Context and challenges of the mission
For 30 years, the Initiative Développement (ID) association has been supporting vulnerable communities in 9 countries: Benin, Congo-Brazzaville, Comoros, Haiti, Madagascar, Senegal, Gabon, and Chad, as well as in France. Through 28 development programs, ID helps empower local stakeholders so they can build and implement solutions to the social, environmental, and economic challenges of their territories by themselves. Its areas of intervention include access to drinking water and sanitation, waste management, local economic development, education and teacher training, health, and access to energy, particularly renewable energy.
Today, 148 employees implement activities in the field (90% local employees), supported by a team of 22 people at the association’s headquarters in Poitiers (France). ID finances its actions through public subsidies (EU, AFD, MEAE) and private funding for an annual budget of approximately €6 million. ID is completely independent of any political party or religious movement. It is managed by a volunteer Board of Directors. The organization is a member of several NGO collectives in France and internationally, including Coordination Sud, F3E, and Groupe Initiatives.
The Indian Ocean Country Directorate includes activities in Madagascar and the Comoros, and its regional headquarters is based in Antananarivo, Madagascar. For more information: www.id-ong.org
ID’s actions in the Comoros
Present in the Comoros since 1996, ID has intervened in numerous fields (health, water, agriculture, education, etc.), thus developing a detailed understanding of the territory’s challenges and a proximity to local stakeholders that makes the organization a recognized partner of national institutions and international donors present in the country. Currently, several activities are implemented in the Comoros:
- Development programs : WAMANGA WA KOMOR (strengthening and supporting Comorian civil society actors, financed by the European Union); DIST’ILE ACTION (structuring of the Ylang sector, financed by the AFD); as a focal point for the RIT MadOI (financed by the CEPF);
- Support and studies for institutional and national programs (Komor Initiative, AFIDEV, the French Embassy, etc.)
Each program is supervised by a Program Manager (PM), who is supervised by the Indian Ocean Country Director, and assisted on the financial, administrative and logistical aspects by an Administrative and Financial Manager (AFM) based in Antananarivo.
Mission Description
The creation of the position of Country Administrative and Financial Coordinator responds to the need to provide administrative, accounting, logistical and financial support between the remote coordination team and the local ID teams throughout the Union of the Comoros.
The VSI will be responsible for:
- Coordinate the administrative, financial and logistical management of ID programs and its Coordination in the Comoros
- Ensure control of the accounting of ID projects and its Coordination, in conjunction with the staff of these projects, in compliance with internal and lessor procedures;
- Be responsible for ensuring proper accounting;
- Train teams on compliance with internal and donor procedures.
- Contribute to the sound financial management of projects
- Update budget monitoring of projects and Country Coordination, alert project managers and the regional RAF in the event of significant overruns and propose solutions; propose corrective measures to the RAF and ensure their implementation;
- Assist the regional RAF and operational teams in developing the forecast budgets required for funding requests, amendments and other forecast budgets;
- Assist the RAF in the preparation of periodic financial reports;
- Support Program Managers (PMs) in developing fund transfer requests before transmission to headquarters;
- Inform and guide the RPs in compliance with the administrative and financial clauses of the contracts;
- Manage relationships with banks and carry out banking transactions.
- Ensure the accounting management of civil society actions (Wamanga Wa Komor and RIT MadOi) in the Comoros
- Ensure the accounting of project activities in strict compliance with ID and donor accounting procedures and verify that the rest of the team also complies with them;
- Prepare monthly accounting reports.
- Ensure the logistical and administrative management of the Country Coordination
- Carry out administrative ID procedures in the Comoros: updating registration and approval of the NGO, resident cards, compliance with legislation, relations with banks, administrations, etc.;
- Ensure legal monitoring;
- Inform teams and ensure compliance with national legislation;
- Monitor proper compliance with the logistics procedures in the ID procedures manual;
- Organize consultations for program purchases, in conjunction with the relevant staff of these programs and in accordance with the procurement plans (PPM) of each program;
- Manage the logistical organization of country coordination missions (Country Director and RAF) and support missions for employees at the association’s headquarters;
- Carry out inventory writing and prepare financial statements in compliance with local legislation (tax and social);
- Ensure data backup (awareness, monitoring, control), particularly IT (archiving, antivirus).
- Support human resources management
- Assist the RAF in developing and updating personnel administration management tools (internal regulations, remuneration scale, etc.);
- Ensure compliance with legal requirements in terms of labor law (labor code, payment of taxes, etc.);
- Support PRs in the administrative management of personnel (creation of personnel files, drafting of employment contracts, monitoring of leave, pay, end of contract, etc.).
- Facilitate the administrative and financial implementation of partner CSOs, in compliance with the agreements signed between ID and its partners:
- Ensure compliance with the clauses of the project agreements on the administrative and financial level by ID and its partners;
- Validate the monthly accounting of partners for activities delegated by ID (admissibility of supporting documents, compliance with ID procedures).
Place of the volunteer in the team
The VSI will work under the responsibility of the RAF Country ID Madagascar/Comoros, based in Antananarivo, Madagascar, and will benefit from the support in operational implementation of the Country Management Assistant also based in Moroni (in VSI, departure planned at the same time as the VSI Administrative and Financial Coordinator). Finally, the VSI will work in close collaboration with the Management Controller based at the association’s headquarters in France, the program logistics accountants and the Program Managers in the Comoros.
The volunteer will be required to be in regular, independent contact with the field teams. More occasional contact will also be ensured with the ID headquarters teams depending on the projects/cases being handled (thematic project managers, support services, etc.).
Work environment
The volunteer will be based in Moroni, in the offices of the team present in Grande Comore and will be required to travel occasionally to the other islands to work with the other ID teams.
Living environment
Accommodation: at the volunteer’s expense; the on-site team is responsible for welcoming the volunteer and supporting them in all their research and procedures (obtaining a visa, finding accommodation, furnishing, security, equipment, etc.).
The volunteer will be integrated into the volunteer community in the Comoros.
Profile
Education and experience
Administrative and financial profile with a higher degree in accounting, finance, or management. Previous professional experience (apprenticeship, etc.) in the NGO sector will be highly appreciated.
Knowledge and know-how
- Proficiency in the MS Office suite (Excel, Word) and accounting software(s) and online digital and collaborative tools (TEAMS), remote support methods (videoconferences, webinars, etc.);
- Knowledge of the functioning of international NGOs;
- Knowledge of donor procedures (EU, AFD or other institutional donor) is a plus;
- Meeting facilitation skills;
- Writing skills.
Soft skills
- Ability to work independently, to organize, to prioritize and to communicate well;
- Ability to demonstrate educational skills in supporting teams;
- Discretion, rigor and ethics in work;
- Sense of initiative;
- Ability to adapt to changes in the environment.
Conditions
- International Solidarity Volunteer Status (2005 law);
- Mission duration: 12 months;
- Monthly allowance between €1,269 and €1,469
- Retention of unemployment benefits where applicable: The volunteer will be able to benefit from unemployment benefits once they return to France if they had rights before their departure;
- Social security coverage: coverage with the Caisse des Français de l’Etranger (French Abroad Fund), mutual insurance, repatriation insurance, civil liability, pension contributions;
- Coverage of round-trip travel expenses between the place of residence and the place of assignment.
How to apply
Applications (CV + cover letter) to be sent by April 17, 2025 at the latest, to [email protected]
With the subject: Application_VSI_CAF_ID_2025
