Grants Accountant

at Oxfam Great Britain
Location Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Date Posted August 30, 2020
Category Accounting
Business Development
Facility Management
Finance
Job Type Full-time
Currency ETB

Description

Key responsibilities and accountabilities:

 1.    Partner Finance Management  

 §  Working on actual document verification on eligibility of partner expenditure before posting on system

-          Review expenditures made by the implementing partner and assess whether they are in accordance with the requirements reflected in the partnership agreement, donor agreement etc.

-          Review the process for procurement/contracting activities and assess for being transparent and competitive.

-          Review the records of requests for direct payments and ensure that all are signed by authorised assigned authorised staffs.

-          Review the subsequent clearance of accruals

-          Review the clearance of legal tax requirement settlements

-          Review bank and cash account reconciliations.

-          Review on the closure of transaction (i.e project hand over, distribution list, construction hand over etc)

§  Making sure all financial report documents are stamped, scanned and uploaded on system

§  Participate on partners’ capacity assessment with Programs, Logistic, and HR before signing partnership agreement

§  Coordinate closely with the accounts staff of the Donor/programme finance staff/ Country Finance and Systems Manager /Finance Coordinator to ensure the finance issues of the programmes run smoothly and effectively.

§  Passing partner expenditure Journal and any adjustments as required

§  Liaison with partner on transfer request and coordinator transfer request with Finance Coordinator for timely submission to HQ

  • Manage Partner budgets, reporting & compliance including projects audits

§  Be responsible for checking payments to Partners, respecting the agreed procedures and Oxfam requirements.

§  Set up systems and process to build the capacity of partners’ finance staff.

§  Carry out independent project internal audit annually, evaluate internal control systems and report any deviations to Country Finance and Systems Manager.

  • Provide support to programme in payments, monitoring and review OPAL budgets including partner and grants agreement letters.

§  Check Partners’ reports in cooperation with Country Finance and Systems Manager and communicate to Grants Accountant to prepare the Donor Reports.

§  Participate in partner capacity assessment mission, provide capacity building training to partners as required.

§  Training and develop partner capacity to ensure they understand donor and Oxfam financial management requirements.

 

2.    Donor Proposals, Reports, Audits and Budgets

§  Assists programme managers and officers to prepare project budgets and proposals

§  Provides advice to programmes teams on donor regulation and proper donor budget format

§  Provides coaching and training on donor funding requirements as needed

§  Prepares monthly budget variance report in donor format and currency and discusses the same with budget holders to take corrective action if needed

§  During the Monthly Finance Report (MFR) meeting discusses with project managers reasons for budget variances and implements actions to correct them

§  Prepares MFR meetings and minutes and follow up progress on action points

§  In consultation with the Finance Manager and programme staff, reviews partners financial reports

§  Coordinates with country office funding team and closely monitors CRIMSON ledger

§  Prepares donor financial reports for review by management and submission to the donors

§  Contributes to ensures all financial reports being submitted are timely, complete and accurate

§  Provides information to funding team on financial transactions and other queries

§  Provides input and analysis required by programme managers and officers to monitor and report on financial activities of their projects

§  In consultation with OPAL Administrator, monitor the debtors account to ensure all outstanding donor and other income is received and recorded appropriately

§  Assists the Programmes team in contracts reconciliation and closure of the same

§  Reconciles monthly project accounts and ensures appropriate action is taken by respective staff

§  Liaises with logistics, human resources and finance to ensure donor compliance

§  Builds capacity and advises programme officers and managers on financial compliance requirements

§  Files all grant agreements, reports and correspondence for the project/contract through OPAL and CRIMSON ledger as well as in hard copy

§  Facilitates all Donor audits and follows through on effective and timely resolution of matters arising

§  Ensures auditors get all financial information they need

 3.     Restricted fund and contract management

§  Co-ordinate the restricted funding contracts in place and update the funding schedules for all known contracts

§  Work with the programme teams to keep the funding schedules up to date

§  Provide an overview to Oxfam of contracts secured, matched funding needs and funding gaps to inform fundraising efforts

§  Be central in assisting in the preparation of financial budgets and reports for institutional donors

§  Work with programme teams to ensure that all contracts are monitored both in financial and non-financial terms on a regular basis and any implications arising are resolved

§  Manage the compliance of contracts for Oxfam to ensure that all the financial and reporting obligations are met and adhered to

4.  Other responsibilities related with finance

§  Assist Finance team in reviewing and revising /developing of donor financial policies and procedures

§  Assist Country Finance and Systems Manager in donor financial statement preparation and audit facilitation

§  Perform such other duties as assigned by Country Finance and Systems Manager

 

Oxfam general:

o   Ensure implementation of Oxfam GB’s operational policies, procedures and guidelines, especially gender equity, in all aspects of Oxfam’s work.  With support from technical advisors and programme service staff as needed.

o   Act as Oxfam’s representative at local and national level with local authorities, partners etc. as required, mainly in events relating to accounting/finance.

o   Be a member of Oxfam’s team, participating in appropriate staff meetings, planning sessions and on-going liaising as needed.

Job Requirements

Technical Skills, Experience & Knowledge

Essential:

o  University degree in Finance and/or Accountancy

o  At least six years of relevant work experience.

o  Experience in project financial management.

o  Willingness to travel and work in the rural areas where the project’s main activities are located.

o   Experience in giving training in accounting for non-accounting people, and in building financial procedures preferred.

o   Have integrity and be committed to serving the needs of the poor people in Ethiopia through completely transparent accounting procedures and bookkeeping training of local project partners from the rural areas.

o Ability to work independently, as well as in a team.

o An ability to write clear and concise reports, both in Amharic and English; very good spoken and written English.

o Good command of computer software packages e.g. WinWord and Excel. Eager to learn new software packages to adapt to the real project finance management needs.

 

Desirable:

·         Experience in working with an INGO, Partner finance management or a Joint ventured company is preferable.

Oxfam behaviour competencies:

  • Organisation to work effectively
  • Influencing others
  • Supporting others
  • Communications
  • Critical information gathering
  • Analytical thinking

Your commitment to Oxfam

·         Required to adhere to Oxfam’s principles and values as well as the promotion of gender justice and women's rights

·         Understanding of and commitment to adhere to equity, diversity, gender, child safety and staff health and wellbeing principles

 

Applying Instructions

As part of your online application, please upload your up to date CV and a covering letter explaining your suitability against the essential criteria in the job profile through Oxfam internal application portal https://jobs.oxfam.org.uk/vacancy/12776/description on or before 8th September 2020. Your application will be shortlisted based on your CV and your responses to the above questions. You need not comment on your suitability against the essential criteria in the job profile.

 

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

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