Finance Assistant Job in Nairobi Kenya

The Interpeace Eastern and Central Africa Regional Office is looking for a Finance Assistant for its Great Lakes Regional Peace building Programme

Job Title: Finance Assistant - Great Lakes Regional Programme

Duty station: Nairobi, Kenya

Position status: Full time position

Date of Issuance: July 2013

Duty station: Interpeace Regional Office for East and Central Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, with sporadic travel to the field

Closing: This position will remain open until filled

Interpeace, a Swiss non-profit organisation, works in close partnership with the United Nations, with the aim of building lasting peace.

Interpeace has a two-fold mandate:

(i) to strengthen the capacities of societies to manage conflict in non-violent, non-coercive ways by assisting national actors in their efforts to develop social and political cohesion; and

(ii) to assist the international community ( and in particular the United nations) to play a more effective role in supporting peacebuilding efforts around the world through better understanding and response to the challenges of creating local capacities that enhance social political cohesion.

Chaired by former President of Ghana, John Kufuor, and headquartered in Geneva, Interpeace is supported by bilateral and multilateral donors as well as private funding.

The organization is currently active in Africa, Central America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Interpeace Regional Office for Eastern and Central Africa manages the Organization’s programmes in the Somali region, Rwanda, Burundi and the wider Great Lakes region.

All these programmes are carried out in close partnership with local peacebuilding organizations.

General Position Summary

Interpeace has been supporting a peacebuilding programme in Burundi since 2006/2007 and in Rwanda since 2002. Since 2011, Interpeace has been building up a regional peacebuilding programme that will cover Burundi, Rwanda and DR Congo’s North and South Kivu provinces.

This led to the need to recruit a new Finance Assistant who will focus on covering the Rwanda and Burundi programmes as well as the regional peacebuilding programme.

The Finance Assistant is a member of the finance team for Interpeace’s work in the Great Lakes Region of Central Africa and will work under the supervision of the Regional Finance and Administration Manager and in close collaboration with the Finance Officer, as well as with the Great Lakes programmatic team, most closely with the Programme Officers for the regional programme (POGL) as well as for the Burundi and Rwanda programmes (PORW).

The Finance Assistant serves as the key focal point regarding bookkeeping and accounting matters between Interpeace and the local partner organizations in the programme countries.

The Finance Assistant will maintain the financial systems and carry out the day to day bookkeeping requirements of the Interpeace programmes in the Great Lakes region specifically, and the regional office generally as required.

The Finance Assistant will report directly to the Regional Finance and Administration Manager.

This post is based in Nairobi but requires frequent travel to the field.

The position is for a period of 1 year with a possibility of extension based upon demonstrated performance and continued funding.

Specific Responsibilities

General

Demonstrate a commitment to the values and working principles of Interpeace – such as resolving conflict without violence, respect for local culture, integrity, honesty and commitment - both within the Interpeace team, to the Interpeace local partner organizations and to the broader regional and international community.
Able to operate within the work environment, with Interpeace local partner organizations and Interpeace team through social communication and interactions.
Able to work in a team environment and also independently; proactive and detail-oriented working style.

Bookkeeping / Accounting Support to Great Lakes Programmes

Review all source documentation for expenditures transacted by partner organizations to ensure compliance with the financial rules and procedures adhering to Interpeace Finance Manual and in accordance with best accounting practice.
Communicate the feedback of the monthly review of the support documentations to partners and Interpeace Programme Officers for the Great Lakes Programme (POGL) and for the Rwanda / Burundi programmes (PORB) within the stipulated timeline with clarity. Ensure all outstanding issues are resolved timely and ensuring POGL and PORB are informed accordingly.
Support the review of all monthly financial reports from Interpeace Great Lakes partners and follow-up with the partners on issues arising from the review in conjunction with Finance Officer and Program Officer.
Review and analyse the balance sheet ie bank reconciliation, Accounts Receivable and Accounts payable and ensure quick resolution of any outstanding items.
Review the profit and loss account to ensure the transaction are properly coded. Review the budget vs actual clearly highlighting budget lines with significant variances.
Draw up payment vouchers and receipts for all expenditures and incomes and ensure proper authorization of form.
Support capacity building in finance procedures and accounting of partner organizations as called upon
Support the implementation of assets database for the partners
Support the necessary procurement process for office acquisitions as called upon.

Bookkeeping / Accounting Support to Regional Office as required

Review all source documentation for expenditures transacted by the ECA office and partners compliance with the financial rules and procedures.
Review compliance with Internal Controls including segregation of duty, proper authorisation.
Draw up payment vouchers and receipts for all expenditures and incomes and ensure proper authorization of form.
Enter all transactions into the Accounting System and submit held journal reports for posting.
Run financial reports as called upon.
Support the necessary procurement process for office acquisitions as called upon.
Provide bookkeeping and accounting support to Interpeace partners.
Ensure travel management, involving the calculations of travel expenses, prepare trip documents, ensuring that staff liquidate their advances after field missions.

Qualifications

CPA II or equivalent;
Understanding of and 1 year experience in financial bookkeeping within the context of a Kenya based Non-governmental Organization (NGO);
Strong accounting knowledge and operating capacity for SunSystems, Quickbooks, and other financial management systems (or demonstrated capacity to learn new accounting systems);
Strong written and oral communication skills in English, French and Kiswahili;
Strong computer literacy in all MS Office applications;
Ability to work to tight deadlines;
Flexibility, including regarding working hours and short-notice availability;
Strong commitment to supporting local peace building initiatives and to the values and working principles of Interpeace.
Strong organizational skills as well as attention to detail
Ability to work in a team environment and coordinate assignments to achieve common goals.
Ability to deal patiently and tactfully with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
Ability to perform detailed work, frequently of a confidential nature and/or to handle a large volume of work systematically, effectively and accurately
Only those applicants will be considered who come with fulfilled requirements to be able to legally work within Kenya.
Have a valid permission to work in Kenya

How to apply:

Qualified candidates may submit their application, including a letter of interest detailing relevant experience and a curriculum vitae to the Administrative Officer at: recruitment@interpeace.org.

Please indicate "Finance Assistant" in the subject line.

Please note that due to the high volume of applications, only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

We accept applications until the position is filled with a suitable candidate.