Street Child is a UK charity working to protect vulnerable children and improve access to education in some of the poorest communities in the world. We work in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nepal and since November 2016, Street Child has been involved in the Humanitarian response in North East Nigeria.
Street Child works in the fields of education, child protection and livelihoods, working to deliver sustainable solutions and create maximum impact. Our work combines counselling, family mediation, business support, school building, teacher training and child protection. We were a key player in the Ebola crisis and led the global response for children orphaned by Ebola in Sierra Leone and Liberia. We deliver all our programmes through local partners and, since 2008, together we have built/renovated over 200 schools and are now helping to educate over 40,000 young people.
We are recruiting to fill the position below:
Job Title: Senior Finance Officer
Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Job type: Full time (On-site)
Team: Finance
Responsible to: Finance Manager (FM) - Nigeria
Job Description
Position in organisation:
Responsible to the Finance Manager, Nigeria
Works closely with the Project Managers
Works directly with Street Child’s (SC) partners, especially the finance staff of the partners
Works closely with the Street Child’s Finance team, Operations team, and other in-country Street Child’s staff
Organisational requirements:
The post holder will be expected to live out Street Child’s values as they represent SC internally and externally.
S/he will be expected to fulfil their personal objectives set by the line manager, contribute to the team’s overall objectives, take responsibility for reviewing the ongoing personal development and maintain an awareness of Street Child’s strategy.
S/he will be expected, along with all SC staff, to share responsibility to promote and maintain a strong safeguarding culture, including identifying the key actions they should take given their role and responsibilities.
The post-holder will be expected to behave in accordance with the SC Policies.
Duties & Key Responsibilities
Financial and Accounting Supervision:
Ensure that all Street Child's internal controls and other financial procedures are adhered to and fully implemented
The post holder will be responsible for preparing monthly payrolls and submit to the FM for review
S/he will be responsible for preparing proposal budgets and submit to the FM for review
S/he will be responsible for preparing balance sheet reconciliation for the FM to review
The Senior Finance Officer will be actively involved in the preparing of donor financial reports and project close out processes
S/he will support the FM to anchor both internal and external audits for SC Nigeria
Ensure that all Street Child’s financial transactions (bank, cash, accruals) are properly recorded in Aqilla in accordance with SC Policy and donor requirements
Work with the finance officers to ensure that statutory obligations are met (Taxes, pension and others) are accurately deducted and remitted on time to the appropriate authorities
Ensure that the fixed assets register is updated and maintained in line with both donor and SC policies
Ensure that key donor requirements are circulated to the project managers to ensure proper implementation. The post holder will track key donor rules and follow up with project managers for strict adherence
Manage all payments made, including:
Verification of the accuracy and appropriateness of invoices and other documents provided for payments.
Ensure that all relevant supporting documents are in place and that all SC policies and regulations have been followed
Ensure payments reach the beneficiaries
Record all bank transactions made in the accounting system provided
Inform Project Managers and Partner Staff of specific donor regulations for procurement, distribution, and reporting
Ensure that SC and Partner books and records, insofar as they relate to donor-funded projects, are kept in accordance with donor requirements
Produce accurate and up-to-date financial reports using required formats
Ensures that the cash count is made every end of every month (or as determined by the FM)
Management of advances to staff (ensure that advances are accounted for over time and that no double advances are issued)
Accounting and Financial Management:
Track service contracts to ensure they are renewed on time and for those who expire, follow the correct process if they need to be terminated or renewed
Provide financial / accounting assistance to the country office to ensure that procedures and policies are not flouted
To be a leader in the prevention of fraud at the base and to provide technical support for fraud investigations
The post holder will ensure that all transactions are properly coded to the right project and budget lines
S/he will undertake monthly bank reconciliation and submit same to the FM for review
S/he will support the FM to ensure that partners’ expenses are adequately supported and recorded in the accounting software
The successful candidate will work closely with the FM to produce monthly Budget versus Actula reports on the 10th of every month and circulate same to the project managers
Undertake any other task assigned by the FM
Person Specification
Qualifications:
Candidates should possess a Degree in Finance / Accounts or equivalent experience
ACA / MBA / CA, ICAN, ANAN or equivalent
Proven experience in relief and disaster response work
Experience:
Minimum of 8 (eight) years’ experience in the NGO accounting and minimum of 10 years’ experience in the non-NGN section of which 5 years must be in the audit firm
Strong technical experience in book-keeping, accounting, and financial management
Understanding of accounting issues in the charity/NGO sector
Strong background in accounting is a plus
Skills/Abilities
Excellent written and verbal communication in English language.
Planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation skills
Communication and presentation skills
Self-motivation
Computer literate in MS-Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc
Team player
Initiative
Attention to detail
Ability to Prioritise
Good analytical skills
Training and mentoring skill
Knowledge of SAGE 50, QuickBooks and other accounting software is highly desirable.
Ability to communicate in Hausa is a plus
Personal Qualities:
Committed to SC Vision, Mission, and Values
Logical Thinker and Problem solver
Humanitarian motivation
Commitment to accountability to Beneficiaries and transparency, showing dignity and respect
Understanding and sensitivity to cross cultural issues
Flexible and adaptable to changing environments
Ability to remain calm under pressure
Influential, diplomatic and determined
Willingness to travel and live in basic and potentially insecure conditions
Ability to work cross culturally in a muti-ethnic and religious environment.