Earn 137m as one of Financial Analysts at United States US Embassy / Mission

Job
Title:        
 Financial
Analyst (Several Job Placements)

Organisation: United
States US Embassy, US Mission in Uganda

Duty Station: Kampala,
Uganda

Salary Grade: UGX
137,483,245 – 202,072,484 per annum (FSN 11)

About US Embassy:

The United States
Embassy in Kampala, Uganda has enjoyed diplomatic relations with Uganda for
over 30 years.  Ambassador Deborah R. Malac currently heads the U.S
Mission to Uganda.  The Mission is composed of several offices and
organizations all working under the auspices of the Embassy and at the
direction of the Ambassador.

Among the offices
operating under the U.S Mission to Uganda are:

  • United States Agency for International
    Development (USAID)
  • Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
  • Peace Corps

Job Summary:  The Financial Analyst (FA) is part of the
Office of Financial Management (OFM) and reports to the Supervisory Financial
Analyst. S/he provides professional financial management advice on a broad
range of financial management issues to the Controller, Mission Management,
Development Objective (DO) teams, and various governmental and non-governmental
partner institutions, as well as to potential partner institutions which
implement an array of complex development activities. As OFM representative to
the DO team to which s/he is assigned, the FA performs necessary analyses and
provides appropriate advice on financial, accountability and risk management
issues related to planning and implementation of USAID/Uganda’s program funded
activities with an estimated annual program budget of $450 Million in one of
the most corrupt countries in the world. The FA will provide financial tracking
and analysis of USAID resources to ensure better financial monitoring and
minimize fraud risk. The FA will specifically be responsible for audits,
financial reviews, pre-award assessments, control environment and risk
assessments, cost effectiveness assessments, and closeout reviews, all of which
have been less rigorous than necessary due to staffing shortages in OFM. The FA
will assist in assessing Government of Uganda (GoU) public financial management
and procurement systems and provide oversight of third party monitoring
services.

The FA acts as the
“one stop” customer service representative between OFM and numerous internal
and external customers, including Senior Mission Management; Host Country
agency representatives, private sector service providers; implementing partner
organizations; and other international donor agencies regarding financial
analysis and accounting for projects implemented by the Mission.

Key Duties and Responsibilities: 

Portfolio Financial
Management, Analysis, Monitoring and Advisory Services – (60%)

  • Provide professional financial advice to USAID/Uganda Mission
    management personnel on a range of issues related to the financial
    management aspects of proposed activities, such as estimated costs and
    required budgets; internal controls; fiduciary risk management and
    compliance; and other issues.
  • Contribute to USAID’s decision and policy making process by
    providing recommendations and suggestions for improving operational
    efficiencies, financial management practices, and the accuracy of
    financial reporting.
  • Provide technical guidance on U.S. federal government and USAID
    rules and regulations to the technical DO teams, implementing partners,
    non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and host government officials.
  • Prepare the financial aspects of project design and procurement
    planning documents, such as budgets and financial plans for Implementation
    Letters, Grant Agreements, and other relevant implementing mechanisms.
  • Participate in the performance of financial reviews, pre-award
    assessments, organizational capacity assessments and compliance reviews.
    This includes control environment and risk assessments, cost effectiveness
    assessments, disbursement reviews, indirect cost rate reviews,
    pre-closeout and closeout reviews on USAID funded organizations to
    determine the levels of accountability and adequacy of control
    environments within those entities. Prepare reports on their detailed
    findings and issue these reports both to internal and external
    stakeholders. Subsequent to these reviews, consistently follow up on the
    findings until they are closed.
  • Perform reviews of financial terms and conditions on project
    agreements, project implementation orders, GLAAS requisitions, contracts,
    purchase and delivery orders, and lease and grant agreements for
    compliance with applicable rules, regulations, and procedures relating to
    accounting and fund controls. Monitor the execution of such documents to
    ensure compliance with financial plans and report on the financial status
    of those instruments to the Controller, the DO teams and Team Leaders.
  • Serve on the DO team, representing the Controller in accordance with
    delegated authorities, and providing the full range of advisory services,
    including periodic portfolio and/or project implementation reviews,
    procurement planning exercises and other such activities.
  • Prepare and present the quarterly financial reviews to the DO teams,
    providing in depth analysis and insight to ensure DO team leaders and team
    members are aware of any issues related to pipeline positions, spend plans
    and obligation plans.
  • Guide and coach the A/COR on the development of accruals. Prepare
    and present the quarterly financial reviews bringing to light areas of
    concern to the technical teams; identifies and recommends adjusting
    entries to the accountants to bring the project/program pipelines into
    accurate levels; investigates any variances between projections and actual
    disbursements or accrued expenditure; and provides the results to Activity
    Managers.
  • Conduct financial management training for USAID implementing
    partners and recipients as part of capacity building, and hold workshops
    where specific challenges faced in financial implementation are shared by
    implementing partners and action plans developed to mitigate or address
    the challenges.
  • Provide training to senior project staff responsible for financial
    implementation of USAID-funded programs.

