For Oxfam Pilipinas

Philippine Nationals Only

Oxfam is a global movement of people working together to end the injustice of poverty.

About Oxfam Pilipinas

We seek lasting change. We at Oxfam Pilipinas dream and work for a future where Filipinos are free from poverty. For more than 30 years, serving in a country where close to 27 million now live in poverty, we have relied on the power of people to carry out programs designed to achieve our shared vision. Central to our strategy is working with partners to transform the unequal power relations, structures, norms, and values that cause poverty and inequality, including gender-based violence and injustice.

We strive to apply a feminist lens to all our analyses and actions. We seek to save lives, provide access to services, and reduce the impact of disasters, particularly on the most vulnerable and disadvantaged. We belong to the larger Oxfam family of over 20 organizations networked with partners and grassroots communities in all corners of the globe. We are part of a global movement for genuine change, seeking to rid the world of the scourge of poverty, with gender justice at the core of what we do.

Scope of Work and Key Responsibilities

Financial Governance, Internal Controls and Risk Management

The Consultant will:

• Review the adequacy and effectiveness of existing financial policies, procedures, systems and internal controls.
• Assess whether financial controls are appropriately designed, documented, understood and consistently applied.
• Identify significant gaps, weaknesses and emerging risks within the financial management environment.
• Assess risks relating to fraud, misuse of resources, wastage, leakage, non-compliance and inappropriate expenditure and overall partner management.
• Recommend appropriate control measures and improvements to mitigate identified risks.
• Monitor management's implementation of agreed corrective actions relating to significant financial control weaknesses.
• Advise management on appropriate segregation of duties, authorization controls, financial accountability and other key control principles.
• Identify opportunities to simplify or improve finance processes while maintaining appropriate levels of control.
• Escalate significant financial control weaknesses or risks to the appropriate level of management and/or governance.

The Consultant will not routinely execute transactional controls that are the responsibility of finance or operations staff.

Budgeting, Forecasting and Financial Analysis

The Consultant will:

• Provide technical oversight and guidance in the preparation of the organization's annual budget.
• Review budget assumptions, projections, allocations and underlying financial assumptions.
• Support management and budget holders in understanding their financial responsibilities.
• Review periodic budget-versus-actual performance and significant variances.
• Analyze financial trends and identify emerging financial risks and opportunities.
• Provide recommendations regarding corrective action and resource utilization.
• Develop or improve appropriate financial analysis and management reporting tools.
• Provide forward-looking financial analysis to support management decision-making and organizational planning.

Routine budget monitoring and transaction-level budget updates are the responsibility of designated staff.

Donor Financial Management and Compliance

The Consultant will:

• Review donor agreements and contracts from a financial management perspective.
• Identify key financial obligations, restrictions, reporting requirements, cost eligibility provisions and financial risks.
• Review donor financial reports prior to submission, as required, to assess completeness, accuracy, consistency and compliance.
• Verify that donor financial reporting is appropriately reconciled with organizational accounting records and relevant funding information.
• Review significant donor budget variances and financial compliance issues.
• Review restricted funding balances and identify significant or unusual movements requiring management attention.
• Review restricted income receivable/debtor balances and recommend appropriate action to address overdue or unresolved balances.
• Provide financial advice on donor contract amendments, extensions, budget revisions and other changes affecting financial management.
• Support management in resolving significant donor financial queries and compliance issues.

Routine preparation and processing of donor financial reports are the responsibility of designated finance staff unless otherwise agreed.

Financial Reporting and Balance Sheet Oversight

The Consultant will:

• Review monthly, quarterly and year-end financial reports for completeness, accuracy and reasonableness.
• Review significant or unusual movements in income, expenditure, assets and liabilities.
• Review the status and quality of balance sheet reconciliations prepared by finance staff or outsourced accounting providers.
• Identify long-outstanding, unusual or unexplained balances requiring management action.
• Provide technical advice on appropriate corrective actions and accounting treatments.
• Support the review of year-end financial information and financial statements.
• Advise management on significant accounting and financial reporting issues.
• Ensure that financial reporting processes remain aligned with organizational, donor and statutory requirements.

The Consultant will not routinely prepare accounting entries, perform day-to-day reconciliations or maintain the accounting ledger.

Audit and Assurance

The Consultant will:

• Support management in preparing for statutory, external, internal, donor and other relevant audits.
• Review the adequacy and completeness of financial documentation and supporting schedules required for audit purposes.
• Provide technical support in responding to significant audit queries.
• Review finance-related audit findings and recommendations.
• Support management in developing corrective action plans in response to audit findings.
• Monitor the implementation of finance-related audit recommendations.
• Provide periodic updates to management on outstanding audit issues and associated risks.
• Advise management on appropriate corrective measures for significant audit findings.

The Consultant will not assume responsibility for routine document collection and preparation that should appropriately be undertaken by finance or administrative staff.

Financial Governance and Management Advisory

The Consultant will:

• Provide financial management advice to senior management on significant financial, operational and risk-related matters.
• Participate in relevant senior management and decision-making meetings, as requested.
• Provide financial analysis to support strategic and operational decisions.
• Advise management on the financial implications of major commitments, resource allocation decisions and organizational initiatives.
• Provide financial input to Board of Trustees and other governance discussions, where requested.
• Escalate material financial risks, compliance issues and control weaknesses to appropriate management and governance bodies.
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Finance Systems, Processes and Capacity Strengthening

The Consultant will:

• Identify opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of finance systems and processes.
• Review and recommend improvements to finance tools, templates, reporting mechanisms and workflows.
• Support documentation and updating of key finance procedures where required.
• Develop practical financial management tools and guidance materials where appropriate.
• Provide technical coaching and knowledge transfer to existing finance and relevant operations staff.
• Support management in establishing clear roles and responsibilities within the finance function.
• Identify priority areas requiring further strengthening by the incoming regular finance team.
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Transition and Handover

As this is an interim consultancy, the Consultant will place particular emphasis on ensuring an effective transition to the incoming regular finance team.

