Job Title: Accountant (2 posts)
Program: Kenya Feed the Future Local Food Systems
Reports to: Senior Finance & Administration Manager
Position location: Nairobi & Kisumu, Kenya
Grade: 7
TechnoServe Background:
TechnoServe works with enterprising people in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses and industries. We are a nonprofit organization that develops business solutions to poverty by linking people to information, capital and markets. With more than four decades of proven results, we believe in the power of private enterprise to transform lives.
Program Overview
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) anticipates funding Kenya’s five-year Feed the Future Local Food Systems (LFS) activity. The activity will promote inclusive agriculture-led growth focusing on climate-smart approaches, strengthen the resilience of people and systems by expanding economic opportunities, improve women’s and children’s nutrition, and integrate cross-cutting themes. This activity is anticipated to cover a combination of staple and high-value crops.
The activity will implement solutions including:
- Improving the resilience of vulnerable populations
- Building the capacity of food system enterprises
- Catalyzing investment into local agricultural market systems
- Establishing strong and transparent relationships between food system actors
- Improving the availability and affordability of nutritious food products, especially for women and children
- Expanding employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, especially for youth and women
The Program will have the following teams: Financial and Administrative Team (Nairobi and regions); CLA Team (Nairobi and regions); Technical Integration Team (Nairobi); and Regional Implementation Team (regions).
The Role:
The Accountant will be responsible for supporting the Senior Finance and Administration Manager in provision of efficient and sound Financial Management, Accounting, Financial Reporting and in Compliance with donor requirement and guidelines for the USAID-funded Local Food System activity in Kenya. She/He will report to the Senior Finance and Administration Manager and collaboratively work with all Program team.
Key Roles & Responsibilities:
- Review invoices and payments for accuracy, relevance and authorization as well as timely capturing of payments in the financial system in line with donor requirements.
- Assist the Senior Finance and Admin Manager to review sub-awards and grantees financial reports. He/She will also ensure proper finance training, expense tracking and timely payments of sub-awards and grantees invoices.
- Accurately enter LFS finance data into the accounting system.
- Processes staff travel advances, ensuring advances are liquidated on time and in compliance with Organizational policy.
- Coordinate month end closure by the stipulated deadlines and provides support in compiling and submission of the monthly financial reports package for the project.
- Assists the Senior Finance and Administration Manager monthly in preparations of cash projections and requirements for the project.
- Issues payments to workshop participants (including travel and meals refunds) as designated by the supervisor.
- Assists with VAT refund applications and follows up with vendors for the refund checks.
- Prepares monthly VAT refund reports for review and submission to USAID and, ensures the VAT tracker is always updated.
- Supports tracking of expenses and other financial transactions, mainly involving expense entry, tracking and record keeping.
- Reviews LFS asset register to confirm accuracy and assists the Admin and Logistics Assistant in managing LFS Property, ensuring assets are tagged; confirm state and reviews Individual Custody Lists.
- Ensures adequate filing of finance documents.
- Performs Accounts Payable Functions.
- Maintain general ledgers, cashbooks, debtors and creditors ledgers.
- Review coding of invoices, maintenance of records and reconciliation of statements for suppliers and debtors
- Work with program and administrative staff to ensure donor regulations are strictly adhered to during project implementation
- Performs monthly bank reconciliation
- Prepare and file statutory returns including withholding tax and PAYE returns
- Assist in generating the relevant source documents during internal and external audits
- Review staff timesheets to ensure accuracy and correct charging and time allocation per organization and donor guidelines
- Assist in working with the team on Mid-year and Annual budget reviews
- Work with procurement team in line with procurement policy to ensure adherence to TechnoServe and LFS Donor Policies.
- Assist in training of field staff on the TechnoServe policies, guidelines and donor requirements
- Reviewing financial system codes allocated to costs in line with Donor Budget requirements for completeness, correctness and accuracy
- Maintain high levels of confidentiality in relation to sensitive and confidential financial information and decisions
- Any other responsibility as assigned by the Senior Finance and Administration Manager
Desired Qualifications and Experience;
- A Bachelor’s Degree in Business related courses e.g. Accounting, Business Administration, Economics etc.
