The Programme Finance Officer role at Save the Children UK is a pivotal position that ensures the effective financial management and accountability of the organization’s diverse humanitarian and development programs. This blog explores the key facets of the role, highlighting its purpose, responsibilities, required skills, and the impact it has on advancing Save the Children’s mission to transform children’s lives worldwide.
Role Purpose and Context
The Programme Finance Officer is primarily tasked with providing financial support across all Save the Children programs, ensuring timely, accurate, and compliant financial operations. This role bridges finance and program teams by managing budgets, verifying expenditures, preparing financial reports, and supporting donor compliance. The position plays a critical role in safeguarding financial integrity while enabling program success through meticulous financial planning, monitoring, and collaboration with partners.
Core Responsibilities
Key duties of the Programme Finance Officer include:
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Financial Reporting and Verification: Generating monthly consolidated Budget vs Actuals (BvA) reports for all active grants, reviewing financial reports from partner organizations, and ensuring that supporting documentation complies with Save the Children’s and donor policies.
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Budget Management and Planning: Assisting in budget proposals, revisions, and amendments while consolidating inputs from various field offices. The officer helps budget holders manage and forecast expenditures effectively aligned with program needs and donor requirements.
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Donor Compliance and Audit Support: Preparing donor financial reports, supporting donor verification visits and audits, and ensuring documentation is accurate and submitted on time. The role involves responding to audit findings and recommending corrective actions to maintain compliance.
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Payments and Cash Management: Overseeing Source-to-Pay processes, payment verifications, bank reconciliations, and cash forecasting to ensure smooth financial operations. Engaging with bank partners and supply chain teams to facilitate payments and asset reconciliations is also essential.
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Capacity Building and Partnership Liaison: Providing technical and financial guidance to partner organizations, conducting finance inductions for new staff, and supporting financial training to enhance partners’ financial management capabilities.
Essential Skills and Qualifications
Save the Children UK seeks candidates with a strong background in finance or accounting, typically a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field. Experience in NGOs and working with donor-funded projects is often required, along with excellent organizational skills and the ability to meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment. Fluency in English and sometimes other local languages, analytical skills, integrity, and the ability to work collaboratively across diverse teams are highly valued.
Impact and Significance
The Programme Finance Officer ensures that funds allocated to improving children’s lives are spent responsibly and transparently, directly supporting program effectiveness and organizational credibility. They play a vital role in enabling Save the Children to deliver on its promises by maintaining financial discipline, enhancing donor confidence, and fostering strong partnerships within and beyond the organization.
Conclusion
In summary, the Programme Finance Officer position at Save the Children UK is a challenging but rewarding role that combines financial expertise with a passion for humanitarian impact. It requires meticulous attention to detail, strong communication skills, and the ability to navigate complex financial landscapes to support meaningful programs that change children’s futures for the better. Those who excel in this role help ensure that every pound spent goes further toward creating a healthier, safer, and more hopeful world for children everywhere.
This role represents more than finance; it is a commitment to accountability, efficiency, and the transformative power of well-managed resources in the hands of those dedicated to child welfare on a global scale.
