Financial Controller within the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court

VACANCY NOTICE

Applications are invited from suitably qualified persons for appointment to the post of Financial Controller within the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.

JOB DESCRIPTION

JOB TITLE             :         FINANCIAL CONTROLLER

REPORTS TO         :         COURT ADMINISTRATOR

SUPERVISES        :         ASSISTANT ACCOUNTANT

ACCOUNTS CLERK

CLASSIFICATION :         MPP- 7

A.       DUTIES AND TASKS

1. Provide strategic financial input and leadership on decision-making issues affecting the Court and develop performance measures that support the Court’s strategic direction.
2. Manage capital requests and the budgeting process.
3. Participate in key decisions as a member of the Court’s Management Team.
4. Manage accounting and finance functions, develop financial strategies by forecasting capital, facilities and staff requirements, identifying monetary sources and developing action plans
5. Identify and mitigate key elements of financial risks to the Court and report on any risk issues to the Chief Justice and Court Administrator.
6. Develop organisational prospects by studying global and regional economic trends and revenue opportunities, identifying gaps and areas for improvement.
   
   
   
   
7. Maintain in-depth relations with all Member States’ Financial Secretaries and their Designates as well as strong banking relationships.
8. Review, manage and establish new internal controls, operations, processes and financial procedures to ensure integrity of financial information and reporting.
9. Report financial results to Chief Justice and Court Administrator including the submission of half year financial statements with estimated projections to the end of financial year as well as year-end unaudited financial statements.
10. Prepares quarterly budget variance reports and monthly listings of all payables and receivables for submission to the Court Administrator.
11. Collates/quantifies departmental needs/work plans in the budget format.
12. Liaises with departmental heads, Court Administrator, Chief Registrar and the Chief Justice to complete and narrate the Courts Annual budget.
13. Provides technical support to the Chief Justice and Court Administrator at Heads of Government meetings during the presentation of the Courts Annual budget.
14. Develops the structure of the accounting system for transactions and budgets with the necessary adjustments as required from time to time.
15. Supervises the sorting and allocation of daily receipts, invoices and payments for entry into the accounting system, while ensuring that payables are made accurately in a timely manner based on available cash flow.
16. Reviews and reconciles accounts to ensure that there is adequate funding for the Court’s needs.
17. Ensures that the law firm escrow account balances for the use of the E-Litigation Portal are reconciled and balance with the respective bank accounts.
18. Ensures that the relevant monthly filing fees earned are prepared and reported to each Member State and Territory within 10 working days after the end of the month.
    
    
    
    
19. Prepares weekly update of Court’s financial position and reports any matters of concern to the Court Administrator and where necessary to the Chief Justice.
20. Provides guidance and training to the staff in the Accounting Department for the effective performance of their duties, which includes preparation of the performance appraisal reports.
21. Provides analysis of expenditure as required.
22. Represents the Court at Budget meetings annually, reconciliation meetings and Audit meetings.
23. Report on risk issues to the Chief Justice, Court Administrator and Leadership Team as well as to Auditors where necessary.
24. Ensure accounting systems are maintained and up to date where necessary in collaboration with the IT Department.
25. Facilitate and oversee the conduct of audits and establish effective relationships with auditors
26. Prepares reports and other information requested by the Chief Justice and Court Administrator and delivers them at the designated frequencies.
27. Any other duties assigned by the Chief Justice or the Court Administrator.

B.       SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES

• Working knowledge in:
  □ IT applications for accounting, particularly Sage 50/Peachtree Complete Accounting

□ ECSC laws and regulations.

• Competencies

□ Communications

□ Human Relations

□ Effective Customer Service

□ Collaboration

• Strong negotiating and communication Skills
• The incumbent will also be required to maintain professional and technical knowledge in financial management procedures, rules and regulations and other policy guidelines of the Organisation and donor agencies concerning financial accounting and reporting.

C.       QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

This job requires:

• A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Finance or Accounting.
• A professional Accountant with the equivalent of CPA, ACCA or CGA for five or more years.
• Four (4) years post qualification relevant experience in the equivalent Senior Accountant / Financial Controller post with a Supervisory role for more than 3 persons.
• Experience in an audit/accounting firm, Public Sector Finance, Banks and or Pension Fund organisations.

Applications, along with two references and certified copies of documents pertaining to qualifications, should be addressed to:

The Secretary

Judicial and Legal Services Commission

2^nd Floor, Heraldine Rock Building

The Waterfront

Castries

Saint Lucia, West Indies

To arrive no later than Friday, 19^th February 2021.

NB:  Applications may also be submitted via email to jlsc@eccourts.org.  Unsuitable candidates will not be acknowledged.   Candidates meeting the minimum qualifications and experience may not be considered for an interview.  Only the candidates with the best qualifications and experience will be shortlisted for interview.