Finance and Administration Officer
Organisation: Pacific Community (SPC)
Location: Suva, Fiji
Description:
The Pacific Community (SPC) is the principal scientific and technical organisation in the Pacific region, supporting development since 1947. We are an international development organisation owned and governed by our 27 country and territory members. In pursuit of sustainable development to benefit Pacific people, our organisation works across more than 25 sectors. We are known for our knowledge and innovation in such areas as fisheries science, public health, geoscience, and conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.
The Public Health Division (PHD) employs around 42 staff based in Noumea and Suva. It supports members in developing healthier Pacific Island people and communities. The primary focus of the division is to provide scientific and technical assistance and to support the implementation of plans and programmes in member countries and territories. The primary goal for all PHD activities is to promote population health and well-being, prevent diseases, restore and/or maintain health and reduce inequalities in health. PHD is primarily concerned with improving and protecting public (population) health, rather than individual treatment services.
The role – Finance and Administration Officer will provide support to the Public Health Division (PHD) with budget preparation, financial monitoring and reporting, audit compliance, procurement and grants and efficient administration as part of the Finance, Administration and Procurement Team. The key primary focus of this role is to ensure the smooth and efficient operation of the Division in strict adherence to the Pacific Community (SPC) and donor requirements.
The key responsibilities of the role include:
Budget preparation, monitoring, and financial reporting:
• Work closely with the Team Lead on the preparation of annual budgets for the Division including annual work plans.
• Ensure that the Divisional spending is within the approved budgets and workplans through monitoring of the programmes / projects budget and forecasts. Specific focus areas include income and expenditure against Project plan, or annual workplan and budgets, monthly analysis of expenditures against outputs/outcomes, and commitments, project execution rates and project acquittals.
• Assist with preparation of the monthly financial and annual Divisional progress reports.
• Assist the Team Lead with the development of budgets for new funding initiatives, work-force planning and resource mobilisation.
Accounting, audit, and compliance:
• Reconciliation – Lead on the Division’s financial month-end closing processes. Ensure that all financial transactions are accurately reflected in the financial system, and discrepancies are proactively addressed.
• Cash management - Monitor the income and expenses of projects, to ensure the adequacy of funds for the implementation of activities.
• Prepare periodic cashflow reporting forecasts for the projects and Division.
• Audit - Coordinate and facilitate audit engagements (internal/external/projects) for the Division. Provide the relevant support to other review/evaluation engagements.
Procurement, grant and operational support:
• Lead PHD’s procurement engagements (programmes and projects), in line with SPC policies and donor requirements.
• Prepare and monitor the Division’s annual procurement plan.
• Lead PHD’s granting engagements (programmes and projects), in line with SPC policies and donor requirements.
• Monitoring of the Division’s risks associated with its procurement plan and grant activities.
Overall administrative support:
• Contribute to the SPC Finance and Procurement shared services agenda which includes knowledge sharing, process refinements / reviews and increasing collaboration.
• Facilitate administration relating to staff travel, meetings, trainings, and field exercises.
• Ensure that financial acquittals are provided on a timely basis and support documentation is sufficient and adequate.
• Ensure that all the Division’s finance documentation is well prepared and stored in readily available mediums in line with audit standards.
For a more detailed account of the key responsibilities, please refer to the online job description.
Key selection criteria
Qualifications:
• Bachelor’s degree in finance or accounting or equivalent body of knowledge and experience.
Technical expertise:
• At least 5 years of demonstrated professional experience in project finance, or finance and procurement operations or in a similar role.
• Demonstrated experience of working with development partners at a strategic level.
• Experience in financial reporting, project budgeting, risk management and business improvement processes.
• Strong understanding of procurement and grant activities, contracts and liquidity management.
• Demonstrated audit experience, with sound knowledge of accounting standards, and attention to detail.
• Familiarity with the use of computerized financial management information systems, and applications.
