Programme Area Accountant

The Organisation

 

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.

 

We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it’s girls who are most affected.

 

Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.

 

We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.

 

We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 85 years, and are now active in more than 75 countries.

 

Job Title	Programme Area Accountant
Function	Finance	Supervises	Assistant Accountant depending on size (if required)
Reports to	Finance Manager, Accounting & Controls
Location	Kamuli	Travel required	0%
Effective Date	June 2022	Grade	Level 13

ORGANISATION OVERVIEW & ROLE PURPOSE

>Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organization that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We believe in the power and potential of every child. However, this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination, and it is girls who are most affected.
Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners in more than 70 countries across Africa, Asia and the Americas, Plan International’s purpose is to strive for a just world that advances children’s rights and equality of girls. We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. We enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.
Plan International Uganda’s (PIU) five-year Country Strategy (CS) has been approved for the period 2023 – 2027. Currently, the country programme reaches over 1 million children supported in four Programme Areas (PAs) and an urban programme in Kampala. It has a country annual budget turnover of around €15 million, a growing team of over 300 full time staff. PIU manages a caseload of 33,000 sponsored children and a large and diverse grants portfolio from bilateral and multilateral donors with a strong pipeline and potential of further funding opportunities.The purpose of this role is to provide financial and accounting services to support the operations of Plan International Uganda to ensure accuracy and consistency in accordance with Plan financial policy / procedures and donor requirements. The role provides support to Programme Areas by ensuring that all information is updated in the relevant Plan International Uganda Systems, supports management decisions making to enhance the effectiveness of activities to support achievement of Plan International Uganda’s strategy. The incumbent will be responsible for the Assistant Accountant and supporting donor compliance at all levels according to Plan International Uganda’s approved policies / procedures and donor requirementsROLE DIMENSIONS:The Programme Area Accountant provides management support in all aspects of effective financial management ensuring accuracy, transparency, accountability, and compliance in all aspects of Plan International Uganda’s transactions. The role provides adequate management information to the project/program managers in the programme area.The role involves considering the accounting, budgetary and cost implications of operational plans, advising to achieve optimal value for money.

The key challenges for this position is working with the guidance of laws and regulations, policies and procedures to deliver work.

• Resolving problems that are not covered by existing processes
• Adherence to the financial guidelines
• Accountability of advanced funds

Level of contact with children

This position has been classified as “low contact”: Limited interaction with children
Key result areas:

KRA 1: Budgeting

Take lead in the preparation and monitoring of the program area budget ensuring that its operations are budgeted for and consolidatedPrepare annual program area operations budget; consolidating and regularly updating program area annual budgetsMonitors expenditure to ensure adherence to budgetary limitsEnsures that budgetary allocations are received, expenditures recorded within the financial year

KRA 2: Systems Administration

Oversee the receipt and ensure payment requests from the Programme Area are processed in line with PIU’s policies and statutory requirements:Update the SAP system in a timely manner; clearing all payments in SAP bank according to the financial proceduresReview payments on the mobile money platforms and notify delegated authorisers for approval as per the set DOAEnsure that all the payment requests are fully supported prior to approval, processing and entry into the systemManage the programme are ledgers to ensure that transactions have been done correctly, allocated to the corresponding grant, and that all statutory payments have been madeEnsure all payables and receivables are correctly posted in the system within the period of occurrenceReconcile the balance sheet accounts for the program area and all balances are confirmed and justifiedCoach and train programme area assistant accountant in Plan’s systems, procedures and policies

KRA 3: Cash & Bank Account Management

Manage the Programme Area bank account to ensure sufficient funds are available to support area operations:Initiate the transfer of funds from Country Office to Programme Area; ensuring compliance to the cash management and banking policy managementReviews and processes expense submissions/reconciliations, and processes field office payments for the assigned portfolioPrepares monthly cash forecasts and refresh for the program area in line with Plan Uganda’s finance guidelines.Prepare bank reconciliation statement and all reconciling items are cleared in subsequent periodReview staff advance accountabilities and timely liquidate in the systemPrepare timely accounts reconciliations to ensure cash is available to support the programme area operations

