Finance And Administration Officer At United Purpose

Organisation overview:

About Self Help Africa & United Purpose

In late 2021, Self Help Africa (SHA) and United Purpose (UP) merged. The two organizations – one headquartered in Ireland and the other in Wales – implement projects to end extreme hunger and poverty.

This merger doubled our size and reach – and means that in 2022 we are implementing poverty eradication projects in 17 countries, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. Collectively, we are also part of a group that includes social enterprise subsidiaries Partner Africa, TruTrade and Cumo Microfinance.

In 2022, our work reached more than six million people and invest upwards of €45m in more than 100 development programmes designed to improve food systems, facilitate access to markets and financial services, combat climate change, and gender inequality, and improve access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene.

This is an exciting time to join us as we unite two like-minded and entrepreneurial organisations seeking to tackle global challenges in progressive and innovative ways.

We are looking for a dynamic, proactive FAO who will support the project team and provide technical assistance in the overall implementation of finance and administration functions and would work closely with the SHA/UP HQ Finance and Accounting team in Abuja.

Job Purpose:

Rural Women Entrepreneurs (RWE) Project, which will be implemented in Nigeria, Kenya, and Malawi, combines the lessons learned in Bangladesh from the women-led social enterprise model and the collaborative development practices honed through the GIZ-funded Mobilizing Rural Women Entrepreneurs for COVID-19 Response and Recovery in Rural Bangladesh project. Via the digilab Scaling Lab sprint process, United Purpose-Self Help Africa (UP-SHA) has been working with the digilab and GIZ staff in various departments as well as across Africa over the last nine months to explore and co-develop the foundation for scaling the RWE approach in Africa. The 12-month pilot will take an adaptive approach to implement the model, evolving at each stage to respond to the unique contexts and demands of the three proposed pilot countries.

Women’s Business Centres (WBCs) have been a growing platform for digital service delivery in remote regions that respond directly to chronic disconnection of the most under-resourced members of rural communities. As women-led organisations, WBCs offer access to skill development opportunities and aggregation services in a friendly, safe, and trusted environment which fosters community and well-being. As the network of entrepreneurs has grown, they have also created new access to digital resources and, more recently, have begun offering fee-for-service training and services to their communities by facilitating access to the growing number of mobile applications developed by both the public and private sectors.

While the introduction of digital service delivery and eLearning is not new in many rural contexts, what is unique is the skilled facilitatory capacity of the WBC entrepreneurs as community leaders and the robust business models which support and sustain new and innovative business ideas. In order to scale this model, the pilot will seek to engage with and strengthen existing community structures, identifying key women entrepreneurs who can lead cooperative social enterprise centres in the WBC model. The pilot will work collaboratively with these entrepreneurs to create market-based strategies and approaches to identify and respond to contextual opportunities in food security, nutrition, WASH, family planning and beyond, integrating their existing business activities in such a way that they are able to build lasting connections and incentives as well as adaptive local structures that are increasingly resilient to disruptions in global supply chains created by the interlinked food and climate crises.

The FAO will be responsible for the implementation of general finance, Logistics and Administration functions for the RWE project. S/he will work in close collaboration with the Project Manager of the RWE to achieve the operational objectives and goals of the Scaling Rural Women Entrepreneurs for Community-Led Digital Adaptation & Resilience in Africa (RWE) Project. The successful candidate will also be responsible for the day-to-day running and managing of SHA/UP assets in the Makurdi field office. S/he will directly manage the drivers assigned to the project.

Key Responsibilities:

Finance Function

• Responsible for providing financial guidelines to the project team, ensuring that SHA/UP as well as donor financial procedures are being followed.
• Review all the financial submissions from the project team ensuring that they are in line with budget and project objectives; travel advances, out-of-pocket expenditure claims, mileage claims, and retirements.
• Obtain authorisation for financial submissions, upload all payment requests on the electronic platform, and enter all payment information into the ledger.
• Conduct the first level of review of the project activity budget to ensure that they are in line with project objectives and the available budget.
• Ensure that transactions are fully supported, approved, and properly filed and that the operations conform to the requirements of the RWE as per the project proposal document.
• Ensure that monthly bank reconciliations are completed on a timely basis and that the final reconciliation is reviewed and submitted to the Finance and Compliance Manager.
• Manage the finance activities and schedules to meet the financial reporting requirements and deadlines specified by donors and SHA/UP.
• Work closely with the SHA/UP HQ finance team in the organization and complete external audits and implement actions necessary to correct internal control weaknesses.
• Support the Finance and Compliance Manager to improve existing financial systems in line with best practices.
• Assist with any other project finance-related work as may be required for the effective running of the Makurdi field office.

Administrative/ Logistics Functions

• Support project administration whenever requested by the project team and day-to-day running of the Benue State Field Office.
• Oversee and support the Benue State Driver in conducting his duties.
• Ensure that SHA/UP complies with Benue State Internal Revenue obligations, making sure that PAYE taxes are remitted in a timely manner.
• Any other task, which may be assigned from time to time by the Project Manager and or RWE.
• Maintain updated records of office and project assets.
• Support the procurement of project and office materials.

Key Relationships:

Internal and External

Knowledge, Experience & Other Requirements:

Education and other qualifications:

• Degree in Accounting, Finance or related degree. An accounting qualification will be an added advantage.
• Knowledge of accounting concepts, principles and techniques.
• Minimum of five years experience.
• Demonstratable proficiency in accounting system software and expertise in Microsoft Excel and Report writing.
• Effective oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to working a multicultural, diverse, and performance-related environment.
• Ability to work independently with minimal direction, handle large amounts of data, and meet deadlines.
• Ability to work well in a team environment and effectively with civil society organisations, donors, project staff, and other beneficiaries.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of experience in Finance and Administration
• Experience with rules and regulations for non-profit organizations.
• Good technical accounting skills. Experience in financial planning, bookkeeping practice and principle, knowledge of internal controls, general ledger, cash management and reconciliations, payroll processing and taxation. Solid knowledge and understanding of community-based approaches to development.
• Knowledge and understanding of project monitoring and evaluation, including data management tools
• Must be a good team player, honest, dependable and willing to be flexible with work hours
• Experience in working with culturally diverse teams.

Skills:

• Excellent planning, coordination, and prioritisation skills.
• Strong facilitation, Community implementation and interpersonal skills.
• Good written and verbal communication skills- listening, presenting, discussing, reporting, putting views forward and negotiating with confidence.
• Adaptable and responsive disposition relative to the demands and operations of the project.

Language Requirements:

Written and oral proficiency in English and the relevant local language is a plus.