The IUCN’s Regional Office for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean is seeking Finance and administration Officer for an USAID-funded five year project entitled “Regional Coastal Biodiversity Project” for $14 million.

The Regional Coastal Biodiversity Project will focus on three binational areas of the Central American Northern (Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador)—Miskito Coast (Nicaragua-Honduras), Motagua River (Honduras-Guatemala), and Paz River (El Salvador-Guatemala)—to pilot coastal-marine biodiversity conservation strategies which can then be scaled up to the national and regional levels. The project will strive to use biodiversity conservation as a means to enhance regional economic integration – with strong emphasis on investments, leverage funding and synergies with the private sector-, security, stability, and governance

The USAID’s Regional Coastal Biodiversity Project will contribute to conserving biodiversity in coastal-marine ecosystems and their associated upland ecosystems in Central America in order to provide human wellbeing benefits for current and future generations. The overarching program objective will be achieved through four cross-cutting strategies: better science, climate-smart biocommerce, improved governance mechanisms, and adaptation-based mitigation to global climate change. The project will reduce threats to mangroves and other coastal wetlands, seagrass beds, and coral reefs by reducing: overexploitation of fisheries (Result 1), habitat change primarily focused on mangrove conversion (Result 2) and land-based pollution (Result 3), and global climate change (Result 4).

The program will be run from San Salvador and will have the support from IUCN national offices in Guatemala and Honduras, as well as from IUCN and GOAL regional offices (San Jose, Costa Rica and Tegucigalpa respectively). The project will have field operating offices in Puerto Barrios (Guatemala), Puerto Lempira (Honduras) and San Francisco Menendez (El Salvador).

The members of the RCBP consortium include International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN, prime recipient), GOAL, Coastal Resources Center of University of Rhode Island (CRC/URI), Institute of Natural Resources, Environment and Sustainable Development of the University of the Autonomous Regions of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast (IREMADES/URACCAN, Nicaragua), Agency for the Development of the Mosquitia (MOPAWI, Honduras), Regional Environmental Documentation and Interpretation Center (CREDIA, Honduras), Defenders of Nature Foundation (FDN, Guatemala), Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Association (ARCAS, Guatemala), and Salvadoran Ecological Unit (UNES, El Salvador).

The position will be responsible for the overall financial, accounting and administrative management of the project, the implementation of administrative measures, accounting-financial security, manuals of procedures, use of online registration and control tools. He/she will be responsible for the application of the IUCN and USAID administrative-financial and policy manuals as appropriate; the formulation and follow up, in coordination with the partners and members of the Project Team and the National Offices in Guatemala and Honduras and the IUCN Regional, of annual budgets, periodic financial, narrative and statistical reports. He/she will be based in El Salvador where the project office is located As Finance administrative position, the candidate should respond funtunctionally to the Regional Hub of Finance-administration.

Specifically, the Finance and Administration Officer will have responsibilities which include, but are not limited to the following:

PROJECT RESPONSABILITIES
•Finance and accounting, administration, including maintaining project financial and accounting records;
•Preparing forecasts of expenditures and cash flow needs and keeping them up-to-date
•Ensuring procurement processes of goods and services, review of quotes, and preparation of purchase orders according to USAID and IUCN policies;
•Preparation and review of agreements (implementing partners and consultancies), ensuring effective tracking and financial oversight of these contracts.
•Overview of the small grant financial implementation and monitoring in coordination with IUCN´s Regional and National offices.
•Maintenance of master agreement files
•Coordinate and monitoring of security procedures by staff.
•Reviewing and maintaining timesheet and payroll records timely according to IUCN policies.
•Ensuring proper application of IUCN personnel policies to ensure compliance with local law as well as USAID procedures.
•Assistance with due diligence assessments.
•Assisting and training project managers in the preparation of budgets for individual grants and contracts, and training to implementing partners as needed.
•Developing of project annual budgets , and submitting monthly, quarterly and annual financial reports in compliance with the USAID and IUCN requirements, including both narrative and statistical reports; set-up in central finance systems.
•Preparation of committed and requested financial reports, in accordance with the specific donor requirements.
•Overseeing the use of office equipment (including IT and communications equipment), office supplies, and other goods and services needed and used.

GENERAL RESPONSABILITIES

•Deadlines compliance
•To inform and advise, as needed to the Hub of Finance any issue regarding finances and/or internal control weakness.
•She/he will be working in close coordination with IUCN Regional Financial and administrative Hub and National offices in Guatemala and Honduras.
•Monitoring, follow up and training to Consortium partners and local implementing partners of the Project will be needed.
•She/he will be the financial and administrative focal point for local grantees on award administration and financial issues
•Assists Country Offices in response and preparation of audits. S/he is responsible for tracking the resolution of action items detailed in audit response