Finance manager

Thomson is looking for a full-time finance manager to oversee its project finances and reporting duties of its donor-funded media development programme from its office in Berlin. The finance manager reports to the managing director based in Berlin and maintains key working relationships with the director of finance based in London, responsible for the management accounts, as well as the operations manager in Berlin.

About Thomson Media:

Working with governments, philanthropic and institutional donors, Thomson Media gGmbH brings innovative approaches to how independent local media around the globe can help to tackle today’s critical issues while also becoming financially sustainable businesses that serve local audiences with quality content. The organisation is the associated German entity of the Thomson Foundation based in London, with a 60-year track record of training journalists in ethical standards and quality reporting in more than 100 countries. Thomson Media prides itself on delivering capacity building to journalists and media organisations in hostile environments and shrinking spaces for civil society and press freedom, including media in exile across Europe.

Professional requirements:

In order to be eligible for the position of finance manager the candidate should be able to demonstrate the following:

Qualifications and skills:

• Relevant degree or equivalent experience in business administration, project management/controlling, finance, and accounting
• Advanced knowledge of Excel and financial reporting requirements for funders, especially from Germany are a must (AA, BMZ, GIZ etc.)
• Minimum of four years of first-hand experience of finances or project controlling of large-scale projects for governmental, philanthropic or media industry funders – ideally all three
• Highly organised and able to work independently, keep oversight of multiple projects, with ability to keep calm under pressure
• High attention to detail to produce work with a high level of accuracy
• Fluent in German and good command of English
• Good communication skills with both internal and external stakeholders
• Good people skills, and collaborative working style
• Appreciation of different cultures globally

Desirable skills:

• Strong interest in media and media development
• Good knowledge of other languages is an asset, ideally Russian or Arabic
• Knowledge and experience working with different accounting frameworks and regulations

Key responsibilities:

• Keeps across spending objectives and financial reporting calendars of all of Thomson Media’s programmes (around 15 at a time) to meet financial deadlines and spending targets
• Financial reporting: pro-actively supports project managers in completing financial reporting cycles, including relevant supporting documents
• Prepares annual audits including the collection of supporting documents and exchanges regularly with tax consultants and if needed the tax authorities
• Works closely with operations manager to monitor projects’ performance against budget; their optimum efficiency by accurately capturing the use and allocation of all internal and external resources – staff, admin, contractors, equipment – in close liaison with Thomson’s head of finance and/or external accountants
• Project development phase: provides relevant financial data to complete project budgets at concept note and proposal stage including unit values for staff costs, advice on VAT issues regarding experts, margins, percentage of allocation of operating costs etc.
• Manages asset – debt ratio of German entity and keeps track of inter-company transfers
• Creates a cost and spend analysis as well as a project cash flow on a monthly and quarterly basis or on demand from the managing director; may be asked to undertake ad hoc financial analysis from time to time
• Manages weekly payment runs which includes entering project invoices (ca. 20 a week) 

Applicants should be ideally based in Berlin. If interested, applicants are invited to submit their CV and a short letter of motivation to David Quin, davidq@thomsonfoundation.org

Thomson Media gGmbH is a not-for-profit organisation and an equal opportunities employer.