Lead Public
Financial Management (PFM) Reform Initiatives and Capacity Building – (30%)

  • Participate and advise Mission senior management and staff in the
    efforts set forth by the Agency related to Public Financial Management
    (PFM) System reforms to use local partners. This includes advising Mission
    management on the reliability and/or weaknesses of host country systems,
    the effectiveness of the underlying internal controls, and providing
    possible recommendations. He/she identifies or coordinates the capacity
    building needs endorsed and/or determined from assessments conducted on
    the Host Government Agencies, both at the National and Local Levels,
    develops an Action Plan or a SOW to address those, and oversees
    implementation.
  • Through agreements between the Government of Uganda and
    USAID/Uganda, design and implement reforms to create independent and
    transparent public finance institutions, budgetary and treasury processes,
    audit and performance evaluations of public finances and unbiased data and
    information dissemination.
  • Manage USAID/Uganda’s assistance and investments on PFM-related
    activities, working directly with the Host Country Government Officials,
    including Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI), Ministry of Finance, Treasury,
    Judiciary, Internal Audit Institutions, civil societies and the private
    sector associations.
  • Advise and assist USAID/Uganda’s Mission Office Chiefs and the Front
    Office on all cross-cutting PFM issues impacting the Mission’s assistance
    portfolio and program implementation.
  • Coordinate with the DO team to design, procure, implement and manage
    USAID/Uganda’s authorized government to government (G2G) activities in
    compliance with ADS 220. Responsible for developing the activity scope to
    provide reasonable assurance that identified fiduciary risk(s) that might
    result from the use of GoU systems are low or can be mitigated
    appropriately. The FA will specifically be responsible for:
  • Developing the scope of work to ensure that the PFMRAF Stage 2 Risk
    Assessment will cover the key areas such as the Budgetary System and
    Budget Execution, External Audit, Procurement Human Resources and Payroll,
    Ordering goods/services & payment of invoices, Control Environment and
    the Information Technology.
  • Selecting, coaching, and preparing the in-house Stage 2 risk
    assessment team if authorized by the Mission, guiding the team throughout
    the process, and coordinating the risk assessment program with the
    counterpart agencies and GoU officials.
  • Devise technical specification to engage an outside contractor,
    assisting contracting officer with procurement details including the
    subsequent technical evaluation of the cost proposals submitted, and
    performing A/COR duties of all outsourced assessments.
  • Formulating risk mitigation and capacity building frameworks and
    plans to address identified fiduciary risks and control weaknesses.
  • Perform Government Agreement Technical Representative (GATR) duties
    in relation to G2G activity implementation.
  • May be seconded to the host country government relevant ministry for
    capacity development activities.

Manage the
Mission’s Enterprise Risk Management, Internal Control and Audit Management
(10%)

In line with the
Agency’s Audit Management and Resolution Program and accountability requirements,
the FA acts as the Audit Management Officer’s designee for the assigned
portfolios and assists Technical Offices in meeting their audit management
responsibilities. This includes responsibility for planning, executing and
coordinating the annual financial and performance audits of USAID/Uganda
assistance programs and projects in consultation with the Regional Inspector
General’s office in Pretoria, South Africa as needed per the ADS.

Ensure compliance
with USAID audit requirements for all contracts, grants, and cooperative
agreements. S/he formulates and maintains the Mission’s annual audit management
plan and audit inventory, which includes following-up on the receipt of audits
from contracted audit firms, and also involves tracking the progress of open
recommendations. The FA will be responsible for:

  • Providing guidance to auditees and audit firms in consultation with
    RIG/Pretoria to ensure full compliance with USAID audit requirements.
    Follows up on the audit process until the final audit report is accepted
    and issued by RIG/Pretoria. This involves working closely with
    implementing partners, auditors and RIG/Pretoria to provide required
    support and guidance.
  • Serving as the contracting officer representative (COR) with the
    Certified Public Accounting Firms, supervising the coordination of
    pre-audit surveys, performed by the CPAs and the subsequent technical
    evaluation of the cost proposals submitted by the CPA firms. This also
    entails: drafting the scopes of work; reviewing final reports for each audit;
    conducting initial desk reviews draft audit reports; chairing and
    coordinating the entrance and exit conferences for all financial audits,
    and being directly accountable to the Audit Manager Officer (Controller)
    and MCRC; supervising and coordinating audit field work and reviewing
    audits for adequacy and compliance with requirements as specified in
    OMB-Circulars.

