Programme Accountant

About the Role

The Programme Accountant will provide timely, accurate and efficient accounting, budgeting and financial management support to the Learning for Life (L4L): Building a Resilient and Responsive Health Workforce in line with Amref’s financial and relevant policies and guidelines, and with the donor grant agreement and compliance guidelines. This is a 4-year programme in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation that will be implemented in Kenya, Senegal and Zambia during this first phase. The estimated ratio of health workers per population in Africa is 11.2 workers per 10,000 people, far below the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended ratio of 44.5. It is estimated that the global shortage of health workers will increase from 12 to 18 million by 2030 – which translates to a shortage of six million health workers. Africa also has the world’s fastest growing population, which presents governments and policy makers with both opportunities and challenges to ensure sufficient livelihood opportunities for its young population. To address these challenges and accelerate the current Universal Health Coverage (UHC) gains, Amref is implementing this innovative, multi-country, multi-million dollar programme with the ultimate aim of contributing to increased and sustainable job creation within primary health care (PHC) sectors across Africa.

Reporting to ICD’s Senior Programme Accountant, s/he will ensure effective utilization of programme funds through budget performance monitoring and ensure preparation of financial reports for internal and external (donor) consumption in accordance with donor regulation and organizational policies.

About You

You are a box checker who likes to get things in the right way at the right time. You are highly organised and have great attention to detail. You are able to work with people from across cultures and have a high level of EQ. You are a problem solver, thrive under pressure, can prioritise, and are resilient. You can communicate financial matters to non-finance people, allowing them to better understand the data for decision making. You’re a team player!

Principal Responsibilities
Budget Preparation, Monitoring, Operations and Growth

• Prepare annual operational budgets by determining funds available, determining activities scheduled for the year and their cost and translating these to an operational budget in the Amref format
• Periodically monitor the programme’s budget performance through budget vs actuals (BVA) analysis and ensure that performance is within the expected ranges.
• Ensure that approval of expenditure for the various projects is timely and in line with the donor approved budgets and organizational policies.
• Maintain programme asset register and liaise with key stakeholders on asset management and disposal
• Support the proposal development process and ensure that budgets for any new phase of the programme are prepared in line with Amref’s and donor budgeting guidelines.

Programme Financial Performance Review

• Review programme progress on a month by month basis and provided reports view to improving performance and resolving challenges
• Collect and collate financial reports from all programme cost centre accountants and prepare a monthly summary report to guide the programme team on decision making
• Review of the monthly income and expenditure statements with cost centre accountants and with the Regional Programme Managers to ensure expenditure is in line with expected performance.
• Review staff debtors’ reports and taking the necessary decisions on recoveries to be made for long outstanding debts.
• Process, approve and code expenditure (claims, imprest, surrenders, field office returns and Procurement Requests) and internal recoveries in accordance with approved work plans and budgets
• Carry out regular review meetings with the programme team to resolve and discuss various financial and accounting issues and queries
• Prepare periodic budgetary control statements to determine financial performance of the programme
• Provide financial technical support to programme teams as needed

Cash Balance Monitoring

• Monitor cash balances
• Make or trigger cash call downs as appropriate Audits
• Take lead in supporting internal and external audits conducted for the programme
• Prepare Financial Statements and support schedules for audit
• Take lead in resolution of audit findings by implementing audit recommendations.

Education, Skills and  Experience
Education and Experience

• Bachelor degree in relevant areas such as finance and accounting, business administration, or related field.
• Full professional accounting qualification e.g. Certified Public Accountant.
• Membership of professional accounting body will be an added advantage
• At least 3 years accounting experience in financial and project accounting, budgeting and financial reporting, preferably in the NGO environment
• Experience in handing multi-currency transactions
• Experience in grants management
• Experience in data entries and using accounting software, Microsoft Navision ERP is an added advantage;

Skills and Competencies:

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Good command of English;
• Good knowledge of using Excel, Word and Power Point;
• Integrity;
• Team work;
• Problem-solving;
• Ability to work under pressure;
• Ability to prioritize own workload and work with minimal supervision.