Background:
Lumos is an international children’s charity founded in 2005 by children’s author J.K. Rowling to end the harmful practice of institutionalisation of children. Lumos’ mission is to fight for every child’s right to a family by transforming care systems around the world. Our vision is for all children to grow up in safe and loving families.
Despite clear evidence of the harms of institutionalisation, an estimated 5.4 million children worldwide continue to live in institutions. Separated from their families and communities, these children are deprived of the love, attention and opportunities they need to thrive. We’ve made important progress in closing harmful institutions and reuniting children with their families. And where children are unable to live with their birth families, we promote alternative family-based care, such as kinship care and quality foster care. Thanks to our tireless efforts alongside many other champions of care reform, the harms of institutionalisation are now more widely understood. A global movement is underway and the UN, the EU and some large development agencies have joined individual countries in pledging to change how they care for vulnerable children. We are committed to ensuring that global policy commitments are translated into local action, leading to sustainable change for vulnerable children.
Over the past 15 years Lumos has worked directly in different countries around the world to demonstrate that it is possible to change systems of care and fulfil children’s rights. Building on our heritage and direct experience of systems reform, our new strategy focuses on sharing learning with others to reach more children and amplify the impacts of our work on children’s lives. Our new strategy has three priorities:

Building Global Expertise: We’ll use our knowledge and experience to support those responsible for reforming care systems in their own countries. This will include providing technical support, evidence and guidance to help design and run better care systems, as well as learning exchanges where they can share experiences and challenges.

Catalysing Change: we’ll use evidence to motivate and press governments to reform the way they care for children. This will involve leading targeted research and advocacy campaigns to identify and tackle the drivers of institutionalisation, promoting accountability by tracking and highlighting progress, and influencing international funding, programmes and policy.

Demonstrating & Innovating: Building on our heritage of successful programmes showing how care systems can be reformed, we’ll use what we’ve learnt in the past to support partners with their own reform efforts. Over the next two years, as we complete our current country demonstration work in Eastern Europe, we’ll identify programmes in new regions – building expertise and evidence of what good care reform looks like in new and challenging contexts, particularly for those children that typically get left behind.

Building Enduring Systems to end Trafficking (BEST)

BEST is a four-year programme designed to support a major acceleration of the Haitian government and civil society’s efforts to deliver transformative progress on the crime of human trafficking, with a focus on child trafficking.

In partnership with USAID, this nationwide project intends to meet the needs of victims of child trafficking, protect children at risk of trafficking, and work towards creating an environment in Haiti in which trafficking in persons is consigned to the past. It will lead to a notable reduction in the large number of children who have been placed in institutions and domestic servitude (restavek).

Momentum for change, including anti-trafficking legislation in 2014 and the creation of The National Committee for the Fight against Trafficking in Persons (NCTC), exists in Haiti. Political leadership has emerged that sees the urgency of these issues. This important progress now needs a deep institutional and societal response that aligns a wide variety of government and civil society institutions, mobilizes local, regional, national and international partners, and establishes mechanisms for tackling these issues along the entire spectrum from prevention to response.

The BEST programme aims to support the Haitian government to develop a robust and efficient multi-agency response, embedded in government agencies and the justice system, that coordinates national and local-level efforts, with support from an engaged civil society sector, private sector, and other interests.

Lumos partners with two key sub-recipients: the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ) which already has been working in Haiti to build judicial capacity and increase awareness of the 2014 Counter Trafficking in Persons (C-TIP) law; and Catholic Relief Services (CRS), which is connected with a strong network of local NGOs, civil society organizations and faith-based organizations.

The programme aims to strengthen national response and capacity to tackling trafficking, while ensuring that the state-led response is effectively coordinated and embedded at the grassroots level. In addition to strengthening the national response, the programme focuses on three inter-connected strategic objectives:

1. Behaviour change communications to increase public awareness of the dangers, legal consequences, and various forms of trafficking in human beings;
2. Develop and implement victim-centred services to provide protection and assistance to trafficked persons at the national and departmental levels;
3. Support the National Counter-Trafficking Committee (NCTC), IBESR, and other government, civil society and international partners to effectively coordinate and deliver C-TIP activities.

Job purpose:
Provide a proactive, timely and relevant finance service to the Haiti technical and operations teams, while maintaining proper accounting records. Ensure full compliance with local laws and Lumos and donor policies and procedures. Management and financial accounting reports are provided to regional and head office staff as laid down in the reporting timetable and to be part of the Senior Management Team of the country team.

