Project Finance Coordinator
Location: Kibondo Tanzania, Tanzania
Company: Plan International
BACKGROUND
Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. Plan has over 80 years’ experience and works in more than 75 countries across the world. We strive for a just world, working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners.
Plan International has been working in Tanzania since 1991. Our work supports marginalised children and youth, especially adolescent girls, to grow up physically and mentally healthy and ready to shape their future. We create an enabling environment and empower girls to be active drivers of change in realising their rights. We prioritise working with partners, and ensuring all of our work is evidence based
The Keeping Adolescent Girls in School (KAGS) project is a 5-year Global Affairs Canada’s (GAC’s) funded project, aiming at addressing key barriers inhibiting adolescent girls from realizing their right to safe, quality and gender-responsive education, with a particular focus on their unique needs and barriers associated with participation in primary and lower-secondary school. The project’s Ultimate Outcome, ‘Adolescent girls realize their rights to safe, quality, gender-responsive education’, will be achieved by employing a three-pronged, rights-based, gender-transformative approach to tackle demand- and supply-side barriers, while strengthening local level governance and building improved linkages between education, health and child protection systems
ROLE PURPOSE
The Finance Coordinator will coordinate KAGIS project payable and receivables in Geita and Kigoma. She/he will be responsible for overseeing, organizing and maintaining the financial documentation and records, systems and processes of the project, including accounting, bookkeeping, payroll and benefits, record keeping, banking, insurance and all related financial and office administration. She/he will handle and resolve inquiries regarding suppliers’ payments and keep spreadsheet for reconciliation purposes. This position report to the Finance Manager and supervises drivers.
Dimensions of the Role
- Review and post transactions on SAP, ensuring correct coding and accuracy.
- Prepare monthly financial reports to be shared with the Finance Manager for review, and when needed.Reconcile project expenditures on SAP with the financial report.
- Support with the month-end closure
- Monitor all financial transactions and recommend ways to increase effectiveness of same
- Maintain all records to ensure smooth transaction for all financial processes
- Assist program staff in budget preparation and ensure completeness and accuracy and validate unit cost
- Ensuring spending is in line with the approve budgetProvide technical support to the partners including, and review of accountabilities submitted for accurate submission of financial reports and exercise of fiduciary responsibilities.
- Reviewing requisitions and payments before approval
- Supporting Administration department in proper asset management.
- Proper filing and maintaining of the supporting documents to be used during an audit.
- Reconciliation and filing of bank statements on a monthly basis with appropriate approval.
- Ensure procurement process are well followed
- Maintain and update the asset register on regular basis Handling project bills problems and disputes, and ensuring accurate billing of suppliers
- Maintaining confidentiality of information
- Undertake other reasonable tasks as directed by Finance Manager
ACCOUNTABILITIES
Administration
Collaborate with other departments to provide administrative support to the project team
Fiscal Oversight
- Oversee the accounting processes to ensure internal controls and financial procedures are well considered
- Ensure legal and regulatory compliance regarding all financial functions.
- Oversee cash flow, asset management, and banking relationships
Planning
- Coordinate the development and monitoring of budgets, including analysis of revenue and expenses as well as forecasts.
- Ensure timeliness, accuracy, and usefulness of financial and management reporting
Cash and budget management
- Prepare monthly project cash forecasts in a realistic manner
- Review Cash Disbursement vouchers
- Monitor proper use of petty cash fund
- Review purchase requisitions and orders.
- Review payment packages for budget availability and correct coding.
- Monitor budget versus expenditure.
- Ensure timely processing and disbursement of payments to legitimate suppliers.
Financial reporting
- Manage general ledger accounting system
- Ensure Accountability in Preparation, review, consolidation and submission of correct and complete project reports on time
- Coordinate the availability of any audit document needed.
- Participate in year-end process and prepare year end reports
- Internal Financial Controls enhancement
- Ensure adherence to financial controls, processes and procedures.
