Head of Support Servicesnew

ABOUT INARA:

International Network for Aid, Relief and Assistance (INARA) is a U.S.-registered 501(c)(3) humanitarian organization founded in 2015 by Arwa Damon. Established in response to critical gaps in the humanitarian system, INARA works to support children affected by conflict, displacement, and natural and human-induced disasters who are often unable to access sustained medical and psychosocial care.

INARA delivers integrated, child-centered programming that combines life-saving interventions with long-term recovery support. The organization focuses on children facing complex and overlapping vulnerabilities, including injury, trauma, disability, and exclusion from essential services. Through a multidisciplinary approach, INARA provides access to medical treatment, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), and coordinated case management, ensuring continuity of care beyond the immediate emergency phase.

INARA delivers integrated, child-centered programming across multiple sectors to support children affected by crisis. Its interventions include comprehensive medical and rehabilitative care, providing specialized treatment and long-term follow-up; mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), offering trauma-informed and community-based services; and livelihood and economic empowerment initiatives that strengthen household stability. INARA also supports education in emergencies by creating safe and inclusive learning environments, implements water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions to improve health conditions, and maintains a rapid emergency response capacity to deliver immediate medical, psychosocial, food, and non-food assistance during acute crises.

Vision

A world where every child has the agency to create a dignified life.

Mission

Fostering a future where we empower children to shape their own dignified lives.

Purpose

Enhancing children’s capacity to shape their own fulfilling futures through integrated health, empowerment, and community-driven interventions.

JOB SUMMARY:

The Head of Support Services provides strategic leadership and oversight of INARA’s global finance and operational support systems across all country operations and legal entities. The role ensures strong financial management, compliance, internal controls, budgeting coherence, donor financial accountability, and organizational financial sustainability.

The post-holder serves as the central finance oversight function between Headquarters and Country Offices, ensuring that financial systems, reporting processes, fund management, and accounting practices operate in alignment with donor requirements, organizational policies, and applicable regulatory frameworks.

The role also supervises finance staff across country operations, supports organizational audits and compliance obligations, oversees financial systems optimization, and strengthens institutional financial management capacity across the organization.

Key Responsibilities

Key responsibilities include and may not be limited to:

1. Financial Planning and Budget Oversight

The Head of Support Services leads organizational budgeting processes and ensures financial planning aligns with operational realities and strategic priorities.

Tasks:

• Review and consolidate annual organizational budgets and donor project budgets from all country operations
• Ensure consistency between programmatic plans, operational priorities, and financial forecasts
• Validate budget assumptions including exchange rates, inflation projections, staffing costs, and operational estimates
• Review cost allocations across grants, shared costs, and general organizational operations
• Support Country Offices and program teams in developing realistic and compliant donor budgets
• Ensure budget structures align with donor regulations and internal financial controls
• Monitor overall organizational financial sustainability and resource allocation

Key Competencies:

• Strong financial planning and budgeting expertise
• Advanced analytical and forecasting skills
• Understanding of donor budgeting requirements
• Strategic financial oversight capacity

1. Fund Management and Financial Oversight

The role oversees organizational fund management processes and ensures financial liquidity and accountability across all operations.

Tasks:

• Oversee inter-office fund transfers and HQ financial allocations
• Review and approve fund requests from Country Offices
• Monitor cash flow, liquidity, and financial reserve levels
• Monitor foreign exchange exposure and associated financial risks
• Ensure donor funds are utilized in accordance with approved budgets and restrictions
• Track organizational spending thresholds and authorization compliance
• Support the CEO on high-level financial decision-making and risk management

Key Competencies:

• Strong treasury and cash-flow management skills
• Financial risk management expertise
• Understanding of multi-country fund management
• Strong attention to accountability and financial control

1. Expenditure Management and Internal Controls

The Head of Support Services ensures organizational expenditures comply with internal policies, donor regulations, and approval frameworks.

Tasks:

• Review expenditures above approved authorization thresholds and submit to the CEO for final approval where required
• Review complex procurement packages including competitive bidding documentation and vendor justifications
• Ensure expenditures comply with donor restrictions and organizational policies
• Monitor implementation of internal control procedures across all country operations
• Identify and address financial control weaknesses and operational risks
• Ensure procurement and expenditure documentation is audit-ready and properly archived

Key Competencies:

• Strong internal control and compliance knowledge
• Procurement and donor compliance understanding
• Risk identification and mitigation skills
• Attention to detail and accountability

1. Accounting, Reconciliation, and Financial Systems Oversight

The role ensures the accuracy, integrity, and efficiency of organizational accounting systems and financial records.

