Meet INSO

What were you doing before working at INSO?

Before I was worked for INSO, I worked for a development NGO in Mali called WaterAid who focus on WASH (water, hygiene and sanitation). I started working there as the Finance Officer and IT Focal point in 2008 and stayed for about five years until 2014.

That’s when I started working for INSO in Mali as a Country Admin Manager.

Can you tell us about your journey with INSO since then?

I have been on quite the journey with INSO in West Africa, working in many missions.

For my first two years with INSO I was a national staff member working in the Country Admin Manager role. In late 2015 I decided to make a change and moved to work in the Central African Republic (CAR) in the same role.

In 2018, INSO changed its structure and I transitioned into the Finance Manager role, still in CAR. By March 2019, I was ready for a new challenge and decided to work for both INSO Mali and Burkina Faso as a Finance Manager, whilst also supporting the start-up of INSO Niger. Now INSO Burkina Faso is a standalone country mission I am dedicated fully to Burkina Faso.

Please describe your current role. What is your favourite thing about it?

As Finance Manager I’m in charge of a wide range of functions and tasks including accounting, budget and cashflow management, financial reporting and financial controls for both INSO and our donors, as well as audit, compliance and management control.

I enjoy all parts of my work, but if I have to choose a specific part of my job I like the most its audit, compliance and management control.

What do you like about working at INSO?

I think the three things that make working for INSO special are: team spirit, complementarity, and culture of belonging to the same family. These are the things that have inspired me to stay with INSO for so many years.

The trust that INSO has placed in me for the roles that I have been given is something that I really value.

This is something I have always told the team of each mission that I have had the chance to work in: nowhere else can you find the confidence that INSO places in its employees.

Please tell us about a time you felt you’d had a real impact whilst working for INSO.

In the missions that I have worked for INSO, my Country Directors have often told me that I am paternalistic. They tell me that I like taking people with me at my pace. Personally, my vision is to allow everyone to perform as well as they can at the best of their ability.

When I talk about INSO’s work to my colleagues, I always take my example of going from national to expatriate staff, and the continuous learning experience that everyone has regardless of their department.

The real impact that I believe I had on the INSO missions I’ve been part of is the training and continuous learning of the wider support team – Finance as well as Admin, Logistics and HR. In Mali and in the Central African Republic, my internal policy and procedure summary documents, internal management documents are still being used long after I left the missions. This is something I am very proud of.