• Solutions oriented with sound coordination, administrative, networking and negotiation abilities
• Demonstrated supervisory experience and people management skills.
Language skills:
• Excellent English communication skills (oral and written) with a working knowledge of French being an advantage.
Interpersonal skills and cultural awareness:
• Ability to work in a multicultural, inclusive and equitable environment.
Salary, terms and conditions
Contract Duration – 3 years – subject to renewal depending on funding and performance.
Remuneration – The Finance and Administration Officer is a band 9 position in SPC’s 2026 salary scale.
For a Noumea based position – a starting salary range of SDR (special drawing rights) 3,350–4,092 per month, which converts to approximately XPF 483,424–590,374 (USD 4,489–5,483; EUR 4,051–4,947).SPC salaries are not presently subject to income tax in New Caledonia.
For a Suva based position – a starting salary range of with a starting salary range of 2,399?2,998 SDR (special drawing rights) per month, which currently converts to approximately FJD 7,412–9,265 (USD 3,214–4,018; EUR 2,900–3,625). Remuneration of expatriate SPC staff members is not subject to income tax in Fiji; Fiji nationals employed by SPC in Fiji will be subject to income tax.
An offer of appointment for an initial contract will normally be made in the lower half of this range, with due consideration given to experience and qualifications. Progression within the salary scale will be based on annual performance reviews.
Benefits for Staff in a position advertised internationally (EPAI) whose duty station is Noumea or Suva – SPC provides housing support in Noumea or Suva. Establishment and repatriation grant, removal expenses, airfares, home leave travel, health and life and disability insurances and education allowances are available for eligible employees and their eligible dependents. Employees are entitled to 25 working days of annual leave per annum and other types of leave, and access to SPC’s Provident Fund (contributing 8% of salary, to which SPC adds a 10% contribution).
Languages – SPC’s working languages are English and French.
Recruitment principles – SPC’s recruitment is based on merit and fairness, and candidates are competing in a selection process that is fair, transparent and non-discriminatory. SPC is an equal-opportunity employer, and is committed to cultural and gender diversity, including bilingualism, and will seek to attract and appoint candidates who respect these values.
Due attention is given to gender equity and the maintenance of strong representation from Pacific Island professionals. If two interviewed candidates are ranked equal by the selection panel, preference will be given to the Pacific Islander. Applicants will be assured of complete confidentiality in line with SPC’s Privacy Policy.
Application procedure
Closing Date: 20 September 2026 at 11:59pm (Fiji time)
Job Reference: JM000982
Applicants must apply online at http://careers.spc.int/
Hard copies of applications will not be accepted.
For your application to be considered, you must provide us with:
• an updated resume with contact details for three professional referees
• a cover letter detailing your skills, experience and interest in this position
• responses to all screening questions
Your application will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed at shortlisting stage if all the above documents are not provided. Applicants should not attach copies of qualifications or letters of reference. Please ensure your documents are in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format.
For international staff in Fiji, only one foreign national per family can be employed with an entity operating in Fiji at any one given time. SPC may assist on a case-by-case basis with submissions to Fiji Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their consideration and final approval.
SPC cannot and does not make any guarantee whatsoever of approval for such applications to Fiji Ministry of Foreign Affairs and where an application is approved, the spouse or partner will subject to such terms and conditions as may be set from time to time by the Ministry.
SPC does not charge a fee to consider your application and will never ask for your banking or financial information during the recruitment process.
Screening Questions (maximum of 2,000 characters per question):
1. Describe your experience managing budgets, monitoring expenditures, and preparing financial reports, including the financial systems or ERP platforms used, and the size of the budgets managed.
2. SPC manages multiple donor-funded projects. Provide examples of your experience supporting donor-funded programmes and ensuring compliance with donor and organisational financial requirements.
3. Describe a situation where you coordinated procurement, travel, workshops, contracts, or other administrative activities while managing competing priorities. How did you ensure tasks were completed accurately and on time