Summary
Date Posted: Tuesday, August 23, 2022 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
Country Office 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.

Role Profile

Job Title Country Office Accountant
Function Finance Supervises Assistant Accountant
Reports to Finance Manager, Controls & Accounting
Location Country Office Travel required None
Effective Date July 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 the Plan International Uganda to implement financial processes to support the efficient utilisation of resources including intercompany, fixed assets and payment processes. in accordance with Plan financial policy / procedures and donor requirements.
The role provides support to Finance function 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 requirements

Role Dimensions:
The Country Office Accountant provides management support all aspects of financial management ensuring accuracy, transparency, accountability, effective financial management and compliance in all aspects of Plan International Uganda’s financial transactions. The role provides support to the Accounting & Control Team based in the Country Office and provide adequate management information to the project/program managers.
The role involves considering the treasury, cash management, accounting and cost implications of operational plans, advising projects teams on how to achieve optimal value for money. with a level of guiding thinking required.
The key challenges for this position is working with the guidance of laws and regulations, policies and procedures to deliver work.
• Timeliness and accuracy in financial reporting
• 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 coordination, preparation and monitoring of the Country Office budget ensuring that its operations are consolidated
Coordinate the preparation of annual Country Office operations budget; consolidating and regularly updating Country Office annual budgets
Ensure all financial commitments are controlled against approved budgets by consolidating and updating annual budgets and reviewing project outlines in the accounting system.
Ensure all planned Program Unit Shared cost contributions from Grant funding are recovered within the planned periods
Prepare and analyse financial management information to support decision making

KRA 2: Systems Administration
Receive and process payment requests in the Country Office in line with PIU’s policies and statutory requirements:
Updating the SAP system on a timely manner; clearing all payments in SAP according to the financial procedures
Upload payments on the online banking payment platform / mobile money platforms and notify delegated authorisers for approval as per the set Delegation Of Authority
Ensure that all the payment requests are fully supported prior to approval, processing and entry into the system
Manage the Country Office ledgers to ensure that transactions have been done correctly, allocated to the corresponding grant, and that all statutory payments have been made
Manage all splitting of costs against budget line and in the intercompany account
Supervise, coach and train finance staffs in Plan’s systems, procedures and policies and also supports in the recruitment of new finance staff

KRA 3: Cash & Bank Account Management
Manage the Country Office bank account and the Petty Cash to ensure sufficient funds are available to support area operations:
Coordinate the transfer of funds from Country Office to Programme Area; ensuring compliance to the cash management and banking policy management
Manage the Petty cash advanced to the various officers, ensure its compliant to petty cash policy
Reviews and processes expense submissions/reconciliations, and processes country office payments
Prepares monthly cash forecasts and refresh for the program area in line with Plan Uganda’s finance guidelines.
Prepare timely accounts reconciliations to ensure cash is available to support the operations of PIU

KRA 4: Risk & Compliance Management
Manage business processes and ensure compliance with internal and external laws, and statutory requirements adhered to and all transactions compliant to PIU’s financial policies
Monitor all area transactions to ensure that they are all compliant to PIU’s policies and all non compliance is promptly highlighted
Ensure Financial assets, liabilities, income and expenditure are accounted for accurately and on a timely basis
Reviews payment requests for accuracy, proper coding and completeness in line with the check list of requirements
Effect all statutory deductions and remit to relevant organizations as per statutory deadlines eg PAYE, WHT, NSSF
Coordinate all projects, Grants and statutory audits; to ensure timely provision of the necessary information and documentation that would be required
Effect statutory deductions from service provider’s payments and remits to relevant organizations as per statutory deadlines

KRA 5: 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 Accounting
Professional qualification in accountancy (CPA, ACCA)
Minimum 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:Kampala, Uganda
Type of Role: Fixed Term
Reports to: Lead Accountant-Controls & Accounting
Grade: Level 13
Closing Date:31/08/2022

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 36

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