- Follow up finance-related audit actions
- Participate in Quarterly physical asset and inventory verifications
- Field Support Visit
Training of partners’ finance staff.
Verification of direct benefits distribution to communities
Security
- Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
- Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of Safeguarding policies.
- Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
- Ensure compliance to COVID-19 and other outbreaks safety measures
Compliance to Global Polices
Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Child Protection (CPP) and Gender Equality and Inclusion (GEIP) are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring Plan and Partner’s staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures
Communications and Working Relationships:
Internal:
This position works closely with Financial Coordinator at PU level (medium)
External:
This position works closely with finance team of implementing partner organizations (high)
Key relationships
- Programme Unit & Country Office
- Head of finance and grants Manager
- Functional networks within Plan including counterpart at Plan International Canada
- Technical expertise, skills and knowledge
Required experience and Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Commerce or related field
- Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
- Minimum of 3 years proven skills in senior finance management in reputable and comparable organizations.
- Experience of no profit sector including management of grants
- Experience of managing grants within contractual conditionalities
- Proficiency with accounting software and excellent Excel skills.
- Knowledge of financial reporting
- Strong understanding and knowledge of Cash Flows, Budgetary Controls and government compliance
- Proven ability to make complex and time-sensitive decisions in the best interests of the organization.
- Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
Essential
Knowledge
- In-depth understanding of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
- Knowledge of gender transformative approach in budgeting
- Demonstrated knowledge in developing of grant budget
- Knowledge in supervising multiple partners with complex relationships
Skills
- Analytical and problem solving skills
- Proficient computer skills in Microsoft applications and accounting packages
- Ability to work under multidisciplinary and multicultural environment
- Meticulous attention to detail with superb organizational skills
- Excellent communication skills, with demonstrated ability to write financial reports
- Excellent communication skills.
- Fluent spoken and written English and Kiswahili
Behaviours
- Hardworking with capacity to work independently with minimum supervision
- Honest, integrity, open and transparent personality.
- Working towards achieving a team goal
- Be able to Respect all groups of people in the community and culturally sensitive
- Persuasive and able to work with different cultural settings
- Motivated, energetic and strives to develop and support other
- Result oriented and able to work independently and as part of a team.
- Working for the best interest of the organisation and children
- Appreciate of child rights and gender equality
Desirable
- Knowledge and experience with Global Affairs Canada’s (GAC’s) project management
- Solid proficiency in SAP
- Experience managing and knowledge of project that support girls’ education
- Strong presentation, team-building and interpersonal skills
- Analytical thinker with strong conceptual and problem-solving skills.
- Commitment to girls’ development and a values-driven work environment.
- Operate in a high-pressure deadline-driven environment with professionalism
- Managing project with strict reporting deadlines
- Working with the project team and ensure project results are achieved timely without compromising quality
- Good command over conflict resolution while maintaining important relationships: Capability to resolve conflicts
- Plan and schedule own work and selecting appropriate methods/tools for delivery.
- Understanding of data privacy standards
- Plan International’s Values in Practice
We are open and accountable
- Promotes a culture of openness and transparency, including with sponsors and donors.
- Holds self and others accountable to achieve the highest standards of integrity.
- Consistent and fair in the treatment of people.
- Open about mistakes and keen to learn from them.
- Accountable for ensuring we are a safe organisation for all children, girls & young people
We strive for lasting impact
- Articulates a clear purpose for staff and sets high expectations.
- Creates a climate of continuous improvement, open to challenge and new ideas.
- Focuses resources to drive change and maximise long-term impact, responsive to changed priorities or crises.
- Evidence-based and evaluates effectiveness.
We work well together
- Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
- Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
- Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
- Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.
We are inclusive and empowering
- Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
- Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
- Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
- Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.
Physical Environment
Working environment will include both typical office environment and field environment
The position requires regular field travels, at least 30% of the work
Level of contact with children
Low contact: No interaction or low frequency of interaction with children