Senior Grants – Finance Officer

We are looking for enthusiastic, dedicated development professionals interested in long term careers with a major international children’s NGO.

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children. Plan, one of the world’s largest children’s INGOs, works with children and poor communities in 50 countries.

Currently we work in Vientiane Capital, Bokeo, Oudomxay, Luang Prabang, Saravan, Champasak and Vientiane Provinces, in basic education, early childhood development, health and nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, adolescence development and participant, and skills and opportunities for youth employment and entrepreneurship. Plan International has no religious or political aims or affiliations. Visit www.plan-international.org for more information.

Plan is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage applications from women, members of ethnic groups and people with disabilities and LGBTQIA+ colleagues. Plan offers competitive salaries and long-term employment opportunities for all posts.

Plan International Laos is looking for a Lao National for the following position:

Senior Grants – Finance Officer

based in Plan and LNCCI offices, Vientiane Capital

The Senior Grants-Finance Officer will be responsible for the effective financial management of the Lasting Laos and Plastic Smart Laos projects as well as a Small Matching Grants Programme, ensuring strict adherence to all donor requirements and Plan International policies. This role is crucial in enhancing the projects impact by ensuring rigorous grant management, compliance with donor regulations, and efficient management of partner and grant information systems. The officer will play a pivotal role in building the financial capacity of project and partner staff, enabling stronger, more sustainable project delivery. Additionally, the position will provide strategic financial insights to project management and Plan Laos Country Office (CO) management, producing timely, accurate reports that meet the highest donor standards and facilitate informed decision-making.

The position is responsible for the assessment and compliance monitoring of grants systems, processes, partnerships management, financial reviews, reporting, field verification visits and analysis of budgets and expenditures of all donor grants and sub-grants. This role will work closely with the Project Manager, Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) and Grant Partnership Manager as well as project partners (i.e., LNCCI) and other internal and external stakeholders. This is a management position based in Vientiane Capital which will directly supervise three project finance and admin officers based in Vientiane Capital, Luang Prabang and Pakse.

Duties and responsibilities will include:

• Supports the Project Manager, CTA and Plan Laos CO finance management in overseeing the financial management and ensuring compliance with all donor and Plan policies across the Lasting Laos and Plastic-Smart Laos as well as the small grants matching programme;
• Works closely with the project team and project partners (LNCCI) to ensure adherence to both donor and Plan processes and procedures, identifying gaps in capacity and providing necessary support;
• Directly supervise three Lasting Laos/Plastic-Smart project Finance-Admin Officers based in Vientiane Capital, Luang Prabang, and Pakse project offices, providing technical guidance, performance management, and capacity building;
• Oversees the disbursement of small-grant awards approved by the project manager under the small matching grants programme, including conducting due diligence of grantees and ensuring compliance with all standards and policies;
• Acts as quality control of all financial processes, reviewing supporting documents and identifying any issues likely to have an impact on the projects’ alignment to highest professional financial requirements;
• Support the Project Manager and CTA in the annual budget planning and review process;
• Conduct regular grants monitoring and analysis for the projects and ensure individual grants performance are being tracked effectively and that risks and issues are being recognised and action taken;
• Prepare high-quality financial reports in preparation for submission to Plan Germany (Lasting Laos), WWF (Plastic Smart Laos), donor agencies (EU, GEF, FFEM, TUI Care Foundation), and the Lao government, as required;
• Review and verify regular partner (LNCCI) financial reports, including quality assurance of financial supporting documents;
• Effective communication and coordination with LNCCI and other project partners, government counterparts and key stakeholders;
• Maintain a broad and deep understanding of donor policies, regulations and procedures and build this knowledge among other team members;
• Support the Project Manager in any budget re-alignment/phasing and modification and updating data in the SAP system. 

Qualifications, Experiences: 

• A Bachelor’s Degree in finance, accounting, business, international development or related field;
• Qualification as an accountant, with recognized certification;
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience working with non-governmental organizations and/or international development agencies in Laos in a similar role;
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in awards/grants portfolio management and understanding donor compliance from diverse institutional donors (EU, GEF, FFEM);
• Thorough current knowledge and understanding of grants management systems and financial regulations;
• Experience in supervising multi-location teams, managing staff performance and facilitating staff development;
• Experience in working with and building capacity of local implementing partners;
• Ability to work in a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural environment.

Skills:

• Strong organizational skills and competencies relevant to the financial management of donor-funded projects;
• Excellent attention to detail and analytical skills;
• Previous experience in SAP ERP or any recognized grants management system;
• Ability to learn quickly, especially regarding donor compliance and Plan policies;
• Ability to communicate effectively with project team members, partners, government counterparts, donors and other stakeholders;
• Rapid identification of issues/risks and problem-solving capabilities;
• Excellent command of Lao and English languages (spoken and written) and ability to develop and edit high-quality documents;
• Excellent computer skills (including Word and Excel).

Leadership Behaviours:

• Ability to collaborate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders including government, private sector, service providers and other development agencies;
• Ability to mentor team members and project partners;
• Ability to influence others’ behavior through effective relationship building;
• Positive, pro-active and flexible working attitude.

FOR ALL PLAN POSITIONS:

• We strongly encourage equally qualified female candidates to apply.
• Strong commitment to the equal rights and participation of girls and women is essential.
• Strong commitment to the Rights of the Child is essential.
• Plan does not tolerate child abuse. All Plan staff are selected and employed in line with the conditions of Plan’s Child Protection Policy. These include appropriate reference and background checks.
• Applications will not be acknowledged. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. No correspondence or telephone calls will be entered into.
• Short listed candidates will be required to attend panel interviews and other selection procedures.

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: on Friday, 29th of August, 2025

TO APPLY FOR THIS POST:

Send your resume/CV, and cover letter. In the cover letter please state on a separate page your preferred start date, names and contact details of three referees and your salary expectations for each position, to Plan International Laos, Vientiane, Lao PDR, or to  PlanLaos.JobVacancies@plan-international.org

Please state in cover letter how you learned about the job – through emails, INGO Directory, 108 Jobs, or friends.