JD Unique ID: 72782
Job Title: Finance and Administrative Assistant – Youth in Work Project
Company: Self Help Africa
Location: 2 positions – Abuja and Sokoto
Contract type: Fixed term contract, full-time (local recruitment)
Period: 2 years (subject to donor contract)
Reports to: Finance and Administrative Officer
Organisation overview:
About Self Help Africa:
Self Help Africa (SHA) is an international development organisation headquartered in Dublin, Ireland and dedicated to the vision of ‘Sustainable livelihoods and healthy lives for all in a changing climate’. We have over 50 years of experience working in Africa, including 25 years in Nigeria (formerly as United Purpose and Concern Universal).
In 2021, Self Help Africa merged with United Purpose (UP), doubling our size. The organisation now works in 17 programme countries. 15 of these are in sub-Saharan Africa while subsidiary organisations, ‘Self Help Brazil’ and ‘Self Help Bangladesh’, have been created for our programmes in the two countries where we are working outside of Africa.
In early 2023, we launched a new five-year organisation strategy, which outlines our mission of alleviating hunger, poverty, social inequality and the impact of climate change through community-led, market-based and enterprise-focused approaches, so that people can have access to nutritious food, clean water, decent employment and incomes, while sustaining natural resources.
Our wider organisation also includes social enterprise subsidiaries: Partner Africa – which provides ethical auditing and consultancy services, TruTrade – an innovative trading platform in East Africa, and CUMO – Malawi’s largest micro-finance provider.
Our three core values are:
▪ Impact: We are accountable, ambitious and committed to systemic change.
▪ Innovation: We are agile, creative and enterprising in an ever-changing world.
▪ Community: We are inclusive, honest and have integrity in our relationships.
To achieve our organisational mission, we work across numerous sectors, such as Agriculture, Climate & Environment, Energy, Enterprise, Nutrition, and Water Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH).
Programme Description
SHA is partnering with the World Food Programme to implement the Strengthening Food Systems to Promote Increased Value Chain Employment Opportunities for the Youth in Nigeria-Northwest (Sokoto and Zamfara). The project aims to strengthen food systems that promote increased value chain employment opportunities for the youth; sustaining and improving on-farm and off-farm job opportunities for 25,000 young women and young men engaged in the different nodes of sorghum, millet, soya bean, groundnut, and horticulture value chains.
The project will focus on capacity building interventions for existing enterprises, using this as an avenue to create employment opportunities for youth and women in Sokoto and Zamfara States.
Job Purpose:
The Finance Assistant will support the day-to-day financial operations of the project including bookkeeping, verification of transaction documents and ensuring that all daily financial transactions are conducted in line with established guidelines. S/he will work as part of the finance team and be responsible for providing financial assistance to programme field staff. The candidate will be responsible for maintaining accurate financial records of the project, effective control systems and producing proper financial database.
Key Responsibilities:
Payment Processing and Documentation
- Responsible for making payments, accounting correctly for expenditures, accruals and repayments. Checking that applicable payment procedures have been followed in accordance with donor regulations.
- Advising the project field staff on correct financial policies and procedures to be followed during implementation of activities.
- Ensure all payments are made in compliance with SHA’s policies & procedures e.g. that they are correctly authorized in accordance with the scheme of delegation, coded per relevant budget lines, and are supported by relevant forms and documentation.
- Issue and monitor the program advances, ensuring they are settled/liquidated in a timely manner.
- Monitor and liaise with staff and partner organisations to ensure that financial receipts and payments are valid, accurate, timely and appropriately handled.
Financial Transactions Records Management
- Responsible for checking that entries are complete, accurate, appropriately authorized and auditable before entering them on the financial system.
- Enter project’s financial transactions into the General Ledger on regular basis.
- Provide spending information to the program team on a monthly basis and giving update bi-weekly.
Financial Reporting and Budget Management:
- To support proposal budget realignment where necessary.
- Support in preparation of project financial report to donors.
- Review and ensure that trip expense reports are reviewed and duly signed by the relevant staff supervisors and filed appropriately.
- Assists in and organizes relevant documents for the annual audit both internal and external.
- Travel to project sites when necessary.
- Conduct any other task assigned.
Administrative and Logistics Function
- Support project administration whenever requested by the project team and day-to-day running of the project office.
- Oversee and support the Project drivers in conducting his/her duties.
- Ensure that SHA complies with project location Internal Revenue Service obligations, making sure that PAYE tax is remitted promptly.
- Maintain updated records of office and project assets.
- Support the procurement of project and office materials.
Transparency, Compliance and safeguarding:
- Employ the highest standards of openness, transparency and accountability to ensure good financial management in line with SHA’s zero-tolerance approach to fraud, bribery and corruption at the LGA level.
- Demonstrate commitment to safeguarding, protection, gender mainstreaming and inclusion of vulnerable population including people with disabilities.
- Provide support to establish feedback, complaints and response mechanism across communities of implementation to ensure programmatic and operational decisions are informed by local perspectives and priorities and contribute to the protection of program participants at the LGA level.
Key Relationships:
Internal: Programme, Monitoring Evaluation Accountability and Learning, Finance & Admin, Operations & Procurement teams.
External: Banks, FIRS, Suppliers/Vendors, Service Providers and other external stakeholders.
Knowledge, Experience and Other Requirements
Education and other qualifications:
- A bachelor’s degree in accounting, Business Administration, Commerce or Finance. A master’s degree (Finance concentration), ACCA/ACA will be an added advantage.
- Skills on ICT operation, and proficient in using MS Office.
- Excellent coordination skills.
- Effective communication, problem solving and decision-making skills.
- Respect to cultural diversity and gender sensitivity.
- Ability to work under pressure.
Experience and Skills:
- Experience working in rural areas and engaging with diverse stakeholders.
- ICT operation, and proficiency in MS Office.
- Proficiency in M&E tools and software (e.g., Kobo Collect, DHIS2, CommCare).
- Strong skills in data analysis and reporting using tools like SPSS, R, or STATA.
- Experience in participatory evaluation techniques.
- Excellent coordination skills (and ability to coordinate several tasks at once and managing priorities)
- Effective communication, problem solving and decision-making skills
- Networking, facilitation and mobilisation.
- Organisational development
- Reporting and documentation
Desirables:
• Knowledge of WFP rules and regulations.
• Flexible work attitude, proactive and demonstrated creativity: the ability to work productively in a team environment and the ability to problem solve creatively with minimal guidance.
• Must seek to identify and communicate potential problems and propose solutions to the level of management appropriate to effect solutions.
• Ability to carry out responsibilities independently with minimal technical support from within the program organisation.
• Must be a patient and good communicator who can function in an organisational environment involving a diversity of cultures, languages, and personal interests and agendas. Good at role of facilitator and team player in solving problems.
Language Requirements:
Written and oral proficiency in English and relevant local language is required.
Application Procedure:
Fill and send the attached Self Help Africa application form and also send your cover letter and CV in a single document (of not more than 6 pages) to the link provided on the website.
Email title must be the same as the position you are applying for and the location of the position.
In the cover letter, please ensure to explain the following:
- Why you are applying for the position.
- How do your skills and experiences meet the job’s specification
- When will you be able to take up the position if successful.
The deadline for this application is 22nd January, 2025 at 5pm. You are advised to apply early, as applications will be treated on rolling basis. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
All candidates offered a job with Self Help Africa will be expected to sign our Safeguarding Policies and Code of Conduct as an appendix to their contract of employment and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these documents. Specific roles may require Police/DBS/ [relevant police authority] vetting.
Self Help Africa strives to be an equal opportunity employer.