Serve in a rotating
role of coordinator for all Mission Control Review Committee (MCRC) related
issues and findings by tracking and monitoring actions required to strengthen
internal controls in the Mission. He/she is the Controller’s delegated leader
of the annual Mission’s Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) review exercise and
the review of internal control systems as required by the Federal Manager’s
Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA). This includes:

  • Implementing appropriate Mission internal control framework to
    prevent waste, fraud and abuse of USG resources and safeguarding of all
    USG investments in Mozambique and assets at the Mission’s disposal.
  • Managing Mission FMFIA process (risk assessment and deficiency
    identification) by utilizing Agency supported URIC A tool and any future
    updates. Training technical and other support offices staff on using the
    URICA tool and documenting the results of the risk assessment and
    deficiency Corrective Action Plans (CAPs), and monitoring CAPs completion
    and closure
  • Organizing the Mission MCRC meetings, acting as the secretary of the
    MCRC board, and keeping minutes of meetings/discussions.
  • Coordinating with the Mission Director to provide FMFIA
    certification and reporting the results of Mission’s FMFIA and CAPs to the
    Office of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in Washington.
  • Responsible for maintaining and updating the list of approved and
    eligible audit firms, leading the process to add new firms.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

NOTE:  All applicants must address each selection criterion detailed
below with specific and comprehensive information supporting each item.

  • The applicants for the United States US Embassy Financial Analyst
    job opportunity should hold a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting,
    Finance or Business Administration 
  • At least five (5) to eight (8) years of progressively responsible
    experience in professional financial analysis, accounting or auditing is
    required.
  • A thorough knowledge and understanding of generally accepted
    accounting principles (GAAP) and generally accepted auditing standards
    (GAAS); principles and accepted practices of Ugandan governmental and
    business institutions with regards to finance, accounting, budgeting and
    reporting; as well as governmental and not-for-profit accounting,
    budgeting and reporting;
  • In-depth professional-level knowledge of development principles,
    concepts and practices, especially as they relate to performing audits of
    development programs and projects;
  • A thorough knowledge of USAID activity design, development,
    implementation and evaluation processes is essential for full performance
    level;
  • Knowledge of Public Financial Management systems, Committee of
    Sponsoring Organizations Internal Control Framework, International
    auditing standards and related areas.
  • Excellent skills and abilities in performing audits (financial and
    programmatic), internal control assessments, financial reviews, compliance
    reviews, etc.;
  • Ability to perform sophisticated analysis of management controls and
    capabilities of partner/beneficiary organizations;
  • Ability to evaluate financial aspects of activities and programs,
    institutional capacities and capabilities;
  • Ability to present results and recommendations to a broad audience,
    both orally and in writing;
  • Excellent interpersonal skills are required, as incumbent will
    frequently be working with the officials and staff of the Host government,
    Contractors, Grantees, and others who may be unfamiliar with USAID’s
    programming and budgeting process;
  • Exceptional verbal communication skills to be able to explain and
    interpret GoU attitudes, priorities and concerns to USAID officials, and
    to negotiate financial management and audit issues with appropriate GoU
    organizations and/or USAID implementing partners, technical advisors,
    counterparts, and peers;
  • Excellent writing skills to prepare regular audit reports to the
    Regional Inspector General of USAID;
  • Ability to work effectively in a Team environment, and to achieve
    consensus on policy, program/project, and administrative matters;
  • Strong computer skills including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, as
    well as capacity to effectively understand financial management and
    tracking systems, and to process data that form the heart of the tasks
    performed in this position.
  • Language Proficiency: Level IV (fluent) English language proficiency in speaking and
    writing is required.

How to Apply:

All those interested
in working with the US mission in Kampala should send their applications and
strictly adhere to the following:

  • A signed DS-174 Employment Application
    for Locally Employed Staff or Family Member, Click Here
  • Cover letter clearly indicating the position
    for which you are applying and describing how you meet the minimum
    requirements
  • A Curriculum Vitae/Resume
  • Copies of Academic Transcripts
  • Names, contact numbers, and e-mail
    addresses of three (3) professional references. At least one of the
    references must be a prior or current direct supervisor.

Submit Application
To:

Human Resources
Office

By email at
KampalaHR@state.gov

NB: Your
application will be reviewed if you have fulfilled all the requirements
including submission of standard file types such as Microsoft Word (.doc) and
Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) in a single attachment (No Zipped files, Links or Multiple
Attachments) and should not exceed 10MB. Please clearly indicate the position
number and title you are applying for on the DS-174 form.

Deadline: 2nd August 2019

The US Mission in
Kampala provides equal opportunity and fair and equitable treatment in
employment to all people without regard to race, color religion, sex, national
origin, age, disability, political affiliation, marital status, or sexual
orientation.  The Department of State also strives to achieve equal
employment opportunity in all personnel operations through continuing diversity
enhancement programs.

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