Finance and Administrative Officer

Job Title:   Finance and Administrative Officer

Reporting to: Country Director

Hours:  40 hours per week

Status:  Initial one-year contract, with potential extension

Salary:  Negotiable 

Duty Station: Buea, with frequent travelw within Cameroon as necessary

Background: 

Street Child believes that every child deserves the chance to go to school and learn. Our projects focus on a combination of education, child protection and livelihood support to address the social, economic and structural issues that underpin today’s education crisis. We partner with local organisations and communities to deliver our locally rooted programmes, using evidence to drive learning and the refinement and scale up of programmes to create maximum impact for the most children at the lowest cost. We pride ourselves on being willing to go to the world’s toughest places where others won’t, including remote, hard-to-reach areas and fragile, disaster affected states across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Since 2008 we have helped over 250,000 children to go to school and learn, supported over 25,000 families to set up businesses they can afford the cost of educating their children.

KEY RESPONSIBIITIES 

Finance and Accounting

• Ensure that all Street Child’s internal control and other financial procedures are adhered to and fully implemented.
• Ensure that Street Child’s financial transactions (Expenses, bank, cash and accrual) are properly recorded in accordance with Street Child’s policy.
• Ensure that all government regulations concerning finances are respected (Taxes, CNPS, DSF and other statutory deductions)
• Maintain and inventory list of all office equipment and fixed assets.
• Ensure compliance with Street child finance & procurement policies, standards, procedures and government Tax requirements.
• Ensure that all financial transactions are fully supported and that they are all captured in Street Child Accounting system, AQILLA on a daily basis; 
• Carry out regular and control checking before and after posting transactions into Aqilla.  Responsible for timely, accurate and efficient financial reporting to the Country team.
• Responsible for ensuring that reconciliation of balance sheet/control accounts are carried out on monthly basis and ensuring that year-end accounting procedure are met consistently and that any discrepancies are reported to the Regional Finance manager.
• Maintain an effective and efficient filing system of financial documentation.

Manage all payments made including,

• Verification of the accuracy and appropriateness of invoices and other documents provided for payments.
• Ensure that all relevant supporting documents are in place and that all SC policies and regulations have been followed.
• Ensure payments reach the beneficiaries.
• Record all bank transactions made in Aqilla
• Ensure that SC and partner books and records are kept in accordance with donors’ requirements.
• Produce accurate and up-to-date financial records using required formats
• Ensure cash count is made every end of month (or as determined by FAM)
• Management of advances to staff and partners (ensure advances are accounted for over time, and that no double advances are issued).

Accounting and Financial Management

• Provide accounting and financial assistance to country team and ensure that policies and procedures are not flouted.
• Ensure service contracts are up to date and are timely reviewed and renewed (for those that need to be reviewed)
• Ensure that partners’ expenses are reviewed and recorded in the accounting system.
• Check the correctness of payment vouchers and supporting documentation for SC and/or local implementing partner, recommend the necessary improvements and follow up actions and ensure the supporting documents are fully compliance with SC and donor requirements Program Support and Partner Financial Management.
• Support the FAM to maintain an adequate project cash flow, prepares cash requests and follows donors’ disbursements.
• Maintain healthy financial practices across the project, and enforces finance working documents and trainings as needed to ensure staff adherence. Financial and system controls
• Ensure safe security of cash in the office and coordinate regular cash counts.
• Ensure timely payment of vendors and other relevant stakeholders. 
• Ensuring that all System Payments are cleared within the month
• Monitor coding of expenditures and ensure timely adjustments when activation of new awards with relevant audit trail
• Review all sub-recipients’ financial reports and fund/reimbursement requests for appropriateness

Internal Control and Audit function 

• Support Finance & Administrative Manager at the base to prevent fraud and provide technical support for frauds investigations.
• Support Finance & Administrative Manager during audits, timely enforces internal and external audit recommendations. Work on the management responses on the audit reports. He shall also be responsible for any other function deemed relevant as a finance expert.
• Ensures subrecipients compliance with internal administrative and financial policies, procedures, and internal control practices
• Lead in the capacity building of partners in the area of financial management and internal controls.
• Coordinates and support the team to conduct the Sub Recipient assessments and monitoring visits in accordance with SC’s policies in a timely and professional manner; Reviews the Internal Control Implementation Plans and tracks the recommended corrective action plans and ensure that these are addressed;

HR, Payroll and Administrative management

• Maintain the employee register/database and file in on a monthly tax declaration with the relevant administration
• Prepare monthly payroll including the calculation of taxes and other statutory obligations
• Carry out all other HR related functions as necessary

Requirements

• A degree in Finance, Accounting, Banking and Finance or other related field of study
• Minimum 3 years of experience directly supporting/managing Finance, HR and administration within an INGO preferably in Cameroon.
• Solid knowledge of accounting and financial reporting as well as the taxation laws of Cameroon 
• Experience in using relevant accounting system, solid knowledge of Microsoft Excel.
• Excellent knowledge of the Cameroon working environment
• Working knowledge and understanding of relevant donor funded project, rules and regulations.
• Excellent analytical, oral and written communication skills in English and French
• Highly organized with ability to prioritize and multi-task while working as part of a team.
• Possess strong accuracy, attention to detail and ability to follow through
• Ability to maintain confidentiality, exercise discretion and sound judgment.
• Willingness to travel.