Job Offer Financial Officer

10 jan 2022

for the duration of 1 year with the possibility of renewal for the new 2021-2027 programme period

The Interreg Euregio Meuse-Rhine team is looking for an enthusiastic colleague with extensive experience in the financial monitoring of projects and programmes, preferably of European-financed programmes in an international setting.

In this position you will be part of the Euregio Meuse-Rhine cluster

Welcome to the Euregio Meuse-Rhine (EMR), where crossing borders is part of everyday life. When you work in the EMR, you can start the day in Maastricht (the Netherlands), move on to business meetings in Liège (Belgium), and end the day in the beautiful old city centre of Aachen (Germany). The region’s more than four million inhabitants appreciate its borderless combination of vibrant cities, world-class research, rich cultural heritage, and unspoiled nature every day.

Since 1991, cross-border cooperation projects between the Belgian, German, and Dutch partner regions have received support from Interreg. The fifth period of the programme covers the entire territory of the Meuse-Rhine Euroregio, parts of the German Land Rheinland-Pfalz, and a number of neighbouring regions in Belgium and the Netherlands. The European Union and its programme partners (Member States, regions) have made a total of EUR 140 million in public funding available for joint actions in the areas of innovation, the economy, social inclusion, education, and territorial development.

These are some of the projects we're very proud of:

  • ROLLING SOLAR: Pilot project integrating solar panels into road infrastructure. Examples include solar panels incorporated in bicycle paths.
  • TREE - Training for Refugees: Refugee project, where refugees are retrained as care personnel. This project has recently received an award from the European Commission.
  • PANDEMRIC: Joint COVID projects, such as monitoring all IC beds in the region and jointly purchasing face masks.

The Dutch Province of Limburg has been designated the Management Authority (MA) and Certifying Authority (CA) for the Interreg V-A Euregio Meuse-Rhine programme. This means that the Province is responsible for managing this cross-border programme, which runs until 2024.

These are the tasks of the financial officer: 

  • will financially support the project managers of the Joint Secretariat (JS) in the follow-up of projects
  • advise on the eligibility of expenditure and performance of the projects.
  • will monitor programme/project budgets as well as the implementation and financial viability.
  • will make financial analyses and forecasts for the programme, based on data from the eMS and other online reporting systems of the European Union, the Province of Limburg and others. For this purpose you will develop your own queries or spreadsheets if required.
  • will provide financial support and advice to JS and the Management Authority (MA).
  • will act as financial advisor in project kick-off meetings.
  • have an affinity with IT applications and are able to develop IT applications by yourself in Excel or equivalent software programs.
  • will collect and process data for progress reports, management and other reporting, budget amendments, budget applications, and for the preparation of financial overviews concerning the programme's budgetary management.
  • will supervise the implementation of financial procedures set out in the management and control systems and the correct application of procurement rules. In this context, you may elaborate and/or adapt guidelines, techniques and methodologies; will defend the positions and criteria of the programme and the European Union with several stakeholders.
  • will be responsible for financial monitoring, in particular with regard to EU and national rules on Interreg funding and related areas (public procurement, State aid, etc.).
  • will assist colleagues and temporarily take over their tasks when necessary.
  • will monitor programming and amendments in the Electronic Monitoring System (eMS system), for which purpose you:
  1. will collect and identify questions, complaints, and wishes regarding the eMS system under management.
  2. will monitor problems with the performance of the eMS system, identify users' wishes and collect specific information, for example in accordance with EU directives with which the system must comply.
  3. will suggest possible adaptations to the eMS system.
  4. will manage the functional documentation and user manual of the eMS system.
  5. will monitor data file accessibility, file archiving, and backups.
  6. will work in close consultation with the external parties, who take care of the hosting, management, and development of the system, and closely monitor the timing and agreements.
  7. will take Interact training courses to keep abreast of the latest developments.
  8. will advise on the new monitoring system to be purchased for the new 2021-2027 programme period.
  9. will see to the correct implementation of the new system on the provincial server and the roll-out to internal and external end-users.
  10. will be responsible for preparing the tender dossier for Technical Assistance central.

Working for the Province of Limburg is surprisingly different

Working for the Province of Limburg means working to promote the welfare and prosperity of Limburg and its people. Our shared mission is to achieve results that have an impact. You do this in a setting where a wealth of cultural heritage and tourist attractions almost make you feel like you're on holiday. North Limburg has the nature-rich Land of Peel and Maas and the fens and shifting dunes of the Maasduinen. Central Limburg has the largest interconnected water sports area in the Netherlands, i.e. the Maasplassen. And Zuid-Limburg is home to the green Heuvelland.

The Province of Limburg is growing towards an open, learning governmental organisation within which professionals have the scope to pursue innovations in cooperation with relevant partners. This requires employees to shoulder responsibility for their own development. The Province provides strong support for personal development and expects its employees to take initiatives and make efforts in that regard.

We ask:

  • Higher professional degree [HBO] or equivalent;
  • Experience working with cross-border cooperation and/or European programmes is an asset;
  • Ability to move fluidly within a government organisation;
  • Ability to maintain contact with project partners and the staff of the bodies involved in the programme;
  • Financial-analytical knowledge and skills and the ability to maintain an overview;
  • Affinity with figures, project budgets, tables and financial data;
  • Excellent knowledge of Word and Excel and the ability to program in Excel;
  • Affinity with IT applications;
  • Preferably experience with Interreg programmes and/or projects;
  • Languages:
  • fluent in English;
  • native-speaker proficiency in one of the languages of the Euregion (French, German, Dutch); good working knowledge of the other languages is a valuable asset in this position;
  • willingness to learn the languages of the Euroregio.
  • knowledge of and insight into financial project control, or willingness to learn;
  • Familiarity with public procurement legislation in the various Member States, or willingness to learn quickly.
  • results-driven: you set challenging (but achievable) goals and make every effort to attain them;
  • planning and organising: you can plan and organise large and difficult tasks and assignments and implement short-term solutions subject to unforeseen circumstances that may have specific repercussions for others;
  • progress monitoring: you can track the progress of your own work and that of others;
  • accuracy and a sense of quality: you continue to deliver quality work under heightened pressure and actively seek opportunities to improve the quality of your work.

We offer you:

  • a minimum gross monthly salary based on a 36-hour working week of € 3.085,57 and a maximum of € 4.386,29 in the scale 10.
  • an Individual Choice Budget (ICB) of approx. 22%, including holiday allowance (8%), and a structural year-end bonus (8.3%). This budget comes on top of your fixed salary and can be paid when you need it. You can also use it, for example, to purchase a bicycle, sports subscription, or extra leave;
  • Opportunities to work partially flexibly and independently of location;
  • Personal training budget of € 5.000 for the duration of five years with sufficient options to work on your development.

Interested?

If so, we would like to receive your application by 22 January 2022.

Would you like more information? If so, please contact (without any commitment) Mark Vos, MA coordinator, EMR Cluster, via the following number: +31 (0)6 46 62 47 92.