Finance Officer – Grants/Contracts & Projects x2

Main purpose of the job: Under the supervision of Senior Finance Officer - Grants/Contracts & Projects the incumbent will facilitate an efficient and effective financial administration accounting and reporting of project funds managed by the Secretariat

Duties and Responsibilities
Budgeting and Control
• Prepare and disseminate the budget preparation guidelines to all project owners in directorates/units, provide adequate support and coordinate the budgeting process
• Consolidate the annual budget and submit to the Controller Accounting Services.

Budget & Expenditure Control
• Ensure that commitments are only made against budgeted appropriations. Review and approve project commitments (purchase orders)
• Review procurement procedures followed for award of contracts and ensure compliance with donor contractual requirements. Report exceptions to management
• Perform regular monitoring of project actual expenditure against budget and report potential overruns to management

Accounting
• Ensure chart of accounts are appropriately set up for accounting and reporting of project expenditures, and maintain control around updates
• Review and analyze relevant reports prepared by the Assistant Finance Officer, financial reports, income and expenditures incurred by projects, perform relevant analysis and reconciliations to ensure completeness and accuracy
• Prepare a timetable of donor reporting requirements and ensure compliance by the accounting team
• Liaise with donor finance officers and address their queries on the financial reports
• Provide relevant information for audit and clear audit queries
• Keep up to date with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and provide adequate training to accounting team
• Review all outstanding commitments made and ensure these are settled, accounted and reported before close of projects with donors

Cash Management & Control
• Review and approve disbursements for project expenditures after satisfactory review
• Review agreements and contractual rules and procedures established by donors for sound cash management and ensure these are implemented and followed during the financial management of projects
• Review all bank reconciliations and cash flow reconciliation prepared by Treasury Finance Officers for projects and Assistant Finance Officer and ensure they are complete and accurate
• Ensure adequate controls are implemented and followed for proper management of project funds
• Review monthly cash flow reconciliations and forecasts prepared by the Assistant Finance Officer and liaise with donors and banks in advance to solicit additional funding requirements
• Provide periodic reports to the Financial Controller on cash flow positions and forecasts for review

Internal Controls
• Ensure contractual requirements of donors regarding internal controls around project financial management are effectively implemented
• Review and implement auditor recommendations for better financial controls
• Manage risks and implement appropriate mitigating measures.

Other
• Coordinate with the Assistant Finance Officer –Asset to ensure proper management and record keeping of fixed assets for the Secretariat and projects, ensure compliance with donor rules and conditions
• Review and confirm all recoverable or payable balances at the close of projects, liaise with donor finance officers and SADC disbursement officers and treasury accordingly for settlement
• Submit reports to donors as stipulated in contractual conditions and attend to ad hoc information request
• Financial Contracts Management including financial Securities such as Bank Guarantee
• Prepare Budgetary Performance Reports in respect of Grants and Projects matters
• Prepare Draft Annotated Agenda and background documents to Governance Oversight Structures on Grants and Projects matters
• Provide Secretariat Services (as member of Draft Team) to FSC
• Any other duties as may be assigned

Supervision
• Prepare work plan, schedule work, allocate and delegate tasks to subordinates
• Supervise the subordinates and their work, and appraise their job performance
• Provide advice and guidance as and when required to subordinates
• Provide quality services as per service level agreements
• Consult with the Head of Unit on any staff related issues
• Provide inputs to the annual budget estimation for the unit
• Prepare regular progress reports for the Head of Unit, as and when required
• Research and adopt best practices in own area of work, and maintain highlevel of knowledge in order to effectively undertake the duties of the post

Qualifications

At least a Degree in Accounting, Finance or related field

Professional Certification

• Professional accountancy certification such as ACCA, CIMA, ICAEW, ICAS, ACPA or equivalent
Experience

At least 10 – 15 years of work experience in a similar field

Skills Requirements

• Communication and presentation skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Mentoring and coaching skills
• Networking and relationship building skills
• Organisational skills (planning, budgeting, time management, work prioritisation)
• Research, analytical and problem-solving skills
• Supervisory skills

Competencies:

• Apply interpersonal styles/methods to develop and motivate staff
• Capable of maintaining quality whilst working under pressure and adhering to deadlines
• Capacity to motivate and influence people positively and creates a climate where people want to do their best
• Conceptual and practical thinking
• Customer focused
• Decisive
• Demonstrate ability to work independently and largely unsupervised
• Maintain confidentiality and respectful of sensitive situations
• Methodical and organised, with a high level of attention to details
• Organisational awareness with an understanding of how to engage the organisation to get things done
• Professionalism and adherence to good work ethics
• Question conventional approaches and encourage new ideas and innovations for progress
• Resilience and personal drive, self-motivation
• Results and performance driven
• Team player

A Comunidade de Desenvolvimento da África Austral (SADC) é uma comunidade económica regional criada e gerida pelos países da África Austral. Tem como objectivo promover a cooperação nas áreas económica, social, política e da segurança entre os respectivos Estados-Membros, assim como incentivar a integração regional com vista ao alcance da paz, estabilidade e produzir riqueza. A SADC conta actualmente com quinze Estados-Membros , com uma população de, aproximadamente, 327 milhões de habitantes e um PIB combinado de USD 600 mil milhões (2016).

O Secretariado pretende recrutar quadros qualificados para o preenchimento de várias vagas e reforçar a sua capacidade de execução do seu mandato. Para o efeito, o Secretariado convida os cidadãos da SADC detentores das qualificações e da experiência necessárias a candidatarem-se aos seguintes postos à disposição na sua Sede, em Gaborone, no Botswana. //