Programme Accountant Job vacancy in Kenya Naironi

Job Title: Programme Accountant

Location: Nairobi Kenya with frequent travel to the field

Department: Finance

Reporting: Finance Manager, Trocaire Kenya

Trocaire and Description of the Finance Dept Established in 1973, Trócaire is the official overseas development agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland and operates as an international NGO with national offices in over 20 countries worldwide. 

We work with some of the world’s poorest people, supporting communities and delivering long-term change to people’s lives working on issues around livelihoods, human rights, gender equality, HIV, policy research & advocacy, climate change and emergency relief. 

The Nairobi office was established in 1994 and the country programme has grown significantly since that time. Trócaire implements all its programs through a range of partners, including faith-based organisations 

The Finance department is responsible for ensuring sound management of financial resources entrusted to the Kenya office and ensure that there are effective procedures in place to facilitate internal controls and accountability of grants provided to implementing partners.

Main Purpose of Role

The Programme Accountant (PA) has responsibility for providing support to partners’ governance and financial management capacity development; facilitating grant management processes for assigned programmes, including participation in new partner selection, risk assessments/systems audits, pre-award & compliance trainings, funds transfers, financial reports review & expenditure verification as well as close-out processes. 

You will also be expected to provide technical support and advice to all programmes within the country office, including internal financial management and institutional funding systems.

Key Duties & Responsibilities:

Lead Efforts to Support Partners’ Governance, Administrative and Financial Management Capacity Development & Growth within all Trocaire Kenya Programmes - 75%

Working closely with the respective Programme Officers (POs) and the Country Programme  Manager(PM) and within the Trocaire Global Capacity Building Framework:

• Develop and regularly update a comprehensive capacity assessment schedule
• Undertake partner risk assessment, risk ranking and profiling eventually providing the PO’s with the appropriate recommendations on the course of actions to take.
• Identify key governance and financial management capacity gaps through undertaken capacity assessment exercises, and agree a comprehensive capacity development plan with the partners.
• Working under the PO, oversee the implementation of the capacity building plan actions
• Undertake partners’ systems reviews, support design of accounting and reporting systems, provide on-job training, recommend Mango courses and provide other on-going financial guidance and support to partners
• Within the confines of the global partner capacity development framework, develop and implement a Country Capacity Building Strategy for governance and financial management interventions.
• Research, collate and develop relevant capacity building tools and materials eventually assembling a robust resource centre.
• Lead in providing support to Trocaire finance and program staff in enhancing their governance and financial management capacity building skills.
• Contribute to and facilitate inter-organizational learning on our collective capacity building efforts, including providing inputs that will help in improving such efforts at both national and Trocaire global levels
• As required, work with PO’s in addressing all other institutional capacity building aspects of partner organizations

Supporting all Trocaire Kenya’s Grants Management Processes – 15%

Working closely with the Finance Assistant – Programmes, Programme Officers and the Country Programme Manager:

• Under the coordination of the respective PO’s, participate in partner selection processes including risk assessment and any required systems reviews/audits
• Participate in partner planning processes including the review of their budgets alongside submitted proposals, providing input into development of Grant Agreements, budget revisions and/or amendments.
• Review partner submitted budgets for relevance, cost efficiency and  consistency with submitted proposals (including log frames and Results Frameworks)
• Under take partner pre-award trainings around Trocaire/donor regulations & requirements/tools/processes and other expectations, including generally accepted international financial management practices.
• Facilitate timely grant processing through Agresso and subsequent disbursements, regularly updating programs on disbursement status.
• Monitor and review partner financial reporting ensuring timeliness, compliance with Trocaire/donor requirements, cost efficiency and effectiveness in utilization of financial resources, validity, accuracy and completeness of reported expenses.
• Undertake partner expenditure verifications exercises, positively and constructively providing feedback to the partner and PO, ensuring that arising issues are resolved in a timely manner.
• Undertake partner financial, compliance and/or operational audits as requested
• Follow up on resolving all arising audit issues and ensure that there is full implementation of all agree audit recommendations
• Support PO’s in arranging for project (donor specific) audits of partners as well as liaising with those partners on their statutory audit obligations
• Regularly update PO’s on partner reporting status, expenditure patterns with respect to agreed budgets, results from expenditure verifications as well as those from under taken audits, including  development and use of both audit and financial reporting trackers
• Support PO’s in the close out of concluding grants

