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Job Title:    Senior Accountant

Organisation: Save
the Children International

Duty Station: 
Fort Portal, Uganda

Reports to:
Field Finance Manager

 

About US:

Save the Children
International is an international relief organization that was established in
the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better
education, health care, and economic opportunities, as well as providing
emergency aid in natural disasters, war, and other conflicts.

 

Job Summary:  The Senior Accountant will be responsible for
the overall accounting and book keeping functions of the field offices. In
addition, the position will be responsible for efficient and effective management
of SC cash flows, updating and reconciling the accounting ledgers, managing the
end of period procedures, and ensuring the generation of accurate and timely
monthly financial reports to Country office. The position is also responsible
for technical supervision of the region’s Accountant.

 

In the event of a
major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside
the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly.

 

Key Duties and Responsibilities:  

Financial Systems,
Financial and management Accounts reporting.

·       
Responsible
for Agresso financial systems package trouble shooting, coordinating data and
transactions processing and providing user technical support and training in
Agresso usage for both finance and non-finance staff within the Area program
offices.

·       
Ensure
that the Agresso ledgers for all projects are maintained up to date and that
transactions are posted and are reconciled to correctness in projects, donors,
activities, and expenditure codes in order to facilitate efficient and timely
reporting to management and donors.

·       
Review
and conduct monthly and timely reconciliations of debtors, creditors, bank
accounts, all cash disbursement accounts to identify differences and
discrepancies in the accounts and prepare adjusting journals to make the
relevant corrections and make timely monthly reports to the Country Office.

·       
Weekly
review of the region’s shared costs and their appropriateness.

·       
Ensure
the Production, interpretation and presentation of monthly financial and
management budget Vs Actual expense reports to Area management for
decision-making.

·       
Ensure
the project management teams have the most updated financial data with budget
performance; build the capacity of the project teams in best practices for
proper financial management during the life cycle of the
projects/awards/grants.

·       
Prepare
and submit timely Area office monthly funds requests to the country office for
funding and ensure the field office has adequate funds for operations all
through the year.

·       
Prepare
periodic donor tailored financial reports as stipulated in the donor guidelines

·       
Work
with Project Managers  Head of Budgeting
and Reporting and the Awards team to ensure that budgets are appropriately
phased and that SOF loaders are timely prepared for upload into Agresso.

·       
Supplier,
service providers’ accounts and Receivables management

·       
Maintain
a system to track financial commitments and outstanding contract amounts by
staff and third parties transacting with SC and ensure that they are diligently
executed when due.

·       
Ensure
that all cash and cheque payments for goods and services rendered to Save the
children are paid as they become due as per the provision of the finance
manual.

·       
Ensure
all payables and receivables accounts are reconciled on monthly basis to known
schedules. This also includes timely review of partner advance
accountabilities.

·       
Prepare
and consolidate the deductions of PAYE , withholding tax and withholding VAT
and make timely submissions of the schedules to Country office every month

Risk Management and
assurance

·       
Monitor
and advise management on any necessary required changes in the operational
policies and ensure SCI complies with the statutory regulations

·       
Continuous
review of financial and operational risks in the region and give feedback and
recommendations to staff and to management. Recommend to management any
controls that may be necessary to close any foreseen risks.

·       
Coordinate
in close contact with the Internal Audit and Compliance sections to ensure that
the external statutory and donor audits of SC is undertaken and that the
management letter issues for awards within the region are followed up and
resolved/implemented.

·       
Advise
both finance and non-finance staff over matters of internal control compliance
periodically review the suitability of the existing controls to ensure they are
adequate to minimise the risk exposure of SCI and that they reinforce the
proper implementation of programs.

·       
Provide
a strategic network with banks and other implementing partners where applicable
to ensure the bank accounts and Treasury are run and kept with as minimal risk
as possible.

·       
Review
the Cost allocation methodology transactions to ensure the recovery is fair and
accurately done each month according to the defined and agreed parameters.

·       
Support
in the external awards specific and entity wide audit process in liaison with
the Country Finance Manager

Human resources
Management

·       
Work in
close liaison with Human Resources department, develop the directly supervised
staff to an effective and motivated team by implementing a continuous
professional development programme.

·       
Periodically
assess capacity development needs for direct reports and develop systems
adequate to develop and improve the capacity of staff.

·       
A member
of the procurement committee of the Area coordination office to provide
technical advice to the team.

Networking with
other departments for support and office coherence

·       
Closely
work with the Logistics department of country office and Area office to ensure
there is value for money for SC procurement of supplies and services and that
there is minimal risk working with suppliers and service providers.

·       
Provide
guidance to members of the area management team on matters of budget management
and compliance to donor reporting.

·       
Provide
support to the Country office Finance management team in the periodic review of
the processes in the field office and aligning them to the SCI –Uganda finance
strategy.

 

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

·       
The
applicant must hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce, Accounting or Business
Administration from a recognised university. 
MUST  be  a member of 
an Accounting professional body with qualifications such as ACCA, CPA,
CIMA, ICSA etc. At least 5 years relevant progressive working experience
working with International NGOs in a humanitarian and development setting, of
which 3 years should be at finance management level.

·       
Strong
accounting skills and experience, including management of the general ledger,
journal entries, payroll, payables and balance sheet analysis.

·       
Strong
background in external donor reporting for an international NGO and experience
working with major donors like USAID, SIDA, EU, KOICA, NORAD, DANIDA, Master
Card Foundation, UN etc

·       
Good
financial management skills with knowledge of computer Accounting Packages and
good understanding of Government budgets and tax policies.

·       
Proven
ability to work with a team under minimal supervision and being able to
prioritize work and meet tight deadlines.

·       
Planning,
organising and negotiation skills

·       
Experience
of working with local partners and District Local Government in Health,
Education, HIV/AIDS or Child Protection program delivery

·       
Ability
to speak local language and directly interact with target group will be an
added advantage

·       
Strong
analytical skills and strategic planning abilities.

·       
Ability
to establish and maintain conducive collegial relations and perform effectively
as a member of a team.

·       
Willingness
to travel and work in hard-to-reach areas, occasionally under strenuous
conditions.

·       
Computer
literacy and excellent documentation skills are a must.

·       
Availability
and willingness to work extra hours during times of humanitarian responses.

·       
Highly
developed cultural awareness and ability to work well in an international
environment with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures

·       
Ability
to intervene with crisis management or troubleshooting as necessary.

·       
Highly
developed interpersonal and communication skills including influencing,
negotiation and coaching

·       
Excellent
time management and planning capacity

·       
Availability
and willingness to work extra hours during times of humanitarian responses.

·       
Commitment
to Save the Children values

 

Essential: A background in Accounting and at least three
years of experience as a practicing accountant and at least five years in a not
for profit entity with both financial and management accounting experience.

 

Desirable: Audit experience and knowledge and
application of tax regulation is desirable.

 

How to Apply:

All candidates who
wish to join Save the Children should apply online at the link below.

 

Click
Here

 

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