Partnership Finance Manager - Damascus / Aleppo or Idleb - SYRIA / Nationals

General Description of the Programme:

GOAL is an international humanitarian and development NGO dedicated to alleviating the suffering of the poorest and most vulnerable. GOAL was established in 1977 and is currently operational in 14 countries worldwide. GOAL began operations in Syria in 2012 responding to the acute needs of conflict-affected communities. GOAL’s areas of operations include but not limited to Aleppo, and Idleb Governorates.

GOAL has been responding to the acute needs of conflict affected communities. The program focuses on food and nutrition security, WASH, shelter, livelihoods/ERMS and emergency response with a growing emphasis on cash and voucher modalities. GOAL Syria implements its programs directly, with over 500 staff based in Syria, as well as through Syrian NGO partners. GOAL’s program works at the household, community, and camp levels to improve community resilience and household coping strategies. 

Job purpose:

The Partnership Finance Manager will work closely with partners and other departments within GOAL to ensure activities implemented by partners are duly reported and that financial reporting is in compliance with donor requirements and the GOAL Partners Manual.

Duties, objectives and competencies

• Assess financial risks associated with partnership agreements and activities, and provide recommendations to the Finance Coordinator or Finance Director.
• Suggest strategies to mitigate partnership-related financial risks.
• Ensure compliance of partners with financial policies and regulatory requirements of GOAL and donors.
• Monitor partner project cash flow and ensure liquidity optimisation.
• Create and maintain an updated tracker for all partner reports, expenditures, and advance payments.
• Lead financial planning, analysis, and reporting for partners.
• Support partners during budget and budget narrative preparation (original submissions and realignments). Review submitted budgets/narratives (using the partner budget review checklist) and provide feedback as required.
• Feed partner figures into main proposal budgets and the budget monitoring tool (BMT).
• Support partners in improving their internal processes.
• Conduct and assist in partner pre-award assessments for new and existing partners, in line with the GOAL Partners Manual.
• Provide support during the contracting phase of the partnership process, including assistance in drafting and finalising agreements and/or Pre-Funding Letters (PFA).
• Serve as focal point for partner financial management, including attending kick-off, monitoring, and closeout meetings. Provide both formal and informal partner support and capacity development, including assistance with payments, reports, and audits.
• Review and verify partners’ financial reports (amounts, calculations, and supporting documents), prepare financial overview reports, provide feedback, and follow up on corrections and final submissions.
• Work with the Compliance team to ensure all reports are fully compliant with GOAL policies, donor regulations, and relevant laws.
• Track partners’ expenditures against budgets and flag issues to Programme and Finance leads.
• Based on reviewed partner financial reports, prepare accounting journals and submit them for approval and posting to the Assistant Finance Controller or Finance Director monthly.
• Assist in donor reporting to ensure partner expenses are accurately reflected.
• Ensure partner payment requests are submitted and processed in line with SOPs.
• Ensure partner forecasts are reflected in BMT and cash forecast templates.
• Participate in partner monitoring visits as per plan and provide reports to the Finance Director.
• Support partner closeout processes, including reconciliation of final reports, audits, VAT, and inventory reports.
• Maintain sub-grant financial files and archives, and ensure trackers are updated at all times.
• Provide training and daily support to partners, including answering queries and onboarding new hires.
• Respond to audit inquiries and requests for partner financial information.
• Be familiar with the Sub-grant Manual, Field Finance Manual, Procurement Manual, and other relevant policies (e.g. National Staff Policy Handbook, cash management, local travel).
• Develop templates and SOPs for partners as required.
• Support the Finance Director on special projects requiring financial analysis.
• Carry out any ad hoc responsibilities assigned by the line manager.

Requirements

• BA degree in accounting or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years’ finance experience, including work with partners.
• Professional accountancy qualification (preferred) with audit experience and strong attention to detail.
• Proven experience with donor-funded projects (e.g., BHA, FCDO, ECHO, OCHA).
• Excellent communication skills in English, both verbal and written.
• Ability to maintain effective communication and relationships with staff and management.
• Strong analytical skills, ability to prepare concise reports.
• Experience in designing and conducting financial training/workshops, especially on donor regulations (USAID, ECHO).
• Excellent computer skills, especially MS Office and relevant applications.
• Ability to quickly learn new systems and software.
• Organised, flexible, detail-oriented, and able to adapt to changing priorities.
• Willingness to travel regularly to field sites and work in challenging environments.
• Previous INGO experience preferred.
• Highly motivated, independent, and proactive, with commitment to personal development.
• Strong accountability and responsiveness in all responsibilities.

A team player, flexible, able to work with a multinational team, and committed to capacity building.

Interested? Then apply for this position via clicking on the "apply now" button and fill out the application form. All applicants must send an updated CV (no longer than four pages). Must be in English or Arabic. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. Application deadline is 27th August 2025 COB.  

General terms and conditions

Safeguarding

Children and vulnerable adults a must be safeguarded to the maximum possible extent from deliberate or inadvertent actions and failings that place them at risk of abuse, sexual exploitation, injury and any other harm. One of the ways that GOAL shows this on-going commitment to safeguarding is to include rigorous background and reference checks in the selection process for all candidates.

Accountability within GOAL

Alongside our safeguarding policy, GOAL is an equal opportunities employer and has a set of integrity policies. Any candidate offered a job with GOAL will be expected to adhere to the following key areas of accountability:

• Comply with GOAL’s policies and procedures with respect to safeguarding, Code of Conduct, health and safety, data protection and confidentiality, do no harm principles and unacceptable behaviour protocols.
• Report any concerns about the welfare of a child or vulnerable adult or any wrongdoings within our programming area.
• Report any concerns about inappropriate behaviour of a GOAL staff or partner.

This Job Description only serves as a guide for the position available. GOAL reserves the right to change this document. Any published closing dates are estimated.  Due to the nature of GOAL’s work we aim to fill vacancies as quickly as possible.  This means that we will close adverts as soon as we have found the right candidate and this may be before the published closing date.  We would therefore advise interested applicants to submit an application as early as possible.

Thank you.