Government Liaison and Finance Officer

Permanent. Full Time. Hybrid working. (You will be required to attend the office for a minimum of 2 days per week with the option to work remotely for the remaining 3 days)

Location: Freetown, Sierra Leone

Salary: Competitive

About us

Christian Aid exists to create a world where everyone can live a full life, free from poverty. We are a global movement of people, churches and local organisations who passionately champion dignity, equality and justice worldwide. We are the changemakers, the peacemakers, the mighty of heart.

We’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, and recognise the value this brings in forming strong, creative and high performing teams. We welcome applications from all sections of the community, and from those with experience from outside of the voluntary sector. And no, you don’t have to be Christian to work here – we encourage people of all faiths and none to apply. We just ask that everyone lives out our values of dignity, equality, justice and love. We value a good work-life balance, so we’re open to part-time and flexible working. We also offer hybrid working for our office-based colleagues and the option of being a homeworker for most of our roles too.

Learn about our vision, mission and values

About the role

Reporting in to the Partnership & Strategy Lead, the Government Liaison and Finance Officer will be responsible for establishing and maintaining key relationships with external counterparts in priority countries where this is necessary, building relationships based on openness and trust.

The post-holder will facilitate engagement and prepare relevant documentation with support from Head of Governance, Compliance and Risk (e.g. MOUs, legal requirements, statutory reporting and liaison activities) and Partnership & Strategy Leads, and will also support smooth operations on request, including but not limited to partner capacity assessments and support to finance specific roles.

Some of the main responsibilities of the Government Liaison and Finance Officer include:

• Collaborate with Multi Country Cluster (MCC) Senior Management team and Head of Governance, Compliance and Risk to ensure that country specific government compliance are met to facilitate and maximise impact (e.g. paperwork for MOU’s, permits for field visits, visas, LoAs etc for registration).
• Establish, build and maintain positive relationships built on openness and trust with country/state/township level departments and ministries to facilitate programme delivery.
• Support financial operations in the dispersed office and help to ensure compliance to Christian Aid policies and procedures, local laws and regulations and reporting requirements for the local authorities are complied with and programme impact facilitated and maximised.
• Support with internal control systems compliance, financial management and budget control, Partners supported with Christian Aid’s Capacity and Risk.
• Assessment tool (POCRA), partners supported with budget development and financial management supporting with consistency, coherency and quality.
• Maintain links with the local bank and tax administration and reporting authorities in-country to ensure regulations are adhered to.
• Collaborate with the Programme colleagues to ensure optimal planning and delivery of program activities to maximise our impact

About you

Who we are looking for

Essential:

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (Law, Legal Studies, Finance, Accounting or Administration) or substantial equivalent professional experience.
• Substantial experience of liaising with government institutions on compliance and reporting in relevant country.
• Substantial experience of using computerised financial reporting tools.
• Developed ability to adapt and work flexibly.

Desirable:

• Certified Accounting Officer.
• Substantial experience of supporting humanitarian and development programmes.
• Substantial experience and understanding global finance standards financial compliance policies, processes and audits.
• Highly developed financial skills in budgeting, income tracking, budget monitoring and financial reporting.
• Substantial experience in financial management within the project management cycle.
• Substantial experience of working with partner organisational finance systems.
• Developed ability to provide clear guidance on back donor policies and procedures to other staff.
• Understanding of donor budget management, donor and institutional compliance.
• Developed ability in using SUN 11 package, Microsoft office packages, specifically Excel.
• Highly developed relationship management skills

Further information

At Christian Aid we strive to be an inclusive and diverse employer and recognise the value that this brings in helping to build strong, creative and high performing teams.

We are actively encouraging racialised minorities, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, returning parents or carers who are re-entering work after a career break, people with caring responsibilities, people from low socioeconomic backgrounds, women, and older workers to apply. This is because these groups are under-represented within our teams, especially at senior level, and we recognise and value the contributions members of these groups make to strong, creative and high performing teams. 

We have a strong Christian ethos and we encourage applications from all faiths. Applicants will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of and sympathy with Christian Aid’s faith identity. 

All successful candidates will require a DBS/police check appropriate to the role and location and a Counter Terrorism Sanction check as part of your clearance for commencing your role with us. We also participate in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme.  In line with this Scheme, we will request information as part of the referencing process from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.

This role requires applicants to have the right to live and work in the country where this position is based and undertake the role that you have been offered. If you are successful and we make you an offer for the role, we will be required to conduct a right to work check on your immigration status in the UK. We will contact you regarding the documentation you will need to provide to evidence this. 

You can expect a wide range of rewards and benefits, please refer to the benefits booklet for your location to see our full list of employee benefits. 

For Salary details for this role, please refer to the Salary band by location.

• Type of contract:Permanent
• Contracted hours:35
• Location:MCC W&CA - priority country (Sierra Leone)
• Closing date:12 October 2025

Documents for Application

Further Information

As a volunteer, you will receive:

• Support and supervision from a named contact within Christian Aid
• Appropriate induction and training for your volunteering role.
• Out-of-pocket expenses as agreed.
• Our regular volunteers e-newsletter
• Access to our Volunteers’ Hub for all our latest news, events and resources

If you do not see a suitable vacancy, please register for job alerts to be the first to know about new oppotunities. To keep up-to-date about Christian Aid, you can follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook.