Job Title: Finance Officer
Reports to: Project Manager
Location: Neno, Malawi
Organizational Profile
Partners In Health (PIH) is a non-profit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, whose mission is to provide a preferential option for the poor in health care. Through service delivery, training, research, and advocacy, PIH works globally to bring the benefits of modern science to those in most in need, and to serve as an antidote to despair. PIH currently has programs in Haiti, Peru, Guatemala, Mexico, Russia, Rwanda, Lesotho, Malawi, Burundi, Kazakhstan, the Dominican Republic, and Boston.
Job Description Overview
The Finance Officer will support all of Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo (APZU)'s financial operations and donor required reporting and will ensure the maintenance strict financial processes and controls. The successful candidate will play a key role in developing an accurate and efficient Finance team as s/he expands the department's capacity to take on new, essential functions. This individual will mentor and build capacity of national staff providing technical assistance and guidance in areas of accounting and financial management. The Finance Officer will support the Project Manager with the annual budgeting process.
Responsibilities include:
- Accounting and financial reporting
- Help maintain strict financial processes and controls and safeguard assets
- Prepare complex journal entries and review staff's entries
- Support monthly payroll review (250 employees) and Village Health Worker payments (800 employees)
- Perform balance sheet reconciliations and review staff's reconciliations as part of the monthly close process
- Provide technical accounting support and assistance to Finance team
- Liaise with PIH headquarters in Boston on issues relating to financial reporting as well as donor regulated reporting
- Assistance in completing reports and preparing documentation for USAID reporting requirements
- Execute monthly cash requests and monitor all organizational cash flows
- Work with PIH headquarters in Boston on year end close and year end adjustments
Budgeting
- Support the annual budgeting process
- Work with managers to monitor monthly and year to date results against budget as well as track costs and project expenses
- Systems
- Support with the accounting system upgrade and train staff on changes
- Support the transition from Excel based inventory management system to a PIH selected software Inventory Management system and train staff on the system
Employee loan program
- Provide training to national APZU staff members on loans including the effects of interest, proper financial planning and wise investments of principal
- Review employee loan applications
- Reconcile the loan amortization tables and ensure that loan payments are made appropriately
- Manage APZU's revolving loan fund and make recommendations for future loan offerings
- Internal audit
- Test the implementation and effectiveness of controls for the Procurement, Warehouse and Infrastructure Departments
- Liaise with PIH internal auditors to facilitate site audit
Other responsibilities
- Compile and analyze data for the purpose of reviewing spending patterns and preparing costs analyses of project expenditures
- Manage the Asset Register for additions and disposals and observe all items on the register at least once a fiscal year
- Participate in ad hoc projects and analysis
- Other projects as requested or as you identify need
Skills and Qualifications:
Essential:
- BA/BS in Accounting or Finance, or equivalent
- Minimum of 5 years of experience required
- Experience managing a finance team
- Strong written/verbal communication and interpersonal skills
- Excellent analytical, organizational, and problem-solving abilities
- Willingness to travel to remote parts of the district with limited degree of infrastructure development
- Willingness to live and work full-time in a rural setting
- Ability to communicate with diverse groups, maintain strict confidentiality, meet deadlines and schedules, set priorities, and work with detailed information/data
- Ability to work well in a dynamic team environment alongside health workers, senior management team, support staff, and patients
Desirable:
- Accounting certification (CPA, CMA, CA, ACCA, ACMA)
- Experience with an international non-profit/NGO is an advantage
- Experience in internal audit or in testing the design and implementation of internal controls
- Experience with Serenic Navigator accounting system is an advantage
- Strong sense of humor and an easy-going attitude is great asset
