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Job Title:  Project and Finance Officer

Organisation: WasteAid

Project: Circular Economy Textile Project

Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda

Start Date: Mid-November

About Organisation:

WasteAid is an international non-governmental organisation that works in low and middle-income countries to implement environmental and economic empowerment programmes, focusing on support to nascent green businesses and grassroots entrepreneurs. The work improves the livelihoods of some of the poorest and most marginalized, promotes circular economy innovation and contributes to a cleaner and healthier future for all.  WasteAid head office is in the UK but we run projects in Uganda, South Africa, Gambia and India. Our programmes focus predominantly on the reduction of plastic, organic, textile and e-waste pollution in areas of the world that have no formal waste management systems.

The organisation promotes and shares locally appropriate, evidence based inclusive practices, supporting and empowering others to take positive action.  We partner with public, private and community-based organizations in countries where the lack of waste management systems  are harming the environment, economy and society.

About Project:

WasteAid has begun a 2 year UK Government funded project in Uganda.  It is one of WasteAid’s flagship projects.  The project led by WasteAid and working with local partners MTAC and Uganda Tailors Association, aims to divert second hand textile waste, normally destined for landfill,  back into the local economy.   This will be done by setting up a Textile Reuse Hub at MTAC where existing and new tailors can be trained on new design techniques that will allow these materials to be brought back into use rather than ending up a landfill.

Job Summary:   The purpose of the Project and Finance Officer is to support the Project Manager in two key areas.  Firstly, to support local partners to comply with UK Government donor guidelines.  This includes both in terms of finance and project implementation guidance.    The key aim of the role is for the PFO to get to know the local partners and for them to feel you are an extension of their team, there to help and support but also to ensure that they are compliant with donor guidelines.

In a typical day, reviewing an expenditure report and helping partners ensure all the paperwork is in order and training them on how to improve finance and compliance.   You could be directly sitting with UTA our local partner to help them improve their reporting, helping them bring out stories on how the project is impacting on the tailors we are trying to support.   Finally, you could be working directly with the partner to develop reports that help capture data/learning and stories of change,  ensuring that activities are being monitored and reported properly.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Financial

Please note that no formal accountancy experience is required for this role.

• Working in collaboration with Project Manager, ensuring that partners are trained and are compliant to donor finance/UK Government rules.  Spending at least 2-3 days a week with local partners, training them on compliance processes and ensuring that they are following the rules.
• Highlight any issues to partner on compliance as and when they arise, giving practical and hands on support to help them improve their understanding and compliance.
• Supporting the PM on the compilation of quarterly finance reports. Working with the local partners to ensure that financial and narrative reports are up to standard, sent in a timely fashion with all the backing documentation.
• Assist in the partners in preparation of project budgets and financial reports.
• Assist the partners to understand/can interpret the monthly budget v actual reports helping them to monitor project expenditures and ensure they are within budget.
• Assist the partner to understand and comply to project financial requirements.

Project Implementation:

• Assist PM in helping the local partners to planning and executing project activities according to the annual project plan.
• Assist PM in ensuring Local Partners have a clear monthly activity plan and supporting the PM to monitor partners on this plan, flagging any issues or delays/risks to the project in a timely manner
• Spending at least 50% of week with partners, both at the Textile Recycling Hub (MTAC) and UTA

Monitoring and Evaluation:

• Once identified by the PM and Head of Monitoring and Evaluation, lead the collection of programme data that will track the impact of the project.
• Collect stories of change/impact stories from amongst the tailors trained through the project, both female and male

Administrative Support:

• Become familiar with donor rules and regulations particularly on finance, M & E and communications and ensure that WasteAid and partners are compliant
• Assist in the preparation of project-related documents, including reports, proposals, and presentations.

Communication:

• Be responsible for gathering and identifying stories of impact and change that the project is bringing and working with the PM to develop these stories for onward circulation
• Contribute to the development of communication materials, such as newsletters, social media posts, and press releases.
• Any other duties as required.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

Experience

This listing represents the full and ideal picture of the role. It is likely that not every strong candidate will be able to demonstrate all the listed attributes. If you feel that you can meet most of these qualifications, we encourage you to apply and give some thought as to how you might acquire any other necessary experience/skills after joining WasteAid.

• Minimum of 2 years’ experience in a Project Finance Officer role (or a related field) with excellent written skills.
• A strong track record of Project Finance Officer experience, particularly on ensuring donor compliance and monitoring and evaluation
• Excellent writing skills, able to adapt for different channels and audiences. Compelling and grammatically correct.
• Experience of using Word/Excel/PowerPoint
• Comfortable with a broad role in a small organisation and happy to flex from the strategic to tactical, taking a ‘hands-on’ approach.
• Self-directed, able to work without undue supervision.
• Resilient under pressure with excellent interpersonal skills.
• Works with honesty and integrity and is aligned with WasteAid’s values
• Desirable Criteria
• Knowledge of and experience of working with international nonprofits.
• Knowledge of issues linked to WasteAid’s work in either the waste management, environmental and climate change or international development sectors is highly desirable

Salary: Based on experience

How to Apply:

If you are interested in the opportunity to become our Project and Finance Officer your application should comprise a CV with details of your experience and achievements, together with a supporting letter (of no more than two sides of A4) which addresses the Person Specification. Applications should be sent electronically to recruitment@wasteaid.org

Deadline: 8th November 2024

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