Finance Assistant at Development Exchange Centre (DEC)

Development Exchange Centre (DEC) is a Non-Governmental Organisation that is non-partisan, non-profit and established in 1987. It is Incorporated by Trust with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)- (IT/Cert: 10826). The organization has an overarching mandate of providing socio-economic development services to women, groups, communities and NGOs. DEC’s Head Office is in Bauchi State, and it is currently operational in all Northern States of Nigeria including FCT, Enugu and Cross Rivers States, with a staff strength of 868 permanent employees. DEC’s socio-economic enhancement programmes cut across several sectors that touch the basic fabric of its target beneficiaries and includes education, health, economic/livelihoods, water/environment, good governance & peace building, and microfinance.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Finance Assistant

Location: Bauchi
Employment Type: Contract
Reports Directly to: SSPF Finance officer with a dotted line to the SSPF Project Manager

Job Summary

The Finance Assistant works under the guidance and supervision of the Finance Officer
Key roles are project financial Management,
Monitoring and reporting and
Grants Management.

Essential Job Responsibilities
Finance:

Processing all financial transactions of the DEC-SSPF project.
Accountable for all financial operations of the project, including accounting and reporting, cash management, and budget management.
Manage financial operations of DEC-SSPF project.
Provide monthly management reports to the SSPF Team and DEC management, including expenditures by Central Project Holder (DEC), sub-grantee reporting and other financial information, in a timely and accurate manner.
Ensure that the project financial operations comply with all DEC and donor policies and procedures.
Ensure that monthly transactions are reviewed and entered in the General Ledger accurately and on a timely basis.
Assist with monthly review and reconciliations of staff advances and other SSPF-related expenditures.
Review payment documents and other supporting documents ensuring their compliance with the local laws, DEC-SSPF policies and donor regulations.
Review and track expenses and proper documentation as per DEC procedures and donor requirements for record-keeping and accountancy.

Grant Management:

Assist in coordinating and the management of sub-grant agreements and financial management of DEC-SSPF sub-grants.
Responsible for the processing of sub-grants and issuance of payments, transfers.
Oversee pre-award and post-award activities including asset control, timely reporting, and contract fulfilment to check against payment.
Work with the SSPF Project Team to verify & track budget and expenditures vis-a-vis sub-grant awards and ensure proper reporting, documentation and overall deliverables are reviewed by Senior Management and signed-off on prior to issuance of payment.
Ensure consistency across sub-grantees on basic provisions and highlight issues that could be viewed as bias or discrepancies.
Provide regular reports on SSPF issues, and recommendations that need to be considered for operational adjustment.
Coordinate SSPF expenditure verification and project audits.
Other financial and sub-grant tasks as required.

Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) AND Reporting:

Work with the SSPF Project Manager, M&E, and finance team members to ensure that deliverables are aligned with objectives and that financial milestones are proportionate to programmed milestones.
Provide financial perspective in management and decision-making to enhance DEC’S adaptive management.

Program Support Operations:

Ensure that SSPF financial systems are efficient and are based on smooth-running infrastructure that facilitates timely and efficient program implementation.
Provide regular review of field operations to ensure cost-effectiveness

Accountability to Beneficiaries:

DEC team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs, donor requirements, DEC’s policies, procedures, and values always.

Knowledge and Experience

A Bachelor’s Degree / HND or its equivalent in Business Administration, Finance, Economics or any relevant field, advanced degree preferred. Professional accounting certification is desirable.
2-3 years of demonstrated professional experience managing grants, subcontracts, procurement and compliance with donor regulations, preferably donor-funded projects.
Strong accounting skills and experience in the management of the general ledger, journal entries, payables, and balance sheet.
Proven abilities in analytical, excel, Accounting Software and reporting skills.
Grants Administration Knowledge and application of best practices in grant management.
Demonstrated knowledge of financial and management systems, regulations, and reporting requirements.
Evidence of ability to be creative and flexible within those requirements.
Analytical capabilities with accounting procedures and processes for structuring projects.
Ability to manage and communicate technical, budgetary and program details to staff, grantees, and applicants.
Ability to design and implement effective workflow processes and procedures.
Capability to foster an atmosphere which recognizes and respects cultural and individual differences.