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Job Title:    Financial Analyst (2 Job Vacancies)

Organisation: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Uganda

Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda

Salary: UGX 157,828,400 – 232,334,711 per annum

 

About US Embassy:

The United States Embassy in Kampala, Uganda has enjoyed diplomatic relations with Uganda for over 30 years.  Ambassador Natalie E. Brown 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) position is located in the Office of Financial Management (OFM) at USAID/Uganda. The FA provides professional financial management advice on a broad range of financial management issues to the Controller, Mission Management, technical 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 the OFM representative, delegated by the Controller, to the technical team to which 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 $470 Million in a fast paced high risk environment.

 

The FA provides financial tracking and analysis of USAID resources and capacity building to ensure better financial monitoring and minimize fraud risk. The FA is specifically 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 assists in assessing Government of Uganda (GOU) public financial management and procurement systems and provides 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; GOU agency representatives, private sector service providers; Implementing Partner (IP) organizations; and other international donor agencies regarding financial analysis and accounting for projects implemented by the Mission.

 

The FA reports to the Supervisory Financial Analyst and the position is non-supervisory.

 

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

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

• 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 teams, IPs, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and GOU officials.
• Prepare the financial aspects of project design and procurement planning documents, such as budgets and financial plans for Implementation Letters, Grant Agreements, Contracts, and other relevant implementing mechanisms.
• Participate in or lead 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 letters, GLAAS requisitions, contracts, purchase and delivery orders, 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 technical teams and Team Leaders.
• Serve on the technical 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 reports to the technical teams, providing in-depth analysis and insight to ensure technical team leaders and team members are aware of any issues related to pipeline positions, spend plans and obligation plans.
• Guide, and coach the Agreement/Contracting Officer’s Representatives (A/CORs) on the development of accruals. Prepare and present the quarterly financial reports bringing to light areas of concern to the technical teams; identify and recommend adjusting entries to the accountants to bring the project/program pipelines into accurate levels; investigate any variances between projections and actual disbursements or accrued expenditure; and provide the results to Activity Managers.
• Conduct financial management training for USAID IPs and recipients as part of capacity building, and hold workshops where specific challenges faced in financial implementation are shared by IPs 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 (20 percent)

• 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 Partner Government Entities and local partners. This includes advising Mission management on the reliability and/or weaknesses of GOU systems, the effectiveness of the underlying internal controls, and providing possible recommendations. The FA identifies or coordinates the capacity building needs endorsed and/or determined from assessments conducted on the GOU 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 GOU 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 GOU 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 Directors and the Front Office on all cross-cutting PFM issues impacting the Mission’s assistance portfolio and program implementation.
• Coordinate with the technical 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 G2G 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.
  • Proposing, coaching, and preparing the in-house G2G 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.
  • Devising technical specification to engage an outside contractor, assisting the 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.
• Support the Government Agreement Technical Representative (GATR) duties in relation to G2G activity implementation.
• May be seconded to the GOU entity for capacity development activities.

Manage the Mission’s Enterprise Risk Management, Internal Control and Audit Management (20 percent)

• In line with the Agency’s Audit Management and Resolution Program and accountability requirements, the FA acts as the Audit Management Officer’s (Controller) 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 USAID OIG Africa Regional Office, Pretoria, South Africa as needed per the ADS.
• Ensure compliance with USAID audit requirements for all contracts, grants, implementing letters, and cooperative agreements. The FA formulates and maintains the Mission’s annual audit 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 the USAID OIG Africa Regional Office, Pretoria to ensure full compliance with USAID audit requirements. Following up on the audit process until the final audit report is accepted and issued by the USAID OIG Africa Regional Office, Pretoria. This involves working closely with IPs, auditors and the USAID OIG Africa Regional Office, Pretoria to provide required support and guidance.
  • Serving as the COR with the Certified Public Accounting (CPA) 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 of draft audit reports; actively participating in the entrance and exit conferences for all financial audits, and being directly accountable to the Audit Management Officer and the Management Council on Risk and Internal Control (MCRIC); supervising and coordinating audit field work and reviewing audits for adequacy and compliance with requirements as specified in the ADS.
• Serving in a rotating role of coordinator for all MCRIC related issues and findings by tracking and monitoring actions required to strengthen internal controls in the Mission. The FA is the Controller’s delegated leader of the annual Mission’s Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) risk profiling exercise and the review of internal control systems as required by the Federal Manager’s Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA). This includes:
• Implementing an appropriate Mission internal control framework to prevent waste, fraud and abuse of USG resources and safeguarding of all USG investments in Uganda and assets at the Mission’s disposal.
• Managing the Mission’s FMFIA process comprising risk assessment and deficiency identification by utilizing the Agency supported Uniform Risk and Internal Control Assessment (URICA) 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 and scheduling the Mission MCRIC meetings, acting as the secretary of the MCRIC board, and keeping minutes of meetings/discussions.
• Coordinating with the Mission Director to provide the Mission’s FMFIA certification and the ERM risk profile and reporting the results and associated CAPs to the Africa Bureau.
• Responsible for maintaining and updating the list of approved and eligible audit firms, including participating in the quality control review and audit firm assessment process.

