Finance and Grants Officer at Mercy Corps

General Position Summary

The Finance and Grants Officer works under the guidance and supervision of the GIRL program director at the Africa regional office.  Key roles are project financial management, monitoring and reporting and Grants management. The F&S Senior Officer is an integral part of the Project Management Team of GIRL -H and works closely with the management, technical and operations field and country teams in Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria.

Essential Job Responsibilities

FINANCE

• Support the country teams in Uganda, Nigeria and Uganda. Accountable for all financial operations of the project, including accounting and reporting, cash management, and budget management.
• Manage financial operations of GIRL-H.
• Provide monthly management reports to the GIRL-H Program Director and country Program Managers, including expenditures by fund and country, sub grantee reporting and other financial information, in a timely and accurate manner.
• Ensure that the project financial operations comply with all Mercy Corps policies and procedures.
• Ensure that monthly transactions are reviewed and entered in the General Ledger accurately and on timely basis.
• Assist with monthly review and reconciliations of Staff advances and all the GIRL-H related expenditures.
• Review payment documents and other supporting documents ensuring their compliance with the local laws, donor regulations and MC Kenya internal policies.
• Prepare monthly cash flow projections and request funds from the country office.
• Review and track expenses and proper documentation as per Mercy Corps procedures and donor requirements for record keeping and accountancy.

 GRANT MANAGEMENT

• Oversee and coordinate management of sub-grant agreements and financial management of sub-grants.
• Responsible for processing of sub-grants and issuance of payments, transfers and transactions between consortium members as well as locally engaged partners.
• Oversee pre-award and post-award activities include asset control, timely reporting and contract fulfilment to check against payment.
• Work with GIRL-H program team to verify and track budget and expenditures vis-à-vis sub-grant awards and ensure proper reporting, documentation and overall deliverables are reviewed by Senior Management and signed off on prior to issuance of payment.
• Ensure consistency across sub-grantees on basic provisions and highlight issues that could be viewed as bias or discrepancies.
• Provide regular reports on GIRL-H issues, recommendations that need to be considered for operational adjustment.
• Work with Mercy Corps team members and sub grantees management teams to conduct ad-hoc audit review of GIRL-H field operations.
• Coordinate GIRL-H expenditure verification and project audits.
• Other financial and sub grant tasks as required. 

MONITORING, EVALUATION AND REPORTING 

• Work with the GIRL -H Senior Management, M&E and finance team members to ensure that deliverables are aligned with objectives and that financial milestones are proportionate to programme milestones.
• Provide financial perspective in management and decision-making to enhance Mercy Corps’ adaptive management.

PROGRAM SUPPORT OPERATIONS

• Ensure that GIRL-H financial systems are efficient and are based on smooth-running infrastructure that facilitate timely and efficient program implementation.
• Provide regular review of field operations to ensure cost-effectiveness

STAFF MANAGEMENT, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND TEAM BUILDING 

• Contribute to country team-building efforts, and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.

SECURITY

• Work with field office management teams to establish financial reporting and management systems that ensure the safety and security of GIRL-H financial resources including cash assets and records.
• Conduct yourself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian mission.
• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

• A Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics or relevant field; advanced degree preferred.
• Professional accounting certification CPA(K).desirable
• At least 4-5 years of demonstrated professional experience managing grants, subcontracts, procurement and compliance with donor regulations, preferably Donor-funded projects.
• Strong accounting skills and experience in management of the general ledger, journal entries, payables and balance sheet.
• Demonstrated experience applying clauses and negotiating without heavy management oversight including developing amendments and modifications as a result of negotiations.
• Experience providing capacity-building training to staff and local organizations.
• Proven abilities in analytical, excel and reporting skills.