with both Belgian and European legislation and BirdLife International policies.
  5. Ensure monthly closing of books and the necessary reconciliations, as well as monthly reporting to the Finance and administration department at headquarters in Cambridge, UK;
  6. Perform administrative and contractual checks and controls, ensuring compliance with Belgian and European laws, including the statutes of the Association, under direction of the Regional Director;
  7. Maintain relations with banks and external consultants on all financial matters;
  8. Work closely with all levels of staff to assist their information needs, including project balances for those managing projects.

3 QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED

– A university degree in business or business-related fields such as business administration, finance or accounting;

– At least five years of relevant professional experience after completion of the university studies, preferably in the not-for-profit sector;

– Good knowledge of Belgian and EU financial regulations;

– Strong command of MS Office and experience with accounting software (Winbooks);

– Very good command of English and French;

– Strong sense of duty and responsibility;

– Ability to work in multinational and multicultural environment;

– Strong analytical and problem solving skills;

– Accuracy and able to work in an independent way;

– Good interpersonal, networking and team working skills with the ability to collaborate with, motivate and advise;

– Flexibility and adaptability (multiple assignments, working under pressure, responsiveness to requests, follow-up of decisions);

– Appreciation of cross-cultural sensitivities with the ability to exercise discretion and show sound judgement;

– Strong self-motivation and curiosity;

– Problem solving attitude and ability to resolve potential conflicts.

5 PERSONAL AND SOCIAL SKILLS

Good team work skills, ability to work independently and take initiatives. Ability to work in an International environment.

Computer literacy

Command of Microsoft Office package and main accounting software.

Languages

Excellent French – Good written English. Other EU languages will be an asset.

6 WHAT WE OFFER

Duration: 1 year (renewable) Belgian contract

Working hours: full-time

Salary range 3000 to 3200EUR/month and benefits 

7 HOW TO APPLY

Please submit a full CV and a comprehensive cover letter (all in English) setting out your reasons for applying for the post and outlining the qualifications experience, knowledge and skills that you feel you can bring to the role to: recruitment.europe@birdlife.org

Please include in the email subject: Finance Officer.

Closing date: 15 September 2018 at midnight CET. Please consider that applications received after the closing date will be automatically discarded.

8 SHORTLISTING AND INTERVIEWS

Date of the interview: the 1st week of October.

Shortlisting is based on CV and cover letter. Successful candidates will be asked to attend face to face interviews. A possibility of remote interview may be offered to candidates from abroad.

Please note that due to the large number of expected applications only successful candidates will be contacted.