Finance and Accounting Manager

About Palladium

Palladium is a global company working to design, develop and deliver positive impact on the lives and livelihoods of people around the globe; broaden access to health, water, power, and infrastructure; build enduring, sustainable, and transformative institutions and market systems to address global challenges; and conserve the natural world. We operate in over 90 countries and have a workforce of 4,000 talented, motivated, and diverse staff of all religions, races, languages, and gender identities.

About the Programme

Palladium is developing a proposal to implement a stabilisation project in Syria. We are recruiting a Finance and Accounting Manager to oversee the programme's financial reporting as well as compliance and due diligence processes. The role will report to the project’s Finance and Operations Director.

You and Your Career

If you have experience in working in finance and operations at a senior level in a complicated legal context, specifically in Syria, we are interested in hearing from you.

Position Summary

The Finance and Accounting Manager (FAM) is responsible for the financial operations of the SRM project. They will manage the programme’s banking, cash flow, and ensure the programme complies with the taxation and financial obligations of working in Syria. The role is expected to be based in Damascus with intermittent travel within Syria and possibly internationally.

This will be a full-time position with an expected start in August 2025. This role is contingent on Palladium being successful in its proposal to deliver this programme.

RelationshipsSupervision

The FAM will report to the Finance and Operations Director.

Direct Reports

The FAM may be responsible for task- and line-managing colleagues.

Main Responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of the FAM are as follows:

Financial Management

·       Ensuring compliance with both client and Palladium financial processes and systems.

·       Preparation of annual client and Palladium forecasts, with regular updates (at least monthly) to ensure minimal variance.

·       Management of the project bank account, petty cash, and preparation and submission of Field Vouchers.

·       Preparation of monthly funds transfer requests for Palladium treasury detailing the forecast of expenditure for the month.

·       Cross-team collaboration to provide the required information for Value for Money reporting.

·       Cross-team working to ensure accurate budget forecasting and reporting on programme activities.

Human Resource Management

·       Prepare and maintain the fixed-term employment contracts for all project staff.

·       Collaborate with payroll subcontractors to prepare the monthly payroll for all project staff, ensuring timely payment and the deduction of appropriate taxes and benefits.

·       Keep up to date with changes in local legislation surrounding employment legislation and employer and employee obligations.

Compliance

·       Ensure that all payments are made with the correct statutory deductions.

·       Ensure that all statutory deductions are remitted to the appropriate authorities within the necessary timeframe.

·       Oversee the project annual financial audit, including procurement of the audit firm (if requested by the client) and facilitation of the audit process.

Procurement

·       Oversee procurement of goods and services in collaboration with colleagues.

·       Ensure compliance with both Palladium and client procurement procedures.

·       Establish and maintain the project asset register, ensuring it is up to date at all times and assets are managed and safeguarded appropriately.

Programme Management

·       In collaboration with the core team, actively contribute to programme risk identification, monitoring, and management and reporting to FCDO.

·       Contribute to programme-level value for money reporting to FCDO in agreed format.

·       Support the corporate Project Manager to report programme financial metrics for internal purposes.

Key Competencies

The suitable candidate will meet the following requirements:

·       Significant experience in the management of finance and operations in a project or organisation, with demonstrable evidence of financial management and decision-making.

·       Comprehensive understanding of the taxation and compliance requirements (taxation, contractual management, etc.) of international donor projects in Syria, and confidence in advising programme leadership on their application.

·       Significant experience of undertaking and documenting procurement activities in line with company and/or client overarching policies.

·       Educational background in accounting, finance, or a relevant, comparable field.

·       Fluency in Arabic and English

The following criteria will be considered an advantage:

·       Experience of working on a donor-funded international development programme, especially a bilateral programme funded by the UK government.

 

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion - Palladium is committed to embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion into everything we do. We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success, and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce; and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment regardless of their background or personal characteristics. These include: (but are not limited to) socio-economic background, age, race, gender identity and expression, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, veteran, marital or Indigenous status.  

Should you require any adjustments or accommodations to be made due to a disability or you are a neurodivergent individual or for any other circumstance, please email our team at accessibility@thepalladiumgroup.com and we will be in touch to discuss.  

Safeguarding - We define Safeguarding as “the preventative action taken by Palladium to protect our people, clients and the communities we work with from harm”. We are committed to ensuring that all children and adults who come into contact with Palladium are treated with respect and are free from abuse. All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced selection process including safeguarding-focused interviews and a rigorous due diligence process.