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Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• The applicant for the USAID Uganda Financial Analyst job must hold a bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics, Statistics, Development Economics, Mathematics, Public Policy, Business Administration, or other quantitative discipline is required.
• A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in professional financial analysis, accounting or auditing is required.
• Experience of at least three (3) years of this professional experience with an international organization or accounting firm minimum at a mid-level is required.
• A thorough knowledge and understanding of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS); principles and accepted practices of GOU 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 and risk 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 the FA will frequently be working with the officials and staff of the GOU, Contractors, IPs, and others who may be unfamiliar with USAID’s programming and budgeting process.
• Exceptional verbal communication skills to be able to explain and interpret IP attitudes, priorities, and concerns to USAID officials, and to negotiate financial management and audit issues with appropriate GOU organizations and/or USAID IPs, technical advisors, counterparts, and peers.
• Excellent writing skills, specifically, the ability to present information, analyses, and recommendations to individuals with a nonfinancial background.
• Ability to work effectively, both independently, and in a team environment, and to negotiate difficult issues and build consensus to achieve results with a wide range of individuals.
• Ability to respond professionally and adjust in fluid situations to meet deadlines in the face of competing priorities and time pressures.
• 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:

Eligible Offerors are required to complete and submit (Requirements (i) – (v) below are critical for compliance of the offer. Therefore, candidates MUST pay due attention to these):

• A complete DS-174 Employment Application for Locally Employed Staff or Family Member (https://eforms.state.gov/Forms/ds174.pdf; [click at this link for latest version]. Offerors are required to complete sections 1 through 6 (use additional pages, if needed).
• Cover letter (addressed to the USAID Supervisory Executive Officer) clearly indicating the position for which you are applying and describing how you meet the minimum requirements.
• Complete curriculum vitae/resume. In order to fully evaluate your application, the resume must include:
• Paid and non-paid experience, job title, dates held (month/year). Please specify unpaid or part time work. Any experience that does not include dates (month/year) will not be counted towards meeting the solicitation requirements. (NOTE: Resume and DS-174 work experience should match.)
• Specific duties performed that fully detail the level and complexity of the work.
• Education and any other qualifications including job-related training courses, job-related skills, or job-related honors, awards, or accomplishments.
• Name and contact information (phone and email) of three (3) professional references. At least one of the references must be a prior or current direct supervisor.
• Supplemental [separate] document specifically addressing each QRF as outlined in the solicitation
• Copies of Academic Transcripts
• Offers should be in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf). No other file types will be accepted. All documents should be scanned into one (1) document (one (1) ATTACHMENT) which should not exceed 10MB.

 

Documents should be arranged and scanned in this order:

• DS-174
• Cover Letter
• Complete Curriculum vitae/resume
• Supplemental documents
• Academic Transcripts
• (vi) Submitted offers and documents become the property of USAID and will not be returned.

 

Offers must be received by the closing date and time specified in Section I, item 3, and submitted to the Point of Contact in Section I at kampalausaidjobs@usaid.gov Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.

 

All qualified Offerors will be considered regardless of age, race, color, sex, creed, national or tribal origin, lawful political affiliation, non-disqualifying handicap, marital status, sexual orientation, affiliation with an employee organization or other non-merit factor.

Offeror submissions must clearly reference the Solicitation number on all offeror submitted documents.

 

For this position, the subject line of the email MUST read:

 

SOL NUMBER TITLE OF POSITION, LAST, FIRST CANDIDATE NAME – Ex: 72061723R10014 Financial Analyst, Smith, Jose

 

Deadline: 30^th June 2023

 

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