Country Finance Manager - Tanzania

Islamic Help (IH) is a UK registered charity and international NGO established in 2003 by a group of young people determined to make a difference to the lives of those afflicted by poverty and suffering. A truly grass roots initiative a spate of international disasters provided the impetus for the group to launch into the work. Whilst barriers to participation were difficult to overcome for so small a group the determination of the group was such that only a little while after launching the charity was able to play a significant role in the delivery of aid and assistance after major crises like the Pacific Ocean Tsunami, the Bam Earthquake and the Pakistan Earthquake.

Islamic Help has been working in Tanzania since 2007 striving for sustainable development of communities through various projects covering, sustainable livelihood, food security, water supply and sanitation, environmental sustainability, education, orphan care and sponsorships and emergency relief. Islamic Help Tanzania’s life changing initiatives not only support beneficiaries, but also contribute towards Tanzania’s national plan of action for the most vulnerable children and Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s). Please read more athttp://www.islamichelp.co.tz/

Purpose of the Position

The Country Finance Manager (CFM) based in Dar Es Salaam is expected to assist the Head of Admin and Finance in the development of financial systems and procedures for IH Tanzania program in line with IH Standard Operating Procedures. He/she is expected to ensure the accurate implementation of all these procedures and systems at all level. CFM will manage all the finance team in country office and field offices/projects in terms of technical supervision. He/She is also expected to provide technical training and support to project staff.

Major responsibilities

Controllership:

• CFM will maintain all financial systems for the IH Country/Field offices, and ensure full compliance with IH financial (SOP’s).
• Accurate and timely cash disbursements, cash receipts, on a daily basis to ensure proper accounts distribution and adhering to IH’s accounting policies and procedures vis-à-vis GAAP following Accounting system.
• To manage the finance department activities and schedules to meet the financial reporting requirements and deadlines specified by IH head quarters in UK and donors.
• To provide the Country Manager, Head of programme and other budget holders and senior staff members with monthly actual-to-budget expenditure reports and analysis for all grants and budgets.
• To closely monitor all financial activities, and keep the Country Manager advised of all situations which have the potential for a negative impact on internal controls or financial management performance.
• To prepare all donor financial reports in respect to accounting, legal and contractual requirements and ensure the review of such reports by the CM, HoP, and UK office prior to submission.
• To be responsible for conducting and coordinating external audit of IH and coordinating (donor, audit firm, government, etc.) and internal control audits, and initiate and implement actions necessary to correct weaknesses.
• In collaboration with the Head of Admin oversee the protection of the country programme assets (cash, inventory, etc.) through the enforcement of internal control policies and procedures including that fixed asset inventories are updated regularly.
• To maintain up-to date knowledge of and implement national government requirements and regulations related to financial matters including statutory deductions from national staff salaries such as income tax, social security, etc
• CFM will ensure that no unallowable/ineligible costs are charged to any project.
• Country Finance Manager will also responsible for withholding tax deduction, filling of monthly tax statement and annual tax return.
• Country Finance Manager will also responsible for maintain Assets register of IH Country Office and field Offices & Staff NSF etc.

Training & Staff Management:

• To be responsible for the management of the staff of the finance department.
• To develop and implement staff development plan for the finance department staff both in the Head Office and the field offices to develop their capacity.
• To ensure that job descriptions of the finance department staff are up-to date and staff are clear with their roles and responsibilities.
• To carry out timely Performance and Development Reviews (PDR) of all finance department staff.
• To facilitate and provide basic training, technical support and guidance to the country program staff, particularly budget holders, for skills improvement in the areas of budget preparation and monitoring, budget revision, reporting, and internal control.

Treasury:

• To supervise all country office bank relations and bank account activities including negotiation of fees, interest and currency exchange rates.
• In compliance with IH policies and procedures and in consultation with the CM and Head of Programme, to regularly review and implement country specific policies such as authorization limits, cash holding limits, cash movements, credit terms, advance payments, use of bank payment instruments, etc.
• To oversee the timely preparation, review and approval of all monthly bank account and cash reconciliations.
• To regularly review, implement, and monitor systems and procedures necessary to maintain accurate forecasts of cash requirements for meeting future spending, including commitments.
• To be responsible for timely preparation and follow-up/handling of Cash Transfer Requests to UK and ensure that appropriate cash balances are maintained to facilitate programme implementation.
• To ensure the development and implementation of a plan to minimize the country’s foreign exchange exposure to currency gains and losses.
• To maintain up-to-date records of all grant payments made by donors and in consultation with the CM, Head of Porgramme, and the UK office, to follow-up and supervise the timely collection of contractual and other receivables including outstanding payments from donors.

Budget:

• To assist the CM and HOP with the preparation and revision of program and project proposal budgets including multi-annual budgets.
• To coordinate and provide technical support and guidance to all budget holders in the preparation of the country operating budget and be responsible for compiling and producing the country budget.
• To coordinate and lead the budget revision processes including producing the revised budgets, ensuring that they are reviewed and approved by the CM, HoP, and submitted to UK in a timely manner and according to the IH standards.
• To produce and facilitate the review of actual to budget expenditures with the CM and HoP.

Other

· Financial monitoring and capacity building of Implementing Partners

· To conduct regular site visits to all programme locations and carry out audits where necessary

· Any other job assigned by line manager

RELATIONSHIP

· Responsible For (Staff): Field Finance Officers/ Assistants

· Liaises With: Country Manager, Head of Admin and Finance, Bank, Suppliers, Allied staff, partners.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential:

· MBA, M. Com or Finalist / Associate member of ICMAP, ICAP or ACCA.

· At least 3-5 years work experience in similar role.

· Must be computer literate with a comprehensive knowledge of MS, Excel & accounts packages like Tally.

· Good communication & team building skills.

Special Skills, Aptitude or Personality Requirements:

· Active team player

· Flexible and adaptable. Willing to travel to remote field areas with basic living conditions

· Analytical and problem solving skills

· Ability to work under pressure often to strict deadlines

· Methodical and thorough

· Capacity building and training skills

· Good interpersonal and communication skills

· Good Report writing skill

WORK ENVIRONEMNT

· Must have good prioritisation skills, with effective decision making abilities, to cope in a dynamic environment and to operate on multiple fronts simultaneously. Islamic Help as a humanitarian organization responds to emergencies which may affect routine work.

ACCOUNTABILITY

· Responsibility to manage transaction volume of around 2 million UK Pounds per annum. This limit may increase if Islamic Help get more funding’s.

· Ensure best value of money and facilitate process to improve accountability to beneficiaries and donors (HAP)Tasks

Financial Modeling, Analysis & Valuation, Financial Statement Analysis, Bookkeeping, Capital Budgeting, Fixed Asset Management

Standards

GAAP

Certifications

CA, ACCA, CMA, CIA

Practice Areas

External Audit, Internal Controls, Treasury

What Islamic Help Offers:

· Accommodation

· Volunteer allowance of 400 USD per month (Negotiable)

· Visa for Tanzania

HOW TO APPLY:

Please read all the instruction carefully and send your resume and motivational letter to (info@islamichelp.co.tz) as soon as possible. We will fill the position as soon as we find the right candidate.