Senior Manager, Financial and Operations

This project based in Mexico City seeks to support efforts with Mexico's government, private sector, and workers to enforce labor laws and ensure compliance with labor provisions of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

The Sr. Finance & Operations Manager (SFOM) will manage the project's financial, operational, and human resources needs. S/he will be responsible for (1) ensuring contractual requirements are met, based on DOL policies and procedures; (2) developing and implementing financial and operational procedures in compliance with Creative, DOL, and local law, policies and procedures; (3) providing financial and operational training and guidance to program staff and partners; and (4) helping to ensure compliance with local requirements related to maintaining in-country registration. The SFOM will also be responsible for the management of human resources, procurement, inventory, security, and information technology of the program, which may include delegation and oversight of some of these responsibilities.

Responsibilities
Finance:

• Responsible for daily accounting and financial management functions of the project, and ensures they are performed in compliance with internal and client policies and procedures.
• Responsible for the verification of procurement documentation and to ensure that those are compliant with internal and client's financial management guidelines.
• Review and process invoices in accordance with Creative accounting procedures and contract policies.
• Ensure that all accounting data is updated, reconciled, and fully supported with backup docs.
• Ensure that project expenses are coded to the right GL codes and posted into the accounting system in a timely manner.
• Prepare all balance sheet account reconciliations as part of the month end process in a timely manner.
• Prepare bank reconciliations on a monthly basis.
• Prepare monthly field expense reports, and with concurrence of the Project Director or her designee, report monthly expenses to HQ according to established HQ corporate deadlines.
• Prepare and process staff payroll, allowances, per-diems, and other reimbursements.
• Prepare budget versus actual analysis and report the variances to the Program Manager monthly.
• Participate in ongoing analysis, forecasting and review of project expenses.
• Prepare financial statements for local statutory audit purposes and other ad hoc reports that may be requested by local government authorities.
• Ensure proper tax withholding and timely reporting to the government and other stakeholders.
• Track and reconcile advances issued to staff and report any pending issues to the Program Manager.
• Supervise Operations and Finance Assistant, providing opportunities for growth and delegating tasks as appropriate.

Operations (including HR, Procurement, Security and IT-related tasks):
Operations and Procurement:

• Ensure streamlined operations systems in line with Creative and donor rules and regulations.
• Provide guidance and training to project staff regarding Creative policies and procedures.
• Manage all project inventory, including entering inventory into the Single Point system, conducting inventory spot checks and providing regular inventory reports.
• Ensure compliance with the project's File Management Plan, including that all files are properly maintained and organized in SharePoint.
• Manage all office facility management and office supply needs, including ordering supplies and office inventory, as needed.
• Oversee and coordinate local transportation and travel logistics.
• In coordination with HQ Procurement, establish, lead, and implement procurement processes and logistics to support activity implementation for the project, strictly following all rules and regulations including: Creative Procurement policies and procedures; FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulations); CFR (U.S. Code of Federal Regulations).
• Determine the most reasonable and expeditious process for procurement in compliance with Creative policies and procedures and USG regulations.
• Ensure procurement files comply with Creative's policies and procedures and uploaded into project database.

HR:

• Monitor local labor laws, social security, tax, and employment regulations, advising the Project Director and HQ HR of compliance risks as needed.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for employee relations matters, escalating disciplinary, grievance, or termination issues in accordance with established protocols.
• Manage employee personnel records confidentially and accurately in hard and soft copy.
• Prepare and administer employment agreements in accordance with local labor laws, including registrations with relevant institutions as required.
• Manage local benefits enrollment and serve as the primary point of contact for inquiries and related issues, ensuring timely resolution.
• Coordinate the performance evaluation process, with support from HQ HR and project leadership.
• Ensure timely submission of employee timesheets; track, reconcile, and report employee leave balances.
• Other tasks as assigned.

Security:

• Coordinate with HQ Security to manage, coordinate, and ensure compliance with all project security and safety protocols, plans, and policies. This will include emergency response drills and communication procedures for the project.
• Ensure that appropriate risk migration measures are taken by the project to respond to the threats or changes in threats faced by the project. This is to include physical protection measures, safe working routines, movement tracking and restrictions, protection equipment and security staff provision, as required.
• Report security incidents, violations, grievances/complaints and recommended corrective actions, as appropriate, to the PD and HQ Security.
• Liaise with HQ Security to ensure staff know how to report allegations of fraud, waste and abuse.
• Verify that all security devices such as locks, alarms, access systems and physical force protection measures are operational, used appropriately, or reported for repair.
• Ensure visitor access and vehicle control systems are effective, used appropriately, and appropriate for the threat environment.
• Oversee and ensure compliance with Creative's vetting requirements.
• Other tasks as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree is required. CPA certification desired.
• Must have at least five years of experience in accounting and finance work, including experience managing the finances for a project of similar size.
• Competent in using computers and financial software.
• Experience with U.S. Government-funded project finances and budgeting (preferred) or similar work for other donors.
• Must have at least 3 years of experience with operations, human resources, and logistics.
• Familiarity with local employment labor law.
• Must be extremely reliable, trustworthy and a good team worker.
• Ability to work under pressure and efficiently handle multiple tasks.
• Fluency in spoken and written English is required.
• Candidate must be authorized to work in Mexico City.