Job Title: Senior Finance Officer
Hiring Organization: Lutheran World Federation
Location – Locality: Nairobi
Location – Region: Kenya
Industry: NGO
Job Type: Full Time
Salary: KES
Date Posted: 05/27/2024
The
Lutheran World Federation (LWF; German: Lutherischer Weltbund) is a global
communion .The Department for World Service is the LWF’s humanitarian arm. It
has programmes in 32 countries. The LWF is a member of ACT Alliance.
Job
Overview
The
Senior Finance Officer – Budget Monitoring & Donor Reporting is based in
Nairobi and supports the LWF Kenya-Somalia’s Budget and Grants Management
functions. This role requires a motivated, flexible, problem-solving team
player with excellent analytical and interpersonal skills, and the ability to prioritize
activities and work within scheduled timelines. The Senior Finance Officer
assists the Finance Manager in handling the day-to-day budget and grants
management functions, ensuring compliance with donor regulations and LWF
requirements, and improving efficiency in donor reporting and compliance.
Key Responsibilities
Project
Budget Preparation
Work with
program staff to prepare or revise project budgets for new proposals or
modifications, ensuring adequate coverage of project operations and HQ costs.
Ensure
immediate setup and creation of new project codes upon receipt of project
approvals.
Annual
Budget And Rolling Budget Updates
Assist in
preparing the fiscal year budget following LWF’s standard format to meet
required timelines.
Regularly
update the fiscal year budget to guide new donor proposals and manage program
growth or decline.
Provide
recommendations for funding shortfalls or coverage for each component of the
fiscal year budget.
Support
the Finance Manager in the preparation of the Country’s Annual Plans and
forecasts including preparation of the Program Budget Overview, Annual Funding
Plans, and Annual Master Budget.
Support
To Area Program Finance Officers
Ensure
timely, reliable, and accurate support in preparing working budgets, monthly
forecasts, monitoring expenditure, journal vouchers, budget reviews and
amendments, project reporting, and closure.
Review
and verify expenditures of restricted projects to ensure adherence to budgetary
and donor requirements.
Monitor
Budget And Actual Expenses Of Restricted Grants
Maintain
a complete record of all pertinent documents of each project, regularly
updating the same on SharePoint according to LWF guidelines on document
archiving.
Coordinate
with other Finance Staff and various project focal persons to ensure financial
implementation adheres to the project agreement.
Liaise
with the Program Management Unit (PMU) regarding the development of Letters of
Agreement (LoA) with partner institutions, project start-ups, budget updates,
and project tracking and closures.
Financial
Reporting and Grant Management:
Ensure
the timely production of accurate and meaningful project finance management
reports.
Prepare
reports in donor currency to ensure maximum utilization of budgeted amounts and
provide recommendations for revision or modification to the management team.
Provide
analysis and respond to queries from senior management, HQ budget holders,
donors, and auditors.
Grant
Management & Reporting
Prepare
the monthly Budget Versus Actual (BVA) reports and distribute them on time.
Provide
monthly analysis per grant and offer recommendations for budget holders to
ensure accurate grant spending.
Prepare
and update spending plans for all active grants in coordination with the
appropriate budget holders.
Review
budget spending plans, advise relevant staff on spending status, and seek
feedback on over/under spending.
Review
and update the commitments lists from Supply Chain, Admin, and Human Resources
for inclusion in monthly BVAs for the Administration Budgets.
Participate
in periodic grant review, opening, and closing meetings to present spending
status.
Provide
support and feedback to Operations and Program Managers, Project Managers, and
Area Managers on BVA-related questions.
Propose
and prepare adjustment entries in compliance with donor requirements, attaching
supporting documents for finance records and seeking the Finance Manager’s
approval for posting into the SAGE system.
Donor
Reporting
Prepare
donor financial reports for all grants, ensuring compliance with donor formats
and timely submission.
Review
donor financial reports monthly, generate and review transaction listings to
identify and correct misclassification of expenses.
Provide
analysis of grant spending plans versus actual spending.
Ensure
accurate and timely submission of draft and final financial reports in the
grants management system.
Track all
donor reporting timelines and generate a donor reporting matrix regularly to
highlight due reports, pending reports, and submitted reports, sharing this
with the Finance Manager and Program Manager frequently.
Grant
Proposal Budgets And Revised Budgets
Serve as
a key resource for project proposal/budget preparation regarding compliance
issues for prospective sources of funding.
Ensure
grants recover full overheads as per relevant cost structures.
Provide
guidance and ensure budget figures are correct and align with donor
requirements.
Review
the financial parts and other relevant information of new Grant Agreements and
amendments.
Internal
Controls
Internal
Controls and Compliance:
Provide
support and advice to the Finance Manager in relation to internal controls,
strategy, and plans required in HQ and project offices.
Supervise
the Area Program finance team in implementing these controls.
Verify
and approve journal vouchers prepared by the finance officer.
Monitor
donor receivables and payables, ensuring receivables are collected and
reviewing donor payables.
Identify
incoming funds from restricted donors and provide coding to the Head of
Treasury and Fixed Assets.
Special
Audit Of Restricted Projects
Assist
with coordination and attend entry and exit meetings on audits of projects for
grants managed.
Act as a
key resource on queries from external auditors on restricted grants.
Review
partner audit reports in relation to project requirements.
Training
And Capacity Building
Training
Organization and Delivery:
Assist
the Finance Manager in conducting regular training sessions in Kenya-Somalia
and other LWF field offices on budget management and donor regulations.
Identify
training needs in budgeting and project management for non-finance staff and
lead refresher training for both program and finance staff.
Provide
training and support for project office program and operational staff on
proposal budgets, revisions, pipeline expenditure forecasts, and report
planning.
Other
Responsibilities
Back-Up
Support:
Provide
effective back-up in the absence of the Finance Manager to ensure smooth
finance operations.
Field
Visits
Regularly
visit Area Programs and, when necessary, implementing partners to ensure
compliance and provide support.
Restricted
Grants Partners Financial Management Monitoring
Implement
partner financial monitoring tools and mechanisms, advising on improvements.
Supervise
financial compliance for all restricted grants partners of assigned grants,
ensuring partners spend within their budgets and follow donor and LWF financial
procedures.
Analyze
partner expenses and provide feedback on expenditure trends and areas with
significant over/under spending.
Communicate
with partners on areas of weakness and steps to mitigate risks and internal
control issues.
Qualifications
Bachelor’s
degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field.
CPA (K)
and membership in ICPAK.
At least
5 years of experience in Grants Management, including financial planning,
budgets, and donor reporting in a large and busy Work environment with vast
experience in handling project Implementation/reporting for various donors (EU,
US government, UN) including management of Consortia.
Strong
analytical, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills with the ability to work
effectively in a multicultural team.
Proficiency
in database applications and MS Office suite, with a keen attention to detail
and the ability to manage multiple priorities under pressure.