- Professional Qualification in CPA, ACCA or CMA is
- 3-5years financial accounting experience in an NGO environment preferably USAID funded programs
- Excellent IT skills with experience of operating computer-based financial management systems
- Competent to advanced level in Microsoft Excel
- Experience and knowledge of Sylogist highly preferred
- Ability to work under pressure with minimum supervision
- Experience in working with projects funded by international donors
- Working knowledge of donor compliance rules and regulations
- Knowledgeable in USAID rules around VAT refunds, checks and reports
- Willingness and ability to take the initiative in identifying problems, suggesting solutions, and implementing agreed solutions.
Core Competencies include:
- Integrity and honesty: Is widely trusted; seen as a direct, truthful individual; presents truthful information in an appropriate and helpful manner; maintains confidentiality; admits mistakes; does not misrepresent himself or herself for personal gain.
- Teamwork/ Relationships: Works cooperatively and flexibly with other members of the team with a full understanding of the role to be played as a team member and/or leader, to achieve a common goal. Ability to build and maintain effective relationships and networks.
- Learning attitude: Proactively takes advantage of opportunities to learn. Actively identifies new areas for learning; applies and shares new knowledge and skill appropriately.
- Diversity/Inclusiveness: Demonstrates an understanding and appreciation for diversity and supports diversity efforts. Interacts effectively with and inclusively with people of all races, cultures, ethnicities, backgrounds, religions, ages, and genders.
- Communication: Expresses ideas effectively in individual and group situations. Listens effectively; shares information, ideas and arguments; adjusts terminology, language and communication modes to the needs of the audience; ensures accurate understanding; acts in a way that facilitates open exchange of ideas and information; uses appropriate non-verbal communication.
- Decision making/Problem Solving: Is able to analyze situations, diagnose problems, identify the key issues, establish and evaluate alternative courses of action and produce a logical, practical and acceptable solution. Is able to make effective decisions on a day-to-day basis, taking ownership of decisions, demonstrating sound judgment in escalating issues where necessary.
- Results Oriented/ High Quality Deliverables: Stays focused on the efforts necessary to achieve quality results consistent with programmatic or departmental goals. Demonstrates the ability to achieve effective results; works persistently to overcome obstacles to goal achievement. Accomplishes tasks by considering all areas involved, no matter how small; showing concern for all aspects of the job; accurately checking processes and tasks.
- Planning & Time Management: Establishes a course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a specific goal. Effectively plans, schedules, prioritizes and controls activities; identifies, integrates and orchestrates resources (people, material, information, budget, and/or time) to accomplish goals. Prioritizes work according to the program or department’s goals, not just own job responsibilities; manages own time effectively.
- Business Acumen: The ability to use information, ask the right questions and take decisions that make an impact on the overall business performance.
Job Specific/Technical Competencies include:
- Financial & Resource Management: The ability to estimate, justify, and manage appropriate funding levels to support goal accomplishment. Managing Resources about understands human, financial, and operational resource issues to make decisions aimed at building and planning efficient project workflows, and at improving overall organizational performance.
- Computer Literacy: Demonstrates knowledge and ability to use specific computer programs or applications for their own functional area. Has the ability to improve performance by integrating new and existing technology into the workplace.
- Donor/Partnership Management: Identifying opportunities and taking action to build strategic relationships between one’s area and other areas, teams, departments, or organizations to help achieve business goals.
- Analysis, Research, Report Writing: Experience in business planning and analysis, modeling for feasibility and execution. Able to analyze and express oneself clearly in business writing.
- Innovative Mindset: Curious inquiries, asks questions and seeks out information from multiple sources, learns from mistakes, sees change as an opportunity.
Additional notes:
We encourage all qualified individuals who share TechnoServe’s vision of improving the lives of others through proven business solutions to apply.
