Finance Officer (Short-term contract)

About ILGA-Europe

ILGA-Europe is a driving force for political, legal and social change at European and Central Asian level. Our vision is of a world where dignity, freedoms and full enjoyment of human rights are protected and ensured to everyone regardless of their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics. ILGA-Europe are comprised of over 700 member organisations throughout the European and Central Asian Regions. From Iceland to Turkey and Kyrgyzstan to Malta, we work together with extraordinary activists to bring about real change for LGBTI people across Europe.

Our staff team based in Brussels supports activists in different countries, connects key change actors at European and national levels, creates space to bring knowledge and expertise together and to identify effective change strategies with the European and Central Asian LGBTI movement. Therefore, at ILGA-Europe, we value and encourage our employees. We understand that the movement is only as strong at its people. And we do our best to ensure our people remain our greatest asset. We offer a strong remuneration package, including pension payments, insurance plans, luncheon vouchers, trainings and more. We look forward to you joining our team!

Our commitment to being an equal opportunity employer

As an organisation working for the benefit of the LGBTI movement in Europe and Central Asia in all its diversity, we value the knowledge and expertise that come with lived experiences of injustice and systemic oppression. We particularly welcome applications from trans, gender non-conforming and non-binary individuals, and those targeted by racism, classism and disablism.

We are also keenly aware of the barriers faced by many people when applying for jobs, especially those experienced by members of under-represented groups and related to disability, ethnicity or national origin, colour, race, language, creed, gender, marital status, domestic circumstances, age, HIV status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, sex characteristics, among others.

We do all within our power to remove as many of these barriers in our day-to-day operations and in our employment practices. Unfortunately, due to the short-term nature of this contract and the start date, exceptionally we are not able to sponsor work permits for this position.

We are committed to making reasonable adjustments and providing various kinds of support. Please see the information about our employment package and benefits at the end of this advertisement for specific measures we’ve put in place to fill some of the gaps caused by oppressions. Beyond these, we daily strive to maintain an organisational culture that is aware and sensitive to marginalisation and exclusions and their impact on staff.

What are the main job functions of the Finance Officer

As Finance Officer, you will be responsible for providing financial and administrative clerical services to the organisation, and your objective will be to ensure that all information concerning financial transactions are recorded in an accurate and timely manner. You will also be in charge of tracking the costs, ensuring eligibility and reporting on some of ILGA-Europe’s activities and will be responsible for elements of internal controls, incl. reimbursements for the Annual Conference.

At ILGA-Europe we value creative and inclusive approaches to work and management, working across teams and staff participation at all levels in the organisation. While you will report to the Finance Director, you will also work collaboratively with your colleagues and external partners, and you will be accountable for the achievement of agreed work plans and priorities.

Your main responsibilities will be spread between two main areas of work:

Compliance, financial operations and reporting

To assist with ensuring that ILGA-Europe complies with rules and regulations of our institutional funders and overall financial management principles: carrying out financial operations and controlling/reviewing financial documents, supporting the Finance team with year-end reconciliations and auditing processes, compiling periodical reporting and supporting documents. This will also include assisting with administration and processing of expense reports and invoices, compiling documentation (financial information, expenses, deliverables), liaising with service providers and consultants when needed.
To assist with book-keeping and record-keeping, incl. recording sales, purchases and cash movements in accounting software (Winbooks), and performing book-keeping reconciliations and checks.
To assist with the procurement processes: preparing and reviewing contracts, including periodical reconciliations, tracking and controlling expenditures, expense verifications and report preparation, to ensure compliance with applicable regulations.

Administration and operational support:

To support the Annual Conference organisation through managing participant related processes, including communication, travel and accommodation booking, rooming lists, registration, reimbursements, VAT submissions, and any other related activities.
To support the Annual Conference plan implementation, through liaising with the service providers and venue to ensure all needs are met promptly, managing speakers’ arrangements, production of plenaries and panels, analysing conference evaluation forms and reporting, and other related activities.
To assist the Finance team with budgeting and planning to ensure cost-efficiency, compliance with grantor rules and regulations, and high-quality standards across all meetings and events coordinated by ILGA-Europe.

Please see the Job Description for a more detailed overview of the role.

What skills, knowledge and abilities are we looking for?

