Vacancy at Lutheran World Relief

Financial Expert Needed to Train Fair Trade Certified Cooperatives in Aceh Takengon & Bener Meriah.

On behalf of Fair Trade USA and the Gayo Coffee Success Initiative, www.fairtradeusa.org, Lutheran World Relief is accepting resumes and proposals for consultants qualified and interested in fulfilling the following scope of work to provide immediate assistance to eight Fair Trade Certified Coffee cooperatives selling coffee to a demanding client base in the United States and Europe.

Financial Management and Data Consultant

Time Period: 3-4 months with possibility of extension

Start Date: Immediately

Responsibilities:

• Select appropriate financial management software for coffee cooperatives in Indonesia
• Submit Training work plan to Lutheran World Relief for approval
• Execute one centralized training sessionIntroduction to financial software for representatives from eight pre-selected cooperatives
• Included in the training is philosophy and theory in building strong financial reporting records and systems
• Main focus of the training is to prepare groups for data entry at the cooperative
• Complete four personalized, onsite follow up visits to each of the eight cooperatives to assist in entering all of their financial records into financial software
• Personalized visits will also focus on training cooperative staff and board of directors in the financial software and philosophy of financial reporting
• Creating plans to input data when the training program ceases
• Assigning two to three designated data entry point persons and trainers at each cooperative
• Provide periodic Reports to Lutheran World Relief on training outcomes, lessons learned, and next steps
• Create individual recommendations for each cooperative to strengthen their financial management at the beginning and end of the training based on cooperatives evolution throughout the program
• Provide this information to Lutheran World Relief and the cooperatives
• Submit final report to Lutheran World Relief

Location: Bener Meriah & Aceh Takengon

Description of ideal consultant:

• An expert in financial administration. This consultant should have a strong understanding of financial softwares available on the market and recommend the best software for coffee cooperatives. This individual will assist eight cooperatives in installing new software locally and setting up electronic books. In addition, to the installation and training on the new software, this Consultant will provide an overview of the basics of financial management, important principles, and will ensure that eight cooperatives have allocated necessary people and time to properly input their data at the close of the assignment.
• Previous experience with financial record keeping for cooperatives is a requirement
• Proven experience in institutional strengthening and staff training
• Working experience in Takengon and Bener Meriah is preferred
• Knowledge of Indonesian financial laws and tax code is a plus

Outcomes from Training:
Consultant will work with cooperatives to recreate historical financial statements so they are clear, balanced, transparent and eventually audited by a 3rd party accountant. Consultant will train cooperative financial administration staff on efficient methods for inputting data and the generation of key financial records including;
- balance sheet
- profit and loss statement
- cash flow
- basic accounting and gap rules
- back up of all financial records externally

The main measurement of success will indicate that each of the eight cooperatives have migrated financial management onto new software where each cooperatives historical and current records are available where in making each of the cooperatives more attractive potential loans clients due to accessible updated records. The cooperatives and this Consultant will work together to create long-term knowledge of the system with a sustainable method for proper input of the information. This Consultant will be available to assist groups with any follow up inquiries for a pre-determined amount of time at the close of the contract based on agreed upon terms between this Consultant and the funder.

Qualified candidates are expected to send their CV along with the cover letter to: lwrindonesia1@gmail.com before 25 March 2012.

source: www.jobaceh.com