Director of Finance

Organisation Background:

Founded in 2011, the International NGO Safety Organization (INSO) is an international NGO that supports humanitarian aid workers by establishing safety coordination platforms in insecure contexts. INSO provides registered NGOs with a range of free services, including real-time incident tracking, analytical reports, safety-related data and mapping, crisis management support, staff orientations, and training.

INSO provides daily support to more than 1,500 NGOs operating in 24 of the world's most insecure countries. INSO is registered in the Netherlands, with its headquarters located in The Hague, a city renowned for its international focus on peace and justice.

Job Summary

The Director of Finance (FD) is responsible for overall financial steering, global financial performance, and financial policies environment in INSO. As a member of the Senior Team Management (SMT), the Director creates a stable foundation for the organisation's activity while also taking part in high-level decisions and strategic development.

The FD directly steers two global Finance sub-departments located in the Headquarter (HQ): Finance Operations (FO), responsible for overseeing global accounting, financial reporting, systems development and the HQ finance, and Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A), responsible for overseeing the budgeting, financial modelling and advisory to INSO Countries and regional Teams.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

Financial health and strategic financial management

• Manages global INSO liquidity by ensuring adequate cash flow visibility and forecasting, operating cash pooling mechanism and ensuring tight control on cash transfers between the Countries and the HQ.
• Supports Deputy Director, FP&A in executing adequate cost control and providing steering and supervision for the Country budgets, promoting responsible and accurate financial planning, timeliness, and accuracy of financial data.
• Executes control over the HQ budget and manages the interplay between financial risks, global costs, funding, and reserves.
• Advises on and controls execution of agreed organisational and operational efficiencies.
• Advises on adequate reserves level and maintains healthy reserve policy. Executes organisation-wide control over reserves-related spend.

Fundraising and grant management

• Together with Programmatic departments and Grant Management ensures quality of grant applications and grant reporting, participates in donors' negotiations, and ensures financial control over grant-related funds is exercised throughout the whole organisation.
• Together with other Members of INSO SMT, INSO Board and Country- and regional leaders develops adequate funding strategies, considering traditional and alternative funding options aligned with INSO strategic priorities.

Participation in strategic development and decisions

• Provides support to the Executive Director, the SMT and/or the Board in all strategic financial analysis and decision-making,
• Prepares periodic management accounts and board reporting as required,
• Coordinates and works with other departments to ensure the cross-departmental approach to field support and development,
• Participates in the decision-making process. Inputs constructively into the development of policies, processes, and projects,
• Adopts and executes decisions and policies agreed with the Senior Management Team within the Finance Department,
• Represents INSO in finance-related matters towards external Stakeholders.

Ownership of financial policies, accounting, reporting and systems

• Supports the Deputy Director, Finance Operations in overseeing the preparation of the global financial accounts, the cooperation with Statutory Auditors and involvement with the donor audits, coordinated by Internal Audit department,
• Ensures the financial accounting structure meets statutory and donor reporting requirements,
• Ensures the financial system is matching the organisational needs both in terms of compliance and efficiency; cooperates with external Stakeholders and the IT department in designing automations and improvements.
• Provides day-to-day advice and decision-making on finance matters, including interpretation of donors' policies, at an organization-wide level,
• Develops relevant and effective financial management and accounting policies that meet the needs and obligations of the Organisation.
• Ensures effective orientation and training of relevant staff in INSO policies.
• Establishes systems for monitoring and enforcing policy compliance across the organisation.

Leadership

• Exemplifies and models principles of honesty, integrity and accountability in all actions and inspires the same in others.
• Builds a consistent, efficient, and high performing Finance Team serving as a trusted steward of financial data and compliance, and a business partner supporting forward-looking financial decisions of INSO. Ensures adequate structure, skills and attitudes are present.
• Coordinates and monitors the financial efforts of other finance personnel to ensure consistent standards and messages. Creates culture of trust and cooperation between the HQ and Countries financial personnel and between the Finance organisation and the rest of INSO.

Main Requirements

Essential:

• 10+ years of experience in a management role, ideally leading finance functions at HQ or on regional level, within the INGO/humanitarian sector
• Proven experience working with a wide range of institutional donors (e.g., ECHO, FCDO, USAID, UN donors, SDC, etc.).
• Demonstrated track record of developing and improving financial policies, systems, and processes.
• Strong leadership and capacity-building experience.
• Understanding of humanitarian regulatory frameworks, donor rules, and sector-specific financial requirements.
• Proficient in technology and familiar with accounting software (preferably SUNSYSTEM)
• Fluent in English language (written and spoken)
• Master's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration OR a relevant degree combined with full professional qualification (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or similar).

Desirable:

• Familiarity with Dutch GAAP
• Fluent French, Spanish, or Arabic
• Dutch language skills
• Experience with ERP implementation or large-scale systems transitions

Core Competencies

• Strategic leadership - Able to provide clear financial vision, steer organisational priorities, and influence decision-making at senior levels.
• Stakeholder management - Skilled at engaging, aligning, and communicating with diverse internal and external stakeholders, often with differing priorities.
• Cross-cultural collaboration - Demonstrates strong cultural awareness and thrives in diverse, multicultural teams and environments.
• Critical thinking - Synthesises complex financial and operational information to guide sound, forward-looking decisions.
• Integrity and accountability - Models ethical behaviour and ensures transparency, accuracy, and compliance in all financial practices.
• Change management - Leads system improvements, policy development, and organisational change with a solution-oriented mindset.
• Resilience and adaptability - Comfortable working in challenging and insecure contexts, maintaining effectiveness under pressure.

Terms & Conditions

12-month full-time fixed-term contract (renewable) based in The Hague, Netherlands. It is a Dutch contract based on the Dutch social security and taxation rules with a €8,600 per month gross salary + 8% vacation pay (vakantiegeld) and 2.5 days annual leave accrued per month. It is subject to Highly Skilled Migrant Visa. We provide Basic Premium ONVZ health insurance in the Netherlands and travel insurance when travelling for work. A relocation allowance is available. The right to live and work in the Netherlands is required for this position.

Safeguarding Policy

INSO is fully committed to safe recruitment, selection and vetting of all potential new staff, trustees and volunteers. We ensure rigorous compliance with our Code of Conduct and Safeguarding Policy throughout the recruitment process. INSO is a member of the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme, and the selected candidate will be required to undergo the relevant misconduct disclosure checks as par