KRA 4: Risk & Compliance ManagementTake responsibility for ensuring that all financial transactions carried out in the Programme Area are fully compliant with PIU policies, donor requirements and the laws of Uganda:Monitor all area transactions to ensure that they are all compliant to PIU’s policies and all non-compliance is promptly highlightedComprehensively map out key programme area management risks at all levels of PIU’s financial management particularly cash management risks and implement risk mitigating actionsReviews payment requests for accuracy, proper coding and completeness in line with the check list of requirementsEnsure all relevant taxes are deducted from service provider’s payments and remitted to the statutory organization as per deadlinesFile returns of taxes deducted from service providers within the program area as per the statutory set deadlinesParticipate in all projects and statutory audits; providing the necessary information and documentation that would be requiredResponsible for maintaining current knowledge of donors’ and PIU’s financial policies and procedures, and serving as a resource for area program teams.

KRA 5: Team Management

Lead the Assistant Accountant in a manner that empowers them to deliver high quality, timely, support to the Programme Area Team:Regularly review the team staffing levels to ensure that required service levels can be realistically delivered; at the same time ensuring that staff are fully occupied and working efficientlyCommunicate clear performance expectations to the team, providing training, coaching and other support as required; manage any poor performance firmly but fairly, in line with PIU’s policyCoordinate effectively with others to ensure high performance within PIU’s matrix operating structureFoster an inclusive environment by implementation of policies that provide for diversity and equal opportunities and utilisation of a leadership style that will drive employee engagement

KRA 6: Safeguarding, Gender Equality & Inclusion

Ensure that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding Children and Young People and Gender Equality and Inclusion 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 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.

ROLE REQUIREMENTS:

Qualifications

Bachelor’s Degree (Hons) in Commerce or Business Administration majoring in AccountingPart professional qualification in accountancy (CPA, ACCA) at intermediate or affiliate levelMinimum of three years working experience as an Accountant in a busy organization and at a responsible supervisory level is essential

Leadership Competencies

Myself as a Leader

Courageous in taking a lead, challenging self and others on their attitudes, assumptions, unconscious bias and behaviour; speaks positively about change and supports others in adjusting to it.

Lasting Impact

Sets and communicates ambitious but realistic work goals and priorities, explaining how these contribute to Plan International’s purpose.

Open & Accountable

Maximises our progress by aligning work priorities and resource deployment in own area with Plan International’s wider goals and longer term direction.

Work Well Together

Creates a positive team spirit, helping people work well together as a team; proactively resolves situations of conflict by generating solutions that will work for all involved; deliberately adjusts own behaviour to influence or persuade others.

Inclusive & Empowering

Appreciates the expertise and creativity of others; actively seeks out others’ views and incorporates their insights or perspectives into decision-making and action-planning.

Skills & Knowledge

Motivates and develops others by taking an interest, giving constructive feedback and praise, ensuring they are properly trained and helping them develop their potential; acts as a role model of continuous professional development and willingness to learn from mistakes.

Critical Business Management Competencies

Good grasp of financial management including understanding relevant funding sources, ability to budget and accurately estimate costs, experience with reading financial reports and taking appropriate action based on the results.Strong ability to analyse and interpret an appropriate range of data and evidence, both internal and external, using sound judgement to make balanced decisions, based on insights gained, or projection of trends.Good digital skills, for instance [name relevant tools/platforms]; ability to use ICT resources to improve work efficiency and effectiveness, whilst working in line with privacy and safeguarding guidelines.Experience of identifying and mitigating business or project risks; ability to undertake and interpret risk assessments with a track record of actively managing risks appropriately in context, taking professional advice or escalating where appropriate.Good written and spoken communication skills, including in [any required language], with an ability to effectively adjust content and presentation so as to connect with an audience.Experience of leading others with a track record of delegating work effectively, supporting good performance of others and promoting staff wellbeing and motivation.

Critical Technical Competencies Excellent computer skills with the ability to work with SAP or other ERPs. Practical experience of grants management and a good understanding of donor funding management.

 

Location: Kamuli

Type of Role: 1 Year

Reports to: Finance Manager, Accounting & Controls

Grade: Level 13

Closing Date: 12/10/2022

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