Description

Job Title: Finance Specialist

The Finance Specialist reporting to the Finance Controller will support shared and project activities, ensuring the effective use of donor financial resources to meet project goals.

Primary Functions & Responsibilities:

The Finance Specialist will be responsible for developing the following key functions: –

• Finance and accounting.
• Budgeting, monitoring, and reporting for country platform budgets and supporting specific programs.
• Program support.
• Audit and Legal.
• Policies, procedures, and systems of internal controls, compliance with donor and other regulatory authority requirements.

Finance and Accounting

• Ensure timely payments to suppliers, timely posting of financial transactions in the system, proper coding of expenses by program staff, proper supporting documents that can withstand an audit etc.
• Review sub-awardees financial report and ensure they are adequately supported
• Review financial reports of sub-awardees, whenever applicable, and ensure that expenditures are in line with the budget and in compliance with donor regulations.
• Effectively communicate and present critical finance matters to the finance controller.
• Ensure that all statutory deduction schedules are properly prepared, and timely remitted.
• Perform any other task that may be assigned by the Finance Controller.

Budgeting, Monitoring and Reporting

• Support the Senior Finance specialist in preparing annual country budgeting process as well as mid-year budget reviews.
• Work with the Senior finance specialist in budget preparation for final review.
• Work with Financial controller and Program Manager to have donor financial report submitted on time with all necessary supporting documents as per donor requirement

Program Support

• Assist the Building a Resilient Local Dairy Supply Chain in Nigeria program manager on the financial oversight of their awards by providing internal financial analysis on a monthly basis, utilizing country reports updated in the shared drive.
• Ensure that the Building a Resilient Local Dairy Supply Chain in Nigeria project’s invoicing is in line with approved donor budget and donor reporting requirements.
• Budget preparation, formulation, and execution according to the requirements of the specific donors working closely with the Finance Controller.
• Develop detailed budget narratives/ notes that explain and support all budget assumptions, following the line items in the budget closely, identifying the costs and the basis for the costs.
• In collaboration with the grants & contracts department, ensure and evaluate full recovery of overheads as stipulated by internal TNS policy and/or TNS’s most current NICRA.
• The position will be required to prioritize developing cost proposals the assigned projects and be available for the required duration; this requires flexibility, due to the often unpredictable and changing requirements of a proposal.

Audit and Legal

• In liaison with the Finance Controller, take active part in audits and prepare responses to audit findings.
• Take active role in the implementation of audit findings and recommendations both internal and external audits.
• Ensure all taxation and legislative requirements of Nigeria are complied with at all times.

Policies, Procedures, Internal Controls and Compliance

• Guide staff in interpretation of laid down policies and procedures and ensure compliance.
• Implement financial operations of the program, ensuring compliance with local laws and donor policy and contract provisions.
• Ensure all taxation and legislative requirements of the host government are complied with at all times.
• Keep abreast of changes in regulations which may affect the accounting functions of the organization and communicate all changes and updates to the organization accordingly.
• Participate and contribute in proposal development.
• Support the implementation of new financial policies and procedure.
• Identifying and contributing to the improvement of internal systems and procedures within the finance department.
• Producing relevant, useful and timely information to Finance controller and Program Manager with respect to the current financial position and financial consequences of any proposed decisions or activities.
• Provide advice on financial options available in project planning and implementation.
• Support the Financial controller in ensuring that the information in the Fixed Asset register accurately reflects the information per the financial system.

Basic Qualifications:

These are the requirements that any qualified candidate must meet.

• BSC/HND in Accounting, Economics or related field with minimum of 3 years’ experience.
• Alternatively a Master’s degree and 1 year of experience.
• Possession of ICAN/ANAN/ACCA professional qualification is a plus.

Preferred Qualifications:

Additional qualifications that would make a candidate more desirable.

• Experience in working with donor-funded INGO projects within a multicultural setting.

Required Languages: Fluency in Written and spoken English.

Travel: Occasionally

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Good working knowledge of Excel, Access, and PowerPoint is required; familiarity with Dynamics 365 Business Central or similar finance and accounting software is preferred.
• Strong sense of collegiality, integrity, resourcefulness, and accountability for results.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• An ability to think critically and elevate risks to management.
• A creative and entrepreneurial approach to resolving problems.
• Advanced-level knowledge of Microsoft Excel, and basic functional knowledge of field accounting software packages.

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