Programme and Finance Support Officer

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. We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. We enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge. We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 85 years and are now active in more than 80 countries. Established in 2003, Plan International Ireland influences and supports Plan International’s work worldwide. Plan International Ireland has been certified as one of Ireland’s Best Workplaces each year since 2020.

Purpose of role

The Programme and Finance Support Officer will be part of the Irish Aid Team, responsible for managing Plan International Ireland’s grant portfolio from Irish Aid/Irish Embassies.

You will undertake a variety of tasks:

Support grant management, compliance, and financial management of programme grants Providing high-quality support to the Team to allow them to manage the finance and compliance risks associated with the Irish Aid grant; this will include grant management, compliance, and financial management.

Strong liaisonwith Country Offices and National Offices to support delivery of high-quality programmes

Collaborate with the Programme Team in each Country Office as well as in Plan Ireland to ensure that suitable opportunities are identified and pursued. Contributing to Country Office donor outreach strategy in order to ensure good relations with priority donors.

Short term travel to Country Offices to support projects will be required on an occasional basis, subject to funding and needs.

Support in completing specific tasks – e.g., annual report, donor reports, donor audits, management of small grants.

Contributing to opportunities to profile our work, within the Plan Federation and within Ireland.

Key Duties and Activities

Compliance and financial management of the Irish Aid portfolio.

Ensure that up-to-date policies, procedures, manuals, and tools are in place, setting out clear frameworks for the management and financial control of the Irish Aid programme.

Monitor grant budgets to ensure timely and accurate expenditure and reporting.

Contribute towards staff training and organisational learning in Irish Aid development and protracted crisis designated countries.

Ensure Country Offices are informed of donor policy and compliance requirements and highlighting divergence from Plan International’ policy and compliance rules.

Provide continuous mentoring and backstopping support to Irish Aid development and protracted crisis designated Country Offices to ensure sound financial implementation and compliance with Plan and donor’s regulations.

Act as focal point and providing technical capacity in financial aspects of project management as required.

Carry out sampled financial verifications on grant expenditure.

Liaise with donors as required and deal with their related inquiries.

Provide continuous support to the Irish Aid Team to:

Ensure quality delivery, timely reporting (internally and to donors).

M&E processes of the Irish Aid.

Implement good practices in all aspects of programme/project cycle and budget management liaising with Plan International Ireland finance team.

Maintain programme records and associated files (including project contracts and internal compliance documents) for designated countries to facilitate reporting.

Work with Country Office teams to maintain appropriate flows of communication with partners including contracting procedures, dissemination of templates, funding schedules, report deadlines and to build their capacities.

Business Development

Support the development of proposals relating to Irish Aid/ Irish Embassy opportunities.

Learning and Development

Contribute actively to Plan International Ireland’s Programmes Implementation Unit, sharing ideas and experience to ensure the implementation of our programme strategy and to build programme quality.

Assist Country Offices to develop case studies and briefing papers that can also be shared with the communications, fundraising, programme funding and technical teams as appropriate.

Manage programme reviews and evaluations, and share learning, research and best practices on multilateral programmes in close coordination with Country Offices and Plan Ireland’s technical team as appropriate.

Emergency Response

Suitable candidates may have the opportunity to join Plan’s Emergency Roster, with the possibility of short notice travel to support field teams during emergencies.

Other

Contribute actively to Plan International Ireland’s Programme Implementation Team, sharing ideas and experience to ensure the implementation of our programme strategy and to build programme quality.

Person specification

Education

Third Level qualification in a related field.

Skills and abilities

Compliance and Finance

Ability to work with a portfolio of donors, donor compliance skills, including strong financial understanding.

Excellent command of Excel.

Ability to work closely with finance and compliance teams.

Project Management

Knowledge and experience of programme cycle management,

Results Based Management, and Rights Based Approach,

Understanding of CHS and other humanitarian standards, such as SPHERE.

Ability to plan well and deliver on objectives in a timely way, particularly in relation to meeting grant management deadlines.

Ability to seek out, develop, and successfully implement new ideas, or adopt proven approaches that support the delivery of quality programmes.

Strong Communications and Networking Skills

Strong written and verbal communication skills, and ability to adapt messages to meet diverse audiences.

Ability to engage with others inside and outside the organisation to promote our child rights agenda, and profile the work of Plan International Ireland.

French language competency is highly desirable.

Level of experience required

You will have experience of supporting programmes at head office level and will be familiar with donor reporting and compliance requirements.

You will have experience of all stages of grant management from proposal writing through implementation to final reporting with a strong focus us financial aspects

Compliance and Finance : able to work with a portfolio of donors, donor compliance skills, including strong financial understanding. Able to work in financial management systems and advanced skills in Microsoft Office programmes, particularly MS Excel, etc. Strong numeracy and budgetary skills.

Communicating with all stakeholders be able to communicate our vision using clear and concise messaging.

Working effectively and efficiently: always ensure that impact is the core feature of our work and maintain continuous improvement in everything we do. Influence change within your team and the wider organisation.

Salary and benefits

This role is graded as a Level 2 within our salary scale This position offers a minimum annual salary of €30,399 as set out in the INO salary scheme. The final offer will reflect the candidate’s experience, skills, and qualifications.

In addition to salary, Plan International Ireland provides several employee benefits, some of which include:

- Private Health Insurance for all employees (from commencement date).

- Matching company pension contributions up to 5% (once probation is complete).

- Flexible working hours (core hours of 10am to 4pm daily, minimum of 37 hours per week).

- Hybrid working model upon successful probation

- As an employee you will be able to sign up to the Bike-to-Work scheme, or the TaxSaver scheme for DART, LUAS, and Dublin bus users.

- Hybrid working option on completion of probation.

- Learning and career development, including technical skills, management, and professional development.

- 25 days annual leave, increasing with length of service up to 30 days.

Location & work permit

The Programme and Finance Support Officer role will be based at the Plan International Ireland office at 11 Harrington Street, Dublin 8. Applicants must have a valid work permit at the time of applying to enable them to work in Ireland.

How to apply

To apply for the role, please submit your CV and cover letter by outlining why you feel you’re the right person for the role by CoB Friday 28th November 2025 via our website at: Careers at Plan International Ireland. Interviews will take place in early December.

Plan Ireland regrets that only short-listed candidates will be contacted in response to applications.

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