SOLIDARITES INTERNATIONAL (SI) is an international humanitarian aid association which, since more than 40 years, has been providing assistance to populations affected by armed conflicts and natural disasters by meeting their basic needs for food, water and shelter. Particularly committed to the fight against diseases linked to unsafe water, the leading cause of death in the world, SI’s interventions provide expertise in the field of access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene promotion, but also in the essential area of food security and livelihoods. Present in 26 countries, the SI teams – 3200 people in total, made up of expatriates, national staff, permanent staff at HQ, and a few volunteers – intervene with professionalism and commitment while respecting cultural norms.

About the mission

In response to the attacks of 7 October 2023, the Israeli army launched a massive offensive in the Gaza Strip, beginning with a campaign of air strikes followed by a series of ground offensives that successively hit all the enclave’s governorates. The intensity of the fighting, repeated strikes and successive evacuation orders have forced more than 1.7 million people to move, sometimes several times, to sites less directly affected by the fighting. The first displacements towards the south of Gaza, and more particularly the governorate of Rafah where 1.7 million Palestinians were displaced in April 2024, were followed by the displacement of more than 1 million people towards the central part of the Gaza Strip when the offensive on Rafah was launched in May 2024.
Displaced people are living in schools, organised sites and informal sites where it is more difficult to organise assistance. The destruction by the fighting of vital infrastructure, such as health facilities, water and electricity supplies, schools and other public services, is having a major impact on the displaced and host populations.

SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL teams have been working in Gaza since February 2024. Activities are currently being developed in the governorate of Deir el-Balah, in the centre of the Gaza Strip, where a base was opened in March.
SI teams are implementing WASH activities, which include the installation and rehabilitation of water desalination plants to ensure the production of drinking water, the transport of water to displacement sites by tanker truck, and activities aimed at reducing health risks and improving the living conditions of displaced people through hygiene promotion sessions and the distribution of hygiene kits.

General objective:

The Finance & HR manager carries out administrative, accounting and financial management of his/her base, in compliance with donor and SOLIDARITES International procedures. He/she supervises accounting operations and cash management, and carries out budget follow up in conjunction with the program managers.
He/she is also one of those charged with ensuring that Solidarités International’s Human Resources policy is properly implemented at the base. He supports monitors and trains the members of his administrative team.

The main challenges:

– Volume is limited (2 grants 1MEUR CDCS and 200k ChooseLove / 15 employees (1 opened recruitment) / 1 base-coo), administrative process already well established (monthly pack set up) but the mission remained new. > Strenghtening processes, capacity building team.
– The context brings operational challenges such cash supply and security management and required a particularly care approach to HR management (team mediation, social dialogue, MHPSS, care initiatives…).
– No coordination, direct link to HQ.

Priorities for the 2/3 first months:

– Maintain and reinforced regular processes (follow managers rotation, integration of the administrative assistant, strictly follow cash situation, implement IP reporting system).
– Maintain and reinforced HR initiatives to ensure a safe and healthy working environnement.
– According the evolution, prepare launching of new projects (recruitment) and support the upgrade of the administrative system (legal and fiscal implication).

Responsibilities and main activities:

On a daily basis, the Finance and HR Manager is responsible for:
– Administrative management of the staff.
– Cash-flow/bookkepping.
– Budgetary / financial monitoring.
– Team Management.
– Administrative management of the mission.
– Reporting / Communication.

A salaried position:
According to experience, starting from EUR 2 310 gross per month (2100 base salary + 10% annual leave allowance paid monthly) and a monthly Per Diem of USD 750.

SI also covers accommodation costs and travel expenses between the expatriate’s country of origin and the place of assignment.

Breaks: During the assignment, a system of alternation between work and time off is implemented at the rate of 7 working days every twomonths (with a USD 850 break allowance, allocated by Sl). To these breaks periods, SI grants one (1) additional rest day per month worked.

Insurance package: Expatriates benefit from an insurance package which refunds all healthcare expenses (including medical and surgical expenses, dental care and ophthalmological expenses, repatriation) and a welfare system including war risks. Essential vaccination and antimalarial treatment costs are refunded.

LIVING CONDITIONS:

The Finance & HR manager is based in Deir-el-Balah, where Solidarités International has its office and guesthouse. Living conditions are very harsh in Gaza, due to the persistence of the conflict and the restrictions associated with it, major disruptions to basic services (water, electricity, health, etc.) leading to high health risks, and the lack of basic products (hygiene, foodstuffs, etc.). This creates a difficult working environment and a high level of stress, with limited opportunities to relax.