The Consultant will:

• Maintain a record of significant financial matters, risks, decisions and outstanding actions during the consultancy.
• Document key weaknesses and recommended improvements in financial systems and controls.
• Identify unresolved donor, audit, statutory and accounting matters requiring follow-up.
• Prepare a prioritized finance action plan for management and the incoming finance team.
• Conduct knowledge transfer sessions with relevant staff.
• Prepare a final Finance Transition and Handover Report summarizing the status of the finance function and priority actions for the succeeding team.

Key Deliverables

The Consultant is expected to deliver, at a minimum, the following:

Deliverable 1 – Initial Finance and Controls Assessment

A concise assessment of the organization's financial management environment, including:

• key financial risks;
• control weaknesses;
• donor compliance risks;
• reporting issues;
• statutory compliance matters;
• outstanding accounting/reconciliation issues; and
• priority recommendations.

Deliverable 2 – Financial Management Improvement Plan

A prioritized action plan identifying key improvements required in:

• financial controls;
• budgeting and forecasting;
• financial reporting;
• donor compliance;
• accounting processes;
• audit readiness; and
• finance systems and procedures.

Deliverable 3 – Periodic Financial Management Reviews

Periodic reports or management updates covering:

• financial performance;
• budget variances;
• cash and liquidity considerations;
• significant balance sheet issues;
• donor financial matters;
• compliance risks;
• control issues; and
• recommended management actions.

Deliverable 4 – Donor and Audit Oversight

Technical review and advisory support relating to:

• donor financial reports;
• donor budgets and amendments;
• restricted funding;
• audit requirements;
• audit findings; and
• corrective action implementation.

Deliverable 5 – Finance Transition and Handover Report

A final report containing:

• overall status of the finance function;
• significant financial risks;
• status of financial reporting;
• outstanding reconciliations and financial issues;
• donor compliance matters;
• statutory compliance matters;
• audit findings and outstanding actions;
• control improvements undertaken;
• outstanding recommendations; and
• priority actions for the incoming Finance team.

Required Qualifications and Experiences

The successful Consultant should have:

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Management or a related field.
• A professional accounting qualification (e.g., CPA or equivalent) is highly desirable.

Professional Experience

• At least 8–10 years of relevant experience in financial management, accounting, audit or financial control.
• Demonstrated experience in senior or managerial-level financial management roles.
• Experience working with nonprofit, development, humanitarian or international organizations is highly desirable.
• Experience managing donor-funded projects and/or institutional donor requirements.
• Demonstrated experience in financial controls, risk management, budgeting, forecasting and financial analysis.
• Experience working with external auditors, internal auditors and/or statutory regulators.
• Knowledge of Philippine accounting, taxation and statutory compliance requirements.
• Experience in reviewing donor contracts, budgets and financial reports.
• Experience in strengthening financial systems, policies and internal controls.

Technical Competencies

The Consultant should demonstrate strong knowledge of:

• financial management and accounting principles;
• budgeting and financial forecasting;
• financial analysis and management reporting;
• internal controls and risk management;
• donor financial management;
• grant financial compliance;
• audit and assurance;
• Philippine statutory and tax requirements;
• financial policies and procedures; and
• accounting and financial management systems.

Core Competencies

The Consultant should demonstrate:

• strong analytical and problem-solving skills;
• high level of integrity and professional judgment;
• strong communication and interpersonal skills;
• ability to work independently and exercise sound judgment;
• ability to work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders;
• ability to communicate complex financial issues in a clear and practical manner;
• strong organizational and prioritization skills; and
• commitment to accountability, transparency and responsible stewardship of resources.

Organizational Values

• Equality -  We believe everyone has the right to be treated fairly and to have the same rights and opportunities.

• Empowerment - We acknowledge and seek to expand people’s agency over their lives and the decisions that impact them.

• Solidarity -  We join hands, support, and collaborate in working towards a just and sustainable world.

• Inclusiveness – We are open to everyone and embrace diversity. We believe everyone has a contribution to make, regardless of visible and invisible differences.

• Accountability – Our purpose-driven, results-focused approach means we take responsibility for our actions and hold ourselves accountable. We believe that others should also be held accountable for their actions

• Courage - We speak truth to power and act with conviction on the justice of our causes

Our values and commitment to safeguarding

Oxfam is committed to preventing any type of unwanted behaviour at work including sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, lack of integrity and financial misconduct; and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. Oxfam expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment through our code of conduct. We place a high priority on ensuring that only those who share and demonstrate our values are recruited to work for us.

We are committed to ensuring diversity and gender equality within our organisation and encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply.

How to apply

Application must include the following:

• Curriculum Vitae, highlighting relevant qualifications and experience;
• Technical/consultancy proposal outlining the Consultant's understanding of the assignment and proposed approach;
• Proposed workplan and availability;
• Financial proposal/professional fee, including applicable taxes and other costs, as appropriate;
• At least [two/three] professional references; and
• Relevant examples of previous assignments involving financial management, internal controls, donor compliance, audit or nonprofit financial management.

Applicants may also submit their applications to ophrecruitment@oxfam.org.ph. Please use the email subject format: Position Applied For - Surname, First Name.

Note: All offers of consultancy will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening check.