At ILGA-Europe we understand that not all individuals have the same opportunities to engage in paid work within the LGBTI movement, and value the experience brought in from other areas of work and life. To fit this role well, you should be strongly committed to working for human rights and equality, and have competencies and demonstrated experience in:

Processing and verifying financial documents, specifically to ensure that they fulfil financial requirements, and related financial administrative tasks.
Implementing basic internal control processes and procedures.
Building relationships and working with other people, both within the ILGA-Europe team and externally, particularly in the context of ensuring joint work complies with financial rules and regulations.

Important competences, experience and other requirements are:

Ability to maintain a high level of accuracy in preparing and processing financial information
Ability to carry out mathematical calculations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, percentages, fractions, decimals, proportions, ratios, means, weighted means, median, mode), for example in the context of translations of different currencies.
Ability to use Microsoft Excel in the context of financial budgeting and execution, including comparing sets of data, formatting and conditional formatting, graphs and charts, extensions of formulae and blocking, mathematical functions (sum, sumif, sumifs, subtotal, multiply and similar), statistical functions (countif, countifs and similar), basic text and logical functions.
Ability to understand formal documents outlining rules and regulations and apply these rules across different types of financial documents (contracts, invoices, forms and templates, etc.).
Ability to notice errors and issues, take initiative, to plan and work independently, while being a strong and dependable team player; ability to prioritise multiple tasks and meet deadlines.
Ability to work as part of a diverse team, to maintain positive working relationships, and to ensure respect of equality and diversity into your everyday work.
Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in English (written and spoken); capacity to explain complex issues simply, concisely and clearly for diverse audiences.
Willingness to relocate to Brussels and to travel in Europe. The regular working week is Monday to Friday but on occasion travel and work during weekends will be required.

Please note that due to the short duration of the contract and the expected start date, ILGA-Europe will not be able to sponsor a work permit for this position for non-EU citizens.

Desirable additional experience/knowledge includes:

Experience of working with accounting software and knowledge of basic bookkeeping (desirable)
Developing and implementing financial procedures and policies (desirable)
Experience of working in an NGO or grant-making organisation (desirable)
Knowledge and experience of working with the LGBTI movement or other vulnerable groups, and understanding of the impact of these marginalisations on organisational capacity (desirable)
Experience of working with databases (desirable)

The employment package

Temporary contract (6 months) for the period August 2024 – January 2025.

Salary scale:

Officer level: 56 815 € per year (pro-rated), the expected net monthly starting salary is approx. 2 730 €.

This annual salary is comprised of 12 months remuneration plus additional holiday pay paid out as of the second year of employment or, in this case, at the end of the 6 month contract.

The position is subject to a possible extension after the initial 6 months, pending availability of funding. In case of extension of the contract, the first 6 months will be taken into account for the annual increase of remuneration according to the ILGA-Europe salary scale.

This is a full-time position. The working week is 37.5 hours (5 days of 7.5h). Every staff member is expected to work from the office at least 3 days a week.

ILGA-Europe’s employment package includes:

20 days of paid leave per year (pro-rated) and an additional 5 days in December,
fair measures to ensure recovery of extra hours worked during busy periods,
hospitalisation and ambulatory health insurance (which cover the majority of LGBTI-specific care),
a policy supporting employees who transition during employment,
‘family friendly’ policies,
public transport in Brussels or indemnification of bicycle costs,
additional 50 € per month contribution to costs of home-working,
luncheon vouchers worth approx. 160 € for a full month worked,
financial support for relocation to Brussels, where applicable,
financial support for professional development (trainings, coaching and other learning opportunities enabling staff to grow in their positions).

As a workplace, ILGA-Europe strives to be flexible and responsive to employee needs, balancing that with the needs of the wider team and those of the LGBTI movement. We offer flexible working hours and possibility to partially work from home, though the office in Brussels will be your main location of work. We understand that relocation may be difficult and will try to adjust as much as possible to your capacities in this regard. Given the nature of the work, you will not however be able to start your employment with ILGA-Europe entirely remotely (from another country of residence).

Applications

Deadline to send applications: Sunday, July 21th, 2024 (23:59 CEST). Please submit an electronic version of the application form by e-mail to: recruitment@ilga-europe.org.

The application form is available below. Please do not submit any other documents as these will not be reviewed.

Job description Download

Application pack Download