Financial planning and analysis (FP&A) Accountant at International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)

Job purposes

The position will ensure quality and accuracy of data, financial reports, to ensure financial reporting and processes run in a timely and efficient manner. This role brings hands-on finance and business intelligence experience to implement financial reports automation, impactful, actionable insights that inform strategic decision making. The role holder will provide relevant financial analysis and support to inform and enable effective financial decisions and planning.  The position will ensure full costing and cost recovery across the institute.

Key Responsibilities

Management Reporting: 

• Prepare timely and accurate monthly management and financial reports with clear analysis and commentary to deliver impactful, actionable insights.
• Implement business intelligence tools and dashboards for financial and management reporting through automation platforms -Power BI, Agresso
• Prepare analytical trends, forecasts, financial modelling tools, status updates and other ad hoc analysis depicting different performance areas - as and when required.
• Develop and report on key financial indicators that highlight financial health of the institute.
• Undertake detailed data driven variance analysis and provide recommendations for efficiencies in financial performance.
• Ensuring continuous user awareness and improvement on reports and processes to create efficiencies while supporting various users in awareness and interpretation of the reports.

Budgeting, forecasting and analysis:

• Performing budget analysis to come up with trends, variances, insights and meaningful reports.
• Preparing short- and long-term financial forecasting to inform decision making.
• Ensuring automation and updating of budget templates to ensure completeness and accuracy and facilitate sharing of the same (and related guidelines) to budget holders on a timely basis.
• Review all budgets to ensure consistency, accuracy and completeness and share review outcomes with budget holders for budget revisions, where necessary.
• Evaluating budget proposals and funding requests and providing guidance on identified gaps.
• Develop customized templates for budget submissions utilizing advanced Excel and automated budgeting platform.
• Explore ways of improving the budgeting process to ensure efficiency – mainly through Agresso and/or other systems including automation.

Full costing:

• Accurate costing and pooling of identical services together, identifying cost drivers and ensuring full charge/recovery by all units.
• Assess different costing approaches for suitability to the institute’s business model and to ensure each unit/project pays its fair share of costs.
• Review incomes for selected units to ensure complete recoveries, review cost drivers and liaising with unit heads to identify alternative recovery mechanisms.
• Conduct cost-benefit analysis for different investment proposals and advise on suitability.
• Develop and automate costing template factoring key adjustments such as inflation.
• Maintain an updated product listing for all Institute services, their cost basis, current prices, users and the unit providing the services.

Others:

• Ensure proper archiving of all documentation relating to this function both in physical and soft copy.
• Improving data visualizations and insights, workflows, processes and ERP enhancements
• Develop a deep knowledge of the institute and its processes and convert information into easily understood reports for finance and non-finance audiences.
• Build capacity within the department on all aspects of this job to ensure continuity.
• Other projects as assigned.

Academic and professional qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting or related field
• Full accounting qualifications - CPA (K) or ACCA.
• 6 years progressive practice in accounting with experience in financial analysis reporting, financial modelling and creating presentations (Excel, PowerPoint)
• 3 years’ experience in data analytics implementing business intelligence systems and reporting automation on platforms -Agresso ABW, Power BI, tableau.
• Experience working with databases e.g., MySQL, SQL Server to transform financial reports is an advantage.
• Business partnering skills including the ability to work well with various stakeholders.
• Excellent oral, written, analytical, and presentation skills.
• Critical thinking and business analysis skills
• Ability to work independently, managing projects from inception to completion.
• Advanced knowledge of computerized accounting software and programming required.

Closing: 12, May, 2023