Location Edinburgh

Position Status Full-time, permanent

Salary Level Market Competitive plus benefits, depending on experience

Reports to Senior Commercial Finance Analyst, Mercy Corps Europe

Travel Occasional

Closing Date 11 January 2021

Candidates must have the right to work in The UK at the time of appointment.

Applications will be considered with a CV and cover letter.

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.

Mercy Corps Europe (MCE) has grown rapidly both in terms of the volume of activity and its complexity. With offices in Edinburgh, London and The Hague, we now attract over £124m in income annually, and employ more than 100 domestic and expatriate field team members. The breadth and impact of our programmes makes Mercy Corps a unique and truly rewarding place to work. Our teams are proud of what we achieve in the field and we are always looking for talented individuals who share our passion and commitment.

Position Summary

Mercy Corps Europe has adopted an ambitious growth strategy that seeks to build more strategic partnerships with bilateral and multilateral donor agencies to increase our income, influence, and programmatic impact. As the agency expands, we are exploring new partnerships and funding opportunities, and commercial contracts are one of these areas of focus. The Commercial Finance Analyst (CFA) sits within the International Finance team and will be responsible for the financial reporting and monitoring associated with the contracts portfolio, both internally within MCE and externally to the donor. This will include involvement in pre-positioning and bid development processes, as well as support to the delivery and implementation of secured contracts. The CFA will provide critical support in the areas of financial monitoring and reporting, as well as budget management throughout the duration of the contract implementation. They will work with colleagues in the International Finance, Programmes, Compliance and New Initiatives teams, as well as with in-country teams.

Essential Job Responsibilities

• Bid Pre-positioning
• Tracking and Approvals: Support the team in tracking new opportunities and securing internal approvals to pursue them, particularly through robust cash flow analysis and risk modelling.
• Develop draft budgets: Work with relevant headquarters and in-country teams to support the development of draft budgets and commercial offerings at the pre-positioning stage.
• Bid Development
• Budget development: Manage and support the development of Commercial Tenders, including supporting in-country teams with the development of internal budgets, as well as translation into donor format (e.g. rolling up internal costs into externally-presented fee rates). Work with relevant HQ teams and in-country teams to ensure all bids are both financially competitive and viable.
• Commercial narrative: Assist with the inputs required for the narrative sections of a Commercial Tender, including financial plans, financial methodologies, value for money, etc.
• Bid development workshops
• Where appropriate, participate in bid development workshops, or consortia meetings - either face-to-face or through conference calls.
• Where required, provide support to potential subcontractors in the bid development stage to help them understand the contract modality and its impact on budgeting
• Contract Implementation and Management
• Financial monitoring: Support relevant HQ and in-country teams in the delivery of contracts, with a focus on monitoring the financial position, and proactively and adaptively planning to ensure the commercial success of a given contract.
• Budget Management:
• On award of a contract, design and develop internal coded budget to meet contract needs.
• Using financial system reporting tools, design and construct Budget versus Actual reports suitable for all stakeholders.
• Provide ongoing monitoring of contracts through production and analysis of monthly Budget versus Actual reports (both internal & external) to strict deadlines ensuring that all issues are highlighted and promptly communicated to stakeholders.
• Financial Reporting: Ensure that regular donor financial reports and monthly invoices, including all supporting documentation, are accurate and submitted to the donor on time. Collate and review financial inputs from MC, subcontractors and consortium partners and ensure that these are compliant and eligible.
• Audit Assistance: Support the field with contract, donor-specific audits, including providing requested information and responses to audit queries and management letters.
• Analysis: Where appropriate, assist with the development of KPIs and guide reporting requirements, in order to drive operational performance.
• Contract Monitoring: Participate, when required, in regular contract monitoring meetings.
• Field visits: Where necessary, undertake field visits to train and support implementation teams, which also might include the training of subcontractors.
• General: Provide ad-hoc support, both at HQ and Field level, on all contract administration and finance matters when required.

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Knowledge and Experience

• Degree in Accounting or Finance, part-qualified accountant or qualified by experience in a relevant field is required.
• Detailed understanding of financial modelling, budgeting and management reporting is required.
• Proficiency with MS Office software is required (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) - with an advanced proficiency in Excel required
• Experience of computerised accountancy packages is required.
• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written business English, with proficiency in a relevant second language considered an advantage.
• Able to communicate clearly to staff in different functions across the agency.
• Experience in the humanitarian or development aid sector would be beneficial.

Success Factors

• Demonstrates a clear empathy with the organisation's aims and values.
• Highly analytical, with strong attention to detail.
• Able to build effective and lasting relationships with colleagues and external partners.
• Able to communicate clearly both verbally and in writing to staff in different functions across the agency.
• Excellent organisational, planning and time management skills.
• A self-starter - able to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Able to prioritise in a fast-changing environment and to work well under pressure.

Living/Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Edinburgh and may require occasional travel to areas with limited access to medical facilities and amenities.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

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, color, 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.