Provide Technical Financial Management Advice and Support to Programmes – 10%

• Provide basic training and guidance to the country program staff on skills in “Agresso Business World” management, budget preparation & monitoring, budget revision, financial reporting & accountability mechanisms, internal controls, Trocaire/donor compliance requirements.
• Support PO’s in country programme budget preparations, revisions & Requests for Changes (RfC)
• Support PO’s in the regular monitoring of programme expenditures through review of up to date Budget Versus Actuals (BVAs) reports and appropriately advise on arising variances
• Participate in regular programme meetings providing invaluable technical financial inputs and advice
• Analyse, alert and advice PM/PO’s on financial risks that would impact on programmes.
• Assist and suggest improvement to work processes and increase efficiency within the programme function.
• As called upon by the country management, undertake fraud & irregularity investigations within identified partners
• Assist the FM and programmes in the preparation of (all) accurate and timely donor financial reports
• Support programmes in any arising external and internal control audits as required and in the implementation of recommendations both internally and with partners.
• Perform program financial information analysis and advice management on appropriate courses of action
• Undertake documentation of the experience of capacity development initiatives and share these with PO’s and management, promoting learning and improvement
• Keep abreast of new technical initiatives and knowledge within global institutional capacity building efforts and disseminate these to staff (repeated)May be called upon on secondment to support particular partners or even other country offices within the confines of this JD

Any Other Duties

• Any other duties as may be assigned

Expected Outputs

• Robust Capacity and Risk Assessment Reports
• Robust Capacity Building (CB) Plans (Signed)
• Robust Capacity Building Development Schedule
• Regular (Monthly) reporting on the status of the CB Development Schedule
• Improved partner governance and financial management system
• Timely transfer of funds to partners
• Updated partner reporting and audit trackers
• Good, realistic and viable budgets by partners
• Compliant and accountable financial reporting by partners consistent with project implementation expectations
• Minimal or no ineligible costs arising from partner expenditure verification or audit reviews
• Up to date and clean/accurate BVA reports for all programmes
• Financially alert program staff on Trocaire, donor and generally- accepted basic financial management practices.
• Financial risk mitigation within the programmes
• Programme Financial Information Analysis Reports

Essential Qualifications and Experiences:

• Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, Finance, Accounting or Business Administration
• Professional accountancy qualification (CPA or ACCA)
• A minimum of 5 years in a finance department, 2 of which would be working with partner institutions in a capacity building setting
• Demonstrated ability to conduct thorough institutional capacity building efforts, audits, financial analysis, risk assessments
• Demonstrated understanding, maturity and sensitivity in working with partners, including ability to engage with senior management while providing advisory support.
• Good understanding of the project management cycle
• Ability to travel to the field regularly and at sometimes at short notice
• Ability to prepare concise, informative narrative and financial reports
• Strong organizational skills, with an emphasis on time management and the ability to plan, organize and implement various activities within a time-pressured environment
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team
• Excellent interpersonal and team dynamics skills

Core Values and Critical Competencies

• Effective at achieving desired results, striving always at excellence
• Mature, honest, diplomatic and a positive attitude
• Proactive and reliable with the ability to command respect and grace among peers and at all levels of organizations, including ability to comfortably interact with the highest hierarchy within an entity
• Strong analytical and decision-making skills
• Ability to organize and coordinate schedules, incl. effective supervision and delegation
• Work effectively and cooperatively with others towards shared goals, establishing and maintaining principle-centred working relationships and possess excellent planning and organization skills
• Convey information and ideas clearly through a variety of media to individuals or groups in a manner that engages the audience and helps them understand and retain their message.
• Demonstrate ability to use innovative approaches, strategies and personal initiative.

Grade & Salary: Kenya Salary Scales

How to Apply:

If you meet the above selection criteria, please send your curriculum vitae and a covering letter to HR@trocaire.or.ke latest by 4th October 2013.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

 Trócaire’s recruitment and selection process reflects its commitment to the People in Aid Code of Good Practice. Prospective applicants must be committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults against all forms of abuse and harm and must sign Trócaire’s Safeguarding Programme Participants Policy.