Partner Support Accountant - Eritrea at Catholic Agency For Overseas Development - CAFOD

Job Profile

• To contribute to CAFOD’s involvement in Eritrea in line with the agreed Core Country Programmes, by taking lead on the day-to-day management of partners financial management, monitoring and reporting for CAFOD and Institutional supported programmes and partnerships.
• The Partners Support Accountant will be responsible for and provide technical advice, guidance and capacity strengthening support to partners.
• The Partners Support Accountant will be responsible for all aspects of financial management of the project in compliance with the donor and CAFOD standards and procedures. They will also provide support to the partners’ finance teams on monitoring expenditure and reporting.

The position will be based in Nairobi in Kenya and work 3 days a week. Travel is a requirement for this role and the successful candidate may need to travel up to 12 weeks per year, sometimes at short notice and to areas of potential risk.

*Early applications are strongly encouraged as this role may be closed for applications before the advertised date*

Key Responsibilities:

Financial management of programmes

• Maintain an overview of the programme finances providing accurate and timely updates to the programme team and Head of Region-Africa and CAFOD’s Finance department in London.
• Produce accurate and timely programme financial reports on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis as required, consolidating all donor funded income and expenditure. Reports should meet the standards required by the donor and those required by CAFOD.
• Provide support to the Finance/Accounts Departments of partner organisations to enable them to produce and submit accurate expenditure reports on expenditure, in line with CAFOD internal and institutional donor requirements.
• Support may include design of appropriate accounting and reporting systems, design of spreadsheets, training and on-going guidance of personnel. This will necessitate regular travel and support to partners and presentations at partner workshops.
• Advise the Programme Manager of variances arising in programme/project expenditure, and the need for transfers of grants to partners’ organizations to ensure that programmes and partner organisations have the necessary funds at their disposal with which to implement their work effectively.
• Prepare annual programme budgets with the necessary CAFOD partners. Monitor expenditure against these budgets and advise the budget-holders of expenditure-to-date and variances arising.
• Develop comprehensive accounting and related systems and procedures to ensure financial compliance with donor and audit standards and rules, and ensure auditable records are maintained.
• Represent CAFOD’s programmes providing all necessary financial information and shared experiences as may be required by external donors and contributing effectively to all monitoring and evaluation requirements as may be established by CAFOD and external donors.

Programme Administration

• Correspond with partners in relation to processing of grants and CAFOD’s Programme Cycle Management (PCM) system.
• Maintain up to date records on Web Promise database, including registering projects/programmes, generating approvals and payments and ensuring partner details and bank details are up to date.
• Maintain and develop programme/project cycle and financial tracking documents in order to have an easily accessible overview of the funding stage of each partnership.
• Maintain appropriate hard copy (paper) and electronic files in adherence with International Division procedures.
• When necessary, provide administrative support in emergency situations.

Financial management

• Keeping the overview of the programme and office finances providing accurate and timely updates to the Head of Region-Africa and CAFOD in London.
• Process partners grant payments that need to be made for all grants approved; ensuring that the necessary documentation and authorisation has been obtained.
• Account for expenditure made on a monthly basis according to prescribed procedures and deadlines and using the prescribed software.

Systems and compliance

• Effectively use CAFOD’s programme management information systems to ensure programme and project information on WebPromise is up to date. This will include producing management information to support decision making.

This list of duties and responsibilities is by no means exhaustive and the post holder may be required to undertake other relevant and appropriate duties as required. Any changes will be made in consultation with the postholder in the interest of CAFOD’s Eritrea Core programme.

Safeguarding

• All CAFOD staff share responsibility to promote and maintain a strong safeguarding culture, including identifying the key actions they should take given their role and responsibilities.

Essential Criteria

• Experiencing and training staff in good standards, systems and processes as well as donor compliance and accountability.
• The ability to manage time and resources efficiently, able to take initiative and work with minimal supervision; manages emotions and stresses positively.
• Speaks and writes fluent English: able to communicate effectively at a distance and across cultures making effective use of technology.
• Understanding of donors and ability to ensure compliance to donor requirements.
• Full understanding and practical application of good financial standards and PCM.
• Experience in monitoring and reviewing expenditure, recognizing errors, issues and fraud.

Desirable Criteria

• Recognised professional accounting qualification; Minimum BA Degree in Accounting/Business Administration or related field.
• Sound financial understanding with practical work experience in a finance in an NGO environment.
• Audit skills, being able to spot any financial irregularities or fraud and also to suggest improvements in financial processes and practices.
• Significant experience in managing, coaching and mentoring staff in sound financial management skills and task manages others in the office.
• Excellent computer skills, including full working knowledge of standard word processing and spreadsheet packages.
• Understanding and experience of institutional funding priorities, trends and donor conditions.
• Experienced in working with and committed to developing the capacity of local partner organisations / National NGOs.