Tasks:

• Oversee organizational accounting and bookkeeping processes across all country operations
• Ensure financial entries, reconciliations, and classifications are accurate and completed on time
• Review month-end and year-end closing processes
• Conduct periodic spot checks of financial records and supporting documentation
• Ensure bank reconciliations and petty cash reconciliations are completed accurately and on schedule
• Supervise organizational use of QuickBooks Online (QBO)
• Coordinate with system consultants on QBO structure optimization and reporting systems
• Maintain oversight of chart of accounts, donor classes, and financial coding structures

Key Competencies:

• Advanced accounting and bookkeeping knowledge
• Strong financial systems management skills
• QBO proficiency and oversight experience
• Strong reconciliation and audit trail management skills

1. Financial Reporting and Donor Compliance

The role oversees organizational financial reporting processes and ensures compliance with donor and regulatory requirements.

Tasks:

• Consolidate financial data from all country operations into organizational financial reports
• Review and validate donor financial reports prior to submission to the CEO and donors
• Ensure financial reports meet donor formatting, compliance, and deadline requirements
• Review budget versus actual (BvA) reports and variance explanations
• Provide structured feedback to Country Offices on reporting quality and compliance gaps
• Ensure consistency between programmatic implementation and financial reporting
• Support donor financial reviews and due diligence processes

Key Competencies:

• Strong donor financial reporting expertise
• Financial analysis and variance interpretation skills
• Understanding of humanitarian donor compliance frameworks
• Strong organizational and coordination skills

1. Audit, Compliance, and Organizational Risk Management

The Head of Support Services leads financial compliance and audit coordination processes across all INARA operations.

Tasks:

• Maintain and update financial policies, SOPs, and internal control frameworks
• Coordinate external audits including donor audits, IRS filings, and independent organizational audits
• Ensure implementation and follow-up of audit recommendations
• Oversee submission of IRS Form 990 and other compliance-related financial filings
• Support compliance across INARA’s legal entities and jurisdictions
• Identify organizational financial risks and recommend mitigation measures
• Ensure compliance with donor regulations, anti-fraud standards, and applicable legal requirements

Key Competencies:

• Strong audit and compliance management experience
• Knowledge of nonprofit regulatory frameworks
• Risk management and governance expertise
• Strong policy development and implementation skills

1. Systems Strengthening and Capacity Building

The role strengthens organizational financial systems and supports finance staff development across all operations.

Tasks:

• Supervise and support Country Finance Leads and finance staff across all country operations
• Conduct finance staff performance evaluations and capacity development planning
• Organize training workshops and refresher sessions on financial procedures and systems
• Identify inefficiencies within financial systems and recommend improvements
• Support automation and financial process optimization initiatives
• Strengthen organizational financial documentation and reporting systems
• Promote standardization of financial practices across all country operations

Key Competencies:

• Leadership and staff management skills
• Capacity building and mentoring experience
• Systems improvement and problem-solving skills
• Strong coordination and communication abilities

Key working relationships

• CEO: Primary line manager and final financial approval authority
• Country Directors: Coordination on budgets, expenditures, and operational finance oversight
• Country Finance Leads: Technical supervision and financial management oversight
• Partnerships & Development Department: Coordination on proposal budgets and donor financial reporting
• Program Teams: Budget planning and financial monitoring support
• Auditors and External Consultants: Compliance, audit, and systems coordination
• SMT: Strategic financial planning and organizational decision-making

THE POST-HOLDER WILL BE EXPECTED TO DEMONSTRATE MEASURABLE PROGRESS AGAINST THE FOLLOWING WITHIN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS:

The post-holder will be expected to demonstrate measurable progress against the following within the first six MONTHS:

• Reporting validation process fully established and adhered to across all active country operations
• Zero reports submitted to Partnerships & Development without completed quality review
• SMT action tracker operational and actively maintained, with no overdue items going unescalated
• Entity documentation archive created and populated for all INARA legal entities
• Coordination gaps between Country Offices, Finance, and Partnerships & Development visibly reduced
• Positive feedback from Country Directors, Finance, and the CEO on coordination quality and turnaround times

Requirements & Qualifications

Qualification

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or related field
• Professional accounting qualification preferred

Experience

• Minimum 7 years of progressive finance and operational management experience
• Experience in humanitarian or nonprofit sector finance management
• Experience managing multi-country financial operations
• Strong knowledge of donor compliance and nonprofit financial systems
• Experience with QuickBooks Online and financial reporting systems