Job objectives:
1. Financial Accounting
• Ensure financial transactions are entered into Sun Systems accurately and on a timely basis
• Maintain the accuracy and integrity of the finance database, including the completion of approved monthly reconciliations of all balance sheet accounts.
• Supply the payroll provider with all monthly payroll data and check that the payroll is correct and complete. Securely maintain payroll data.
• Ensure that a strong internal control environment is maintained and take action to address any perceived weaknesses.
• Submit the monthly report to the regional and head offices in line with the Lumos monthly reporting checklist and timetable
2. Management Accounting
• Assist budget holders with the investigation and resolution of variances in the monthly management accounts, including assisting budget holder to identify the corrective action to be taken.
• Ensure project financial reports for donor and partners are prepared according to donor requirements; submit reports to the regional office for review prior to submitting to the donor.
• Assist the Country Manager in the preparation of annual budgets and cashflow projections for the Haiti office.
• Liaise with Lumos partners and sub-grantees on all project finance matters and ensure that all financial documentation is complete and submitted on time.
• Provide financial assistance and training of non-finance staff and associates as required.
• Assist the on the grant management as required on all Haiti grants.

3. Cash management
• Manage cash withdrawals and deposits to the Haiti bank accounts and liaise with the banks to resolve any issues as soon as they arise.
• Adhere to the Finance Manual process for issuing, tracking and settlement of cash advances.
• Proactively manage the Haiti cashflows to maintain sufficient funds in the bank at all times.
• Securely maintain and operate a petty cash float in the Haiti office.
• Work with the Country and HQ Crisis Management Team in emergency situations.
4. Operations
• Oversee the procurement of goods and services according to the Lumos Procurement Policy and applicable donor regulations.
• Securely maintain logically filed finance and procurement documentation to provide a clear audit trail for all finance vouchers.
• Any other duties requested by the Chief of Party, the DCOP-operations or the Lumos Director of Finance.

Scope:
• Manage all aspects of Lumos Haiti’s finances and compliance with policies, laws and regulations and financial reporting.
• As the local finance expert, provide clear guidance to all Lumos staff and associates on best practice and compliance with all applicable financial policies and regulations.
• Maintain effective internal and external communications with all stakeholders in the Haiti operations.

Skills:

• Good oral and written English communication skills.
• Cross-cultural sensitivity, flexible worldview, emotional maturity and physical stamina.
• Ability to work in and contribute to a team working environment.
• Commitment to Lumos’ core values and culture.

Knowledge:

• Qualified Accountant
• Strong and demonstrated knowledge of accounting principles, financial systems, and grant accounting
• Thorough knowledge of MS Office and computerised accounting systems
• Sun Systems and Q&A user is desirable

Experience:

• At least 3 years in a financial management role with the sector.
• Grants management with international donors
• Previous experience of staff supervision is desirable
• USAID grant experience is desirable

Safeguarding statement (G1/G2/G3)

Lumos recognises that the rights of safety and security are aligned with its core mission of ending institutionalisation. Effective and robust safeguarding sit at the heart of our mission and values, and accordingly, Lumos is committed to ensuring the safety and protection of children and vulnerable adults in all its work. We expect all staff, associates and volunteers to share this commitment. Lumos will carefully screen all applicants and any offers of employment are subject to appropriate employment and background checks, as well as suitable references from previous employers

Lumos is committed to ensuring the safety and protection of children and adults at risk in all of our work. All staff and associates must:
• Carry out all duties with an awareness and understanding of the Safeguarding requirements within the area of responsibility.
• Ensure work complies with all safeguarding policies and procedures that apply to the role.
• Ensure the that their behaviours and actions support the safeguarding of children, young people and adults at risk as appropriate.

Safety and Security Statement
Lumos employees may be required to work or travel in high-risk countries or locations. The physical safety of our staff is a primary concern for Lumos and processes have been put in place to manage this risk. All staff must comply with relevant policies and procedures and attend compulsory security training as required.

EDI Statement
Lumos is wholly committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and against all forms of discrimination.
We are committed to creating and sustaining a positive working environment that encourages, supports and gives a voice to all, so that we can best support the children we serve. We must ensure that all staff are equally valued, included, empowered and respected across the organisation and in everything we do.
Lumos is fundamentally built on diverse, multi-national and multi-cultural teams. This is something we cherish as a key strength and an integral part of our identity. Our organisation values and celebrates the diversity, culture and experience of each member of staff, provides equality of care and support to everyone.
We pledge to listen carefully, to educate ourselves continually, to promote open dialogue, and to seek out and deal with discrimination and prejudice wherever it occurs in Lumos.

Lumos is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and criminal records checks.

Resume, copies of diplomas and certificates, cover letter