Finance Assistant, Programme Budgeting (JG9) at TradeMark East Africa (TMEA)

Job summary

The Finance Budgeting Assistant will support the budgeting team in preparing budgets, financial reconciliation and finance administration to facilitate timely donor reporting. This role provides critical backstopping to the budgeting unit and TMA regional and country programmes.

Roles and responsibilities

Programme budgeting support responsibilities:

• Assists the budgeting team to prepare and monitor budgets for projects and programmes across TMA’s portfolio.
• Supports donor reporting with a focus on timeliness, accuracy, consistency and compliance with requirements.
• Support regular review of expenditure recharges and recommends corrective accounting actions as necessary.
• Supports regular expenditure review for assigned programmes liaising with programme and other supportservices to ensure alignment with donor agreements and approved project work plans.
• Assists in the preparing for programme audits availing required documentation and information in collaboration with project teams.
• Maintains and files physical and digital financial documents to facilitate donor reporting, audits and assessments.
• Assists in preparing support documentation for funding proposals in line with TMA and donor guidelines.
• Drafts expenditure claims submitted to donors and consolidates required support documentation for Utilises financial systems to facilitate the continuous streamlining of budgeting and reporting functions.
• Liaises with finance operations units to provide seamless services to TMA projects and programmes.
• Recommends follow up and monitoring frameworks to keep abreast of donor and organisational needs.
• Maintains minutes of actions from finance budgeting team meetings.

TMA’s corporate level responsibilities

• Ensures compliance with PCM guidelines throughout the project design and implementation cycle, including robust project planning, reporting and closure, adhering donor requirements as stipulated in contribution agreements.
• Participates in regular informal and formal reflection, knowledge sharing and learning events.
• Documents and promote lessons learned and best practices for knowledge sharing and learning.
• Applies the highest standards of controls and risk management practices and behaviours and embeds a positive risk and control culture.
• Demonstrates prudence, sound judgement and appropriate and timely escalations in managing all types of risk (including fraud risk).
• Understands and complies with the relevant end-to-end processes including applicable risks and controls.
• Seeks to identify, understand and escalate risk events/incidents/ issues on a timely basis focusing on fixing
• root-causes and taking ownership of identified mitigating actions.
• Completes all relevant mandatory trainings within the stipulated timelines.
• Collaborates with the communication unit to shape and monitor the programmes communication plan in line with TMA’s corporate communication strategy and visibility commitments to funding agencies.
• Effectively communicates programme progress and results to internal and external stakeholders and supports in the delivery of high-quality outputs to ensure that TMA’s mission and vision are well communicated to investors and stakeholders, and that TMA’s work motivates and inspires donors, implementing partners and other stakeholders.
• Works closely with other functions including the Corporate Affairs and Fundraising, CEO’s office, outcome areas to ensure that external communications are developed with maximum impact and delivered against the results calendar and corporate strategy.
• Promotes and adheres to TMA’s core values and ensure compliance with organisational policies and procedures.
• Maintains zero tolerance to bribery, fraud and corruption, and ensure the immediate reporting of any corruption or suspect behaviour that threatens TMA’s reputation.
• Adheres to the safeguarding policies and procedures and immediately report any safeguarding concerns.
• Any other related responsibilities that may be assigned by the line manager from time to time.
• The job holder may from time to time be required to provide support to TradeMark Africa's wholly owned subsidiary, Trade Catalyst Africa, as would be communicated by your line manager. When this happens, the specific task(s) will be reflected in your OKR and assigned to a relevant task(s) manager.

Academic and professional qualifications

• Diploma plus two years’ relevant experience or Secondary school leaving certificate plus five years’ relevant experience.
• CPA (K) or equivalent qualification from other accounting bodies e.g., CIMA and ACCA)

Technical skills and behavioural competencies

• Sound analytical skills, attention to detail, knowledge of an accounting software, MS Office proficiency especially comfort using MS Excel.