Summary
Date Posted: Thursday, May 19, 2022 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
Organization details
Agricultural Business Initiative (aBi) is a social enterprise with the overall vision to contribute towards building ‘a competitive and sustainable agriculture and agribusiness sector in Uganda in support of equitable wealth creation in Uganda’. aBi consists of two companies: aBi Development Ltd (formally aBi Trust) and aBi Finance Holdings Ltd. The main focus of aBi Development is to increase agricultural production and value addition by extending matching Grants and Business Development Services (BDS) to agribusinesses, farmer organizations and intermediaries. The Grants and BDS enhance planning and management, production and business infrastructure, and upstream and downstream market linkages of producers and agribusinesses. aBi Finance expands access to business finance for agricultural producers and agribusinesses by offering funding to financial institutions & agribusinesses with a focus on SMEs & smallholder farmers through Lines of Credit, Clean Technology Fund, Agricultural Guarantees & Financial Services Development. A summary of the job specifications and requirements is given below.
Number of vacancies: 1 Sector: Civil society Industry: NGO

Knowledge, Skills & Competences
• Integrity & Commitment
• Learning & Capacity Building
• Proactivity & Innovation
• Getting Work Done
• Relationship Building
• Thinking and Problem Analysis
• Communication and Information Handling
• Resource and Business Management
• Proven ability to carry out performance measurement
• Strong analytical skills
• Considerable knowledge of principles and practices of accounting and ability to apply them
• Knowledge of current industry trends in financial and business management (agribusiness preferred)

Responsibilities
Overall Purpose
• The Grants Management Controller is responsible for ensuring that the financial accountability and reporting by the IP's onto the GMS is accurate and that it is supported by hard copies of the accounting vouchers which the IP brings into aBi.
• Training and support to the IP's in entering the data and using the GMS is a vital aspect of the role and, as such, the GMC acts as a bridge between aBi and the IP's financial staff, including making field visits.
• The GMC plays a vital role in ensuring that aBi funding is not misused and is accurately accounted for and is also in line with the budget for the grant.
• The GMC reviews IP accountability and the aBi project bank account and authorizes disbursements of aBi funding once assured that the previous amounts have been accurately accounted for.
• The GMC interacts closely with VCD and FSD to provide them with financial performance information on each of the IP's and supports the annual external audit of IPs through communicating and preparing the IP on what they need to provide to the auditors; where any unaccepted expenditures have been found by the auditors the GMC is responsible for bringing those to the attention of the Chiefs and recovering aBi funds.
• The GMC has a close working relationship with the HOF also in accounting and reconciling the amount of aBi grant funding used during the year and what remains unaccounted for
Under the leadership of the COO CS, Systems Development
• Develop and manage a robust grants management system that reliably identifies suitable implementing partners and ensures precise monitoring and financial reporting of projects to ensure grant objectives are achieved
• Keep up-to-date with developments in international best practice in grants management, donor requirements, and relevant legislation
• Map the budget into aBi’s accounting format and maintain an up-to-date database of grantees, including a tracking system that provides frequent updates on fund-flows, reporting requirements and budget revisions
• Provide accurate and timely delivery of financial advice that ensures appropriate grant management decisions are taken
• Provide user feedback on the GMS system to the Technical Manager considering system functionality; liaise with ICT team to continuously develop and improve the financial management sections of the GMS, and provide technical assistance to all users
• Participate in the development and improvement of systems, policies, the IP financial guidelines, procedures and practical tools, for supporting effective grant management of IPs, including being part of the Funding Window Management Team in order to develop and seek approval for a funding window and develop partner selection criteria
Compliance and Risk Management
• To ensure compliance and mitigation of risk in the area of grants management
• Ensure new risks fit within aBi risk appetite, giving feedback to risk manager concerning progress on funding window strategies
• Develop & oversee the implementation of strategies for mitigating key business risks, risk management systems, policies, procedures & routines; feed learning from IPs into this
• Check IP accountability, verifying expenditure, ensuring compliance with all aspects of the risk management matrix pertaining to grants; includes checking IP contracts before signing to ensure financial content is correct
• Build a culture of compliance with IPs, balancing the need to hold them accountable, with being supporting and coaching
• Coordinate and oversee annual audits acting as a link between the IP and the external auditor to ensure the IP is prepared for the audit and the exercise progresses smoothly
Grants Program Support
• To ensure that staff and partners involved in projects follow best practice in grants management
• Contribute to the design and appraisal of new projects/programmes and provide procedural guidance, assisting managers to draw up budgets at the proposal writing stage
• Ensure that aBi funds are used according to their intended purpose by providing thorough and diligent oversight
• Monitor compliance with best practice and taking assertive corrective action as required, reporting any difficulties to the appropriate accountable manager
• On project close out, write up reports for development partners
• Support and advise on value for Money audits; support and collaborate with the MRMD team as the lead VfM analysis
Information Management and Reporting
• To ensure that aBi’s department and project managers are provided with quality financial information and advice in order to aid their decision-making concerning partners
• Liaise with the department and project managers in order to understand their implementation plans and potential partnering requirements
• Ensure that assessments of financial capacity have been carried out for all of aBi’s potential partners according to procedures for due diligence found in the Funding Manual
• Support project managers and the Evaluations, Performance & Results Department with financial information and insight as they make appropriate decisions concerning partners and draw up contracts
• Liaise with Finance team to ensure timely payment only when accountability requirements are met and to reconcile IP unaccounted funding at year end, liaising with HOPD and BDM to resolve any IP accountability issues
• Ensure annual reviews and project completion reviews are carried out on a timely basis; generate reports, conduct monthly reconciliations & analysis; highlight any concerns to management
Program Support
• Support IPs in order to build up their capacity
• Provide start-up training & orientation to IPs on grants management and using the GMS correctly
• Liaise with project team to coordinate & conduct quarterly monitoring & support visits
• Review financial accountability of IPs monthly and quarterly; support them to upload into the GMS
Team Leadership
• Lead the Grants Management Team in a manner that empowers them to add value to the organisation and deliver high standards of performance
• Communicate to the Grants Management Team a clear and exciting vision for the work of the organisation and the importance of their personal contribution
• Ensure the team is resourced with the expertise necessary to deliver on strategy; through a combination of recruitment and management of staff and procurement of consultants
• Plan and organise the work of the team to accomplish strategic & project goals and targets in the most cost-effective and impactful manner possible
• Ensure that each team member is provided with clarity concerning expectations; provide training, coaching and accountability to support them in achieving results and delivering required standards and behavior
• Notice and cultivate talent; ensure delivery of an engaging leadership style that motivates team members and encourages high performance

Qualifications
• First degree in Accounting and/or Business Administration
• ACCA or CPA

Details of experience
• 4-6 years post-graduation experience working in the finance environment of a donor funded organisation
• Proven ability to carry out performance measurement
• Experience in working for international development organisations, giving insight into donor expectations and reporting requirements
• Experience in training / capacity building managers in finance management

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 48

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Job application procedure
All interested and qualified persons are strongly encouraged to apply online at www.futureoptions.org or by email: mary@futureoptions.org clearly indicating the Position Title in the email subject line. The deadline for submissions is Sunday 29th May at 5:00 pm. Please note that only successful candidates will be contacted. Canvassing will lead to disqualification. Hardcopy applications will not be accepted
Application deadline: 2022-06-29

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