Finance Officer – THRIVE at Hivos East Africa

Role purpose

Reporting to the project Finance Manager, the Finance Officer supports the project team by reviewing financial reports, preparing consolidated donor statements, tracking expenditures, and ensuring compliance with supporting documentation. The role manages cash flow planning, remittance and reporting schedules, assesses partner and grantee budgets, and processes transactions in the Hivos All Solutions system, strengthening accountability, transparency and overall financial performance within THRIVE’s implementation.

Key responsibilities

The key responsibilities of the role include:

Financial monitoring of partners

• Monitor partners’ financial performance to ensure compliance with contractual obligations and donor and Hivos regulations.
• Strengthen partners’ capacity in understanding and managing their assigned budgets.
• Review partners’ fund availability to process disbursements.
• Obtain and consolidate partners’ executed amounts for inclusion in donor financial reports.
• Evaluate audit results submitted by partners according to Hivos assessment standards.
• Record findings from partner evaluations in All Solutions (AS).

Partner financial reporting review

• Review partner financial reports to ensure they meet minimum submission requirements before full evaluation.
• Provide timely and clear feedback to partners when reports require corrections to comply with Hivos and donor standards.
• Assess the reasonableness of expenses through sampling, following Hivos policies and the Hivos Framework for Project Expenditure Verification.
• Verify fund availability and budget execution to authorize disbursements.
• Consolidate partners’ executed amounts for inclusion in donor financial reports.
• Record evaluation results, findings, and verification outcomes in AS, including the Expenditure Verification Control Worksheet when applicable.
• Review and analyze audit results submitted by partners in accordance with Hivos assessment standards.

Project financial monitoring

• Generate monthly expenditure reports from AS and verify that all processed transactions are recorded.
• Incorporate cash reconciliation into expenditure reports when applicable.
• Conduct project budget execution analysis.
• Review resource allocation in project budget to ensure Hivos staff costs align with project planning; recommend reallocations when appropriate.
• Apply corrections indicated by the project Finance Manager (FM) to the execution report.
• Ensure financial execution aligns with donor/Hivos mandates.

Accounting review & reconciliation

• Conduct monthly reviews of accounting records in AS to ensure accurate expense registration and identify omissions or discrepancies.
• Perform reconciliations of expenses and income recorded in AS against donor financial reports.

Partner evaluation & formalization

• Conduct the Financial Intake Assessment and, when exceptions are approved, review financial information or assessments completed by other donors.
• Justify the use of a less rigorous partner financial evaluation method when applicable and submit the justification to the FM.
• Discuss assessment outcomes and the action plan with the FM and enter both into AS.
• Align project budget accounts with Hivos codes after contract approval.

Project closure

• Verify that the final financial report has been reviewed and approved.
• Complete the Contract Closure process in AS.

Financial analysis & support

• Ensure local compliance with authorities and financial institutions.
• Support office management and other administrative tasks, including supplier payments, reconciliations, and staff advances.
• Provide consolidated budget execution information to the regional financial team and attend related meetings.
• Complete the Annual Forecast and contribute to quarterly and annual financial planning.

Person specifications

Qualifications

• Degree in finance, accounting, business economics or related / similar field.
• A holder of CPA, ACCA or related certification.

Knowledge / experience

• 1–3 years of experience in finance, including the financial management of donor-funded programmes, preferably within international NGOs or development cooperation environments.
• Significant experience in grantmaking, including grant administration, disbursement, monitoring and grant closure processes, particularly in multi-country programmes.
• Proven experience managing the full financial cycle of donor-funded programmes, including budgeting, forecasting, financial monitoring and reporting.
• Advanced knowledge of accounting principles.
• Expertise in accounting, business economics, ERP/MIS systems and financial software.
• Experience overseeing audits, ensuring compliance with tax regulations and managing financial risks across multiple programme countries.
• Experience in capacity building and providing technical guidance to finance staff and implementing partners.
• Fluency in English is essential; knowledge of French is an asset.

Key skills /attributes

• Financial analysis, strategic thinking and problem-solving.
• Communication and stakeholder management.
• Planning and organizational skills.
• High attention to detail and accuracy.
• Able to meet deadlines, multitask effectively, and work collaboratively in culturally diverse teams.
• Integrity, accountability, professionalism and ethical judgement.