Regional Finance & Administration Officer
Australia Awards South Asia and Mongolia

About Palladium:
Palladium is a global company working to design, develop and deliver positive impact on the lives and livelihoods of people around the globe; broaden access to health, water, power, and infrastructure; build enduring, sustainable, and transformative institutions and market systems to address global challenges; and conserve the natural world. We operate in over 90 countries and have a workforce of 4,000 talented, motivated, and diverse staff of all religions, races, languages, and gender identities.

About the Program:
Australia Awards are provided to build the skills and knowledge of individuals so that they can contribute to their country’s development, and to support the ongoing development of links between Australia and the countries to which it provides development assistance. The Australia Awards are an important part of the Australian Government’s focus on public and economic diplomacy, and provide long-term Scholarships, Fellowships and Short Courses, supported by a range of other capacity-building and training modalities.

Australia Awards – South Asia & Mongolia (AASAM) is administered by Palladium on behalf of the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The Program goal is to support eight partner countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – in achieving their development goals through education and knowledge transfer, and to build enduring relationships with Australia that advance mutual interests.

AASAM is a multi-country program with service delivery offices in Colombo, Dhaka, Islamabad, Kathmandu, Thimphu and Ulaanbaatar. Leadership, coordination, and support are provided by “the Hub” – a regional team based in Colombo and Australia.

The Regional Finance & Administration Officer will support the regional Hub in the areas of finance, administration, procurement, logistics, workplace health and safety, and human resources management.  

 Location: 
The position is based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. This is a locally engaged position and Palladium is not able to sponsor employees to relocate. 

 You and Your Career:
If you are a problem-solver, collaborator, and do-er, and you have expertise in supporting regional programs, grant management, or DFAT funded programs we are interested in hearing from you.

We are a learning organization and provide growth opportunities from the start.  We pride ourselves on giving you the freedom, resources, and guidance to chart a fulfilling career!

Reporting Lines: 
The Regional Finance & Administration Officer reports to the Regional Finance & Administration Manager and also works closely with the Management Accountant, Senior Regional Finance and Administration Officer, as well as Finance and Administration Officers and Program Officers across the region.  

Primary Roles and Responsibilities: 
The Regional Finance & Administration Officer will be assigned a portfolio of responsibilities by the Regional Finance and Administration Manager, which may vary from time to time. 

For a complete list of duties associated to each of the key responsibilities listed, please request a copy of the Job and Person specification from: recruitment@australiaawardssouthasiamongolia.org

Minimum Requirements/Key Selection Criteria
Essential 
1.    Tertiary qualification in accounting
2.    High level written and verbal English language skills. 
 3.    Demonstrated ability working in a regional or multi-stakeholder environment
4.    Experience in financial management systems and procedures including cost management and control
5.    Experience working with databases and accounting software packages 
6.    High-level computer skills, especially using MS Office package, including using VLOOKUP and Excel Pivot Tables
7.    Experience working with foreign currency transactions
8.    Experience in project management

Desired 
1.    Study experience in developed countries, at the tertiary level would be highly advantageous. 
2.    Proactive collaborator, willing to propose solutions and ideas to challenges based on expertise, debate their merits and make final recommendations. 
3.    Proven ability to manage a substantial workload with multiple priorities, and minimal supervision. 
4.    Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to work in high pressure and evolving environments. 

Please note - We are not accepting resumes from recruitment agencies for this role.

Submitting an Application:
Applicants are required to submit a cover letter systematically addressing previous experiences in each of the Key Responsibilities listed in the Job and Person Specification. This document can be requested by emailing: recruitment@australiaawardssouthasiamongolia.org

Please submit your application through the Palladium International Careers Page (https://thepalladiumgroup.com/careers). Emailed applications will not be reviewed.  

The job advertisement will close on the 2nd March 2025 at 5:00pm Adelaide time. 

Applicants will be reviewed on a rolling basis with interviews commencing as early as the 20th of February 2025. If a suitable applicant is appointed early, the advertisement will close. Do not wait to submit an application if you are interested in this position. 

Palladium is a child-safe organisation, and screens applicants for suitability to work with children.

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion:
Palladium is committed to embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion into everything we do. We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce; and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment regardless of their background or personal characteristics. These include: (but are not limited to) socio-economic background, age, race, gender identity and expression, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, veteran, marital or Indigenous status.

Should you require any adjustments or accommodations to be made due to a disability or you are a neurodivergent individual or for any other circumstance, please email our team at accessibility@thepalladiumgroup.com and we will be in touch to discuss.

Safeguarding:
We define Safeguarding as “the preventative action taken by Palladium to protect our people, clients and the communities we work with from harm”. We are committed to ensuring that all children and adults who come into contact with Palladium are treated with respect and are free from abuse.  All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced selection process including safeguarding-focused interviews and a rigorous due diligence process.