Regional Finance Manager - PlayMatters

Requisition ID: req19872

Job Title: Regional Finance Manager - PlayMatters

Sector: Finance

Employment Category: Regular

Employment Type: Full-Time

Open to Expatriates: No

Location: Kampala, Uganda

Job Description

PlayMatters reimagines childhood for refugees. It will bring play-based learning to 800,000 children across Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania. It will redefine education and cultivate a generation of lifelong builders. PlayMatters is inspired by LEGO Foundation's call to challenge the status quo, to offer children the quality education they dream of. Children are not gaining the skills they need; teachers are under-supported, and parents are overwhelmed. The systems built to serve them are failing them. PlayMatters proudly offers something different. It will be delivered by a coalition with a track record of thinking and delivering differently. We bring three distinct characteristics:

1. Outcomes: Everything we do is fueled by the social, emotional, cognitive, physical, creative and resilience outcomes we seek. We know learning happens when children are at the center and teachers, parents and the system surrounding them embrace children's agency and have not only skills and resources, but the motivation to drive change.
2. Research and Learning: Effective delivery requires both rigor and a big heart. With LEGO Foundation, PlayMatters will generate scientific evidence that can transform our understanding of play and learning for refugees in East Africa and around the world.
3. Thought Leadership: The LEGO Foundation Humanitarian Initiative offers an opportunity to deliver and comes with the responsibility to lead. Our consortium's members have a record mobilizing others.

Job Overview

Under the direct supervision of the Senior Regional Finance Manager - PlayMatters and technical oversight from the Finance Controller, Senior Regional Finance Manager, the Finance Manager is responsible for ensuring that the day-to-day accounting operations and financial management functions are performed in accordance with IRC's policies and procedures, and in accordance with the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). This position will support the five-year project, "PlayMatters", funded by the LEGO Foundation. This position will be a part of the larger PlayMatters Regional Project Management Unit that will support the implementation of the project across East African countries of Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda. The project aims to build children's social, emotional, cognitive, physical, and creative skills through play in their homes, schools, and communities and will be implemented in partnership with War Child, Plan International, Behavioral Insights Team and Innovations for Poverty Action.

Reporting to the SRFM, the Finance Manager will be responsible for financial management of the PlayMatters regional project and will be instrumental in quality financial practices and analysis.

Key Objectives

• Execute Regional Financial and Budget management - Including management of regional sub-awards.
• Maintain the project's accounting operations and ensure compliance with IRC and regional office policies and procedures.
• Develop tools and processes for tracking financial performance of the project across regional and country budgets to meet IRC and donor requirements.
• Serve as part of regional finance team for Best Use of Resources Analysis execution.

Duties and Responsibilities

Finance and Accounting

• Develop and revise annual project budgets for the PlayMatters region office.
• Prepare PM regional annual project spending plans in consultation with workstream leads, and update spending on a timely basis
• Execute quarterly spending report consolidation and ongoing financial management (e.g., monitoring of budget to actuals)
• In liaison with Supply chain and logistics department, prepare commitment lists every month for financial obligations already entered but not captured in financial reports
• Facilitate the 1st review of all financial reports from IRC Country Programs and Regional consortium partners.
• Prepare quarterly financial reports for the PlayMatters regional office, ensuring reported information is accurate and compliant with donor rules, regulations, and reporting requirements.
• Assist the Regional Senior Finance Manager in the compilation of biannual financial report for the consortium partners to be submitted to the donor
• Assist in the implementation of Finance policies, procedures, and systems.
• Assist in the monthly reconciliation of regional transaction's spent and the quarterly transactions reported by the partners in preparation for biannual reports.
• Work with the Senior Regional Finance Manager to prepare management accounts to be presented to regional project management and the SMT for decision making.
• Review all expenditure worksheets for accuracy and completeness before reporting to the donor.
• Manage Petty cash for the Regional PlayMatters Office.

Project Accounting Operations and Compliance

• Facilitate initial review of all Purchase Orders and Purchase Requests for proper coding and budget adequacy
• Provide first level l review of all payment documents for proper and adequate back up/supporting documents.
• Verify completeness and accuracy of all accounting documents.
• Check sub-grantee reports and arrange payments to them with Senior Regional Finance Manager authorization and Project Director's approval
• Making payment requests for the region in Integra: Check and analyze expenditure transactions for accuracy, make adjusting entries with proper supporting documentation and approval when applicable and submit revised spreadsheet to Senior Regional Finance Manager for final review. Keep track of subsidiary ledgers for advances, receivables, and payables.

Resources Analysis Execution

• Participate in the Finance and Monitoring Compliance reviews for the Partners and IRC Country Programs.
• Support the region finance team in documenting and follow ups of all actions generated from the contractual partner finance monitoring.
• Develop and ensure use of systems for tracking progress against budget at the regional levels including master budget documents.
• Provide training to program staff on finance tools and processes specific to project financial management.
• Provide support and training to program staff on financial management issues identified as trends within/across countries.

Key Working Relationships

Position reports to: Senior Regional Finance Manager, PlayMatters

Other Internal and/or external contacts

Internal: IRC Uganda PM Finance Manager, Regional, country, and HQ staff for the PlayMatters Project; Grants Management staff
External: Regional partner finance staff

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, or Finance or CPA, ACCA equivalent.
• Advanced Diploma in Accounting from recognized College/Institutions with a minimum of three (3) years of accounting experience.
• A least 5 years of mid-senior management experience in similar role.
• Experience and knowledge of team dynamics desirable.
• Computer literate with significant experience in excel, accounting package knowledge (Integra system) will be an added advantage.
• The candidate should be mature, with stable personality and ability to maintain confidentiality.
• Perform other relevant duties as assigned.

Please note: Deadline for receiving applications is September 16th 2021.

The IRC and IRC staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

We are committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer generous benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances. We welcome and strongly encourage qualified professionals to apply.

All staff, regardless of role, are required to create a culture of client responsiveness by requesting and using client feedback data to make decisions. In addition, all staff are expected to demonstrate inclusiveness when making programmatic decisions and working with clients, partners and colleagues from diverse backgrounds. You can read more about the IRC's commitment to client responsiveness here: https://www.rescue.org/resource/client-responsiveness-introduction-and-faq

IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.