Programme Accountant – Maternity Cover, Trocaire

About Trócaire

Trócaire is an International NGO. We work with local partners in the world’s most at-risk communities and with people in Ireland to tackle the underlying causes of poverty and injustice and respond to the crises they create. Together we bring about positive and lasting change for a just world. Trócaire works in up to 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. We work towards five goals:

• Defend Human Rights and Promote Access to Justice;
• Achieve Climate & Environmental Justice;
• Ensure Women & Girls’ Protection, Voice & Influence;
• Save Lives and Protect Human Dignity and
• Mobilize the Public on the island of Ireland to achieve Global Justice.

Our work is rooted in our values of Solidarity, Courage, Participation, Perseverance and Accountability.

This is an exciting opportunity to lead and develop a diverse portfolio of Finance and programmes in Gedo, Somalia. The right candidate will be a leader in the team and taking on responsibility for the financial management of Trocaire Somalia’s entire programmes both development, humanitarian as well as Trocaire unrestricted funds in Somalia. The holder will also be ensuring partner compliance with Trócaire and donor requirements, providing technical assistance and capacity building in financial management and systems to Trócaire and partners’ staff. The Programme Finance Manager is critical to ensuring coherence and consistency in our programming and in our different approaches to partnership across this diverse portfolio. S/he is the key technical supporter to the programme teams, partners, IF team members, Operations & Finance, major donors, and HQ Finance staff.

For the candidate with the required experience and passion for the role, Trocaire offers a competitive package of salary and benefits.

The role will report to Programme Finance Manager.

Key responsibilities:

Programme Development and Management:

The Programme accountant position’s main purpose will be to ensure that there is compliance with all finance management requirements of the above respective Donor contract conditions and requirements.

The position will extend full Grant Management support to the respective donor projects, oversee and ensure that the Trocaire project staff and implementing partners are aware of and fully comply with the respective donor grant agreements terms. The position will also have responsibility for conducting and administering partner assessments of their Capacities, Risk profiles as well as Trocaire’s “18 Minimum Requirements” Framework, ensuring that results from all these efforts are fully addressed including overseeing all resulting capacity building/development efforts in their Governance, Financial Management, Administrative and other Internal Control System areas – thus enhancing their effective programme delivery. The position is expected to provide technical support and advice to the project staff and partners. A considerable amount of the time will be spent with field offices and with partners in field locations.

Working directly with the Programme Finance Manager and closely with the respective Programme leads/Programme Manager:

• Undertake and partake in partner risk pre-assessments and grant start-up meetings.
• Undertake partner financial, compliance and/or operational audits as requested and share such results/recommendations.
• Undertake project compliance trainings for project staff and partners on the award’s governing regulations, Trocaire requirements/tools/processes as well as other award expectations, including generally accepted international financial management practices.
• Support partners in preparation and review of their budget revision requests costed-work plans and cash flow projections.
• Prepare project funds requests for review and approval by the PM & HOF.
• Facilitate timely grant processing to partners through Agresso and subsequent disbursements, regularly updating the project on disbursement status.
• Maintain a robust partner financial reporting schedule and ensure this is tracked at all times.

Grant Management and reporting.

• Implementation objectives and Donor obligations.
• Ensure all IF budgets are uploaded and approved in the financial system – Agresso as per the laid down process.
• Share properly coded and phased budgets with the Programme leads.
• Budget proof all expense transactions being posted in Agresso to ensure that the correct codes have been used to minimize coding and posting errors in Agresso including salary /cash requisitions/cashbooks among others.
• Prepare donor financial report for review by the PM and FAM ensuring that it is accurate, and costs therein are valid and comply to all applicable guidelines.
• Conduct and share results of expenditure verification and site visit exercises with the Trocaire project staff, senior management as well as the partners, ensuring that all agreed recommendations are addressed in a timely manner.
• Review data in project grants database which uses the Salesforce platform to ensure grant information is captured accurately by Programme for the in-country grants portfolio.
• Support Project leads and Business development unit in development of proposal budgets.
• Spearhead the grant kick off and close out meetings to ensure smooth implementation of the specific projects. Ensure the staff have the required donor compliance requirement.
• Support any on-going project audit exercises and coordinate all participating partners to respond to audit requirements.
• Follow up on resolving all arising audit issues and ensure that there is full implementation of all agree audit recommendations.
• Review all partner financial reports submitted ensuring their accuracy and completeness, including securing the validity of expenses reported.
• Sign off on all partner monthly fund reconciliation statements.

Provide Technical Financial Management Advice and Support to Programmes

• Track and undertake the over grant status/fund reconciliation in in the Agresso financial system.
• Track the grant Budget Vs Actual through Agresso and appropriately advise project management on arising variances.
• Participate in regular programme meetings providing needed support.
• Analyze, alert and advice the project management on any financial and other risks that would impact on the delivery of project.
• Partake, review and recommend on behalf of Trocaire all major partner procurements and other financial obligations before their commitment and/or payment. Enhance partners capacities to undertake these processes.

Essential Requirements:

• Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in business related Field.
• Professional accountancy qualification (CPA or ACCA).
• Master’s Degree in related field is an added advantage.

Experience:

• Minimum of 3 years’ experience in the administration of financial, accounting, and sub-grant management processes within a large, multi-faceted donor funded project.
• Experience with donor project accounting requirements including demonstration of a deep familiarity and application of those terms. This is a must requirement for the job.
• Experience in budget monitoring and managing financial reporting requirements.
• Experience in assessing organizational capacities and administering capacity building interventions to address identified gaps.
• Balance of strong analytical, delivery of strong results with very minimal supervision or direction. Must be committed to a rigorous work ethic.
• The position is Nairobi based but requires up to 30% travel to field locations. Applicant must therefore be willing to travel and be out of station for a period.
• Excellent facilitation and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated ability to meet corporate governance and accountability requirements of host governments, the organization, and donors.
• Highly organized, with excellent planning, prioritization, and problem-solving skills
  • Proven organization and planning skills.
  • Excellent computer skills, particularly in MS Word, Excel and internet/email and accounting software -Agresso
  • In depth knowledge of managing grants and contractual requirements of institutional donors.
  • Ability to work well with others under strict deadline situations and respond to changes in priorities.
  • Good written and verbal communication skills and strong organizational skills language.
  • Ability to work independently, take initiative and set priorities.
  • Employ problem-solving skills and analysis, and report problems to the line manager with possible options and solutions.

Safeguarding Programme Participants-Children & Adults

Trócaire is committed to safeguarding people within our programmes from exploitation and abuse and has specific policies on this commitment (including a Global Code of Conduct) which outlines the expected behaviour and the responsibility of all staff, consultants, and other organizational representatives. More information on Trócaire’s safeguarding policies available here.

Diversity and inclusion:

We welcome diverse applicants to join our inclusive workforce.

Trócaire is an equal opportunities employer. We are an organization that embraces diversity and inclusion. We welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds to bring their experiences and perspectives to Trócaire.

Diversity and Inclusion statement available here