FINANCE AND ADMIN ASSISTANT-TECHNICAL AND CONSULTING
Closing date:
Practical Action
ABOUT US
We are an international development
organization putting ingenious ideas to work so people in poverty can change
their world.
We help people find solutions to some of
the world’s toughest problems. Challenges made worse by catastrophic climate
change and persistent gender inequality.
We’re
a global change-making group. The group consists of a UK registered charity
with community projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America, an independent
development publishing company and a technical consulting service. We combine
these specialisms to multiply our impact and help shape a world that works
better for everyone.
OUR AIMS
We help people find solutions to some of
the world’s toughest problems, made worse by catastrophic climate change and
persistent gender inequality. Our aims are to:
- Make agriculture work better for smallholder
farmers, many of them women, so they can adapt to climate change and achieve
a good standard of living
- Help more people harness the transformational
effects of clean affordable energy and reduce avoidable deaths caused by
smoke from indoor stoves and fires.
- Make cities in poorer countries cleaner, healthier
places to live and work.
- Build disaster resilience into the lives of people
threatened by hazards – reducing the risk of hazards and minimizing their
impact on lives and livelihoods.
HOW WE WORK
We work on holistic solutions that change
systems and have a framework to help us achieve our aims:
- Analyze the root causes of a poverty and
vulnerability
- Define the change at scale we need to make
- Develop activities along three complementary paths: Demonstrate,
Learn and Inspire.
- Demonstrate that
our solutions are sustainable in the real world
- Learn by
capturing evidence and adapting our approach
- Inspire wider
support to multiply our impact.
OUR ORGANISATION
Practical Action is an unconventional,
multi-disciplinary change-making organization
- A highly innovative community development charity
operating in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Practical Action community
projects use ingenious ideas to design, test, refine and prove new ways to
overcome poverty and disadvantage and then ‘open-source’ knowledge of what
works so that it can be implemented at a greater scale by others.
- A world-class consulting operation that helps
socially responsible business, government policy makers and other
development organizations. This draws on learnings from our own
development work as well as the combined brainpower of a roster of over
2,000 expert consultants. Practical Action Consulting helps to extend the
reach of our influence by providing the best advice to others, whose work
can make a bigger difference.
- A well respected specialist development publisher.
Practical Action Publishing brings together development practitioners,
researchers and thought leaders to create publications that stimulate
discussion, strengthen peoples’ capabilities and inspire sustainable
change.
PRACTICAL ACTION IN EAST AFRICA
In East Africa, Practical Action has a
long history of addressing systemic barriers that prevent people from accessing
energy that transforms their lives, helping communities and government makes
cities healthier and safer, making agriculture and markets work better for
small holder farmers and supporting communities and government to become more
resilient.
We use a mix of programming with
communities and consultancy services with shapers of policy and practice to
achieve our aims in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania.
ABOUT THE ROLE
As a member of the Technical &
Consulting Unit, the role is responsible for running the day to day
administrative and financial tasks of the unit, focusing on contract
management, financial planning and reporting and working with the broader
finance team on analysis particular to the income generated from external and
internal consultancies by the unit.
The T&C Unit is responsible for the
delivery of technical assistance externally and internally as well as the
provision of thought leadership across all of Practical Action’s thematic
areas. The role will be expected to work with members of the team on cost
recovery models to maximize efficiency in spend across the organization.
ACCOUNTABILITIES
Leadership and Strategic Alignment
- Support the budgeting and forecasting process for
the RCO’s strategic business plan (SBP) and provide data for analysis
specifically on income generated from consulting and technical advice
- Support routine quarterly and annual reporting
against the SBP and the preparation of financial sections.
- Provide financial data and analysis to feed into
business development processes.
- Ensure full cost recovery for all PAC staff and
determine and implement cost saving strategies
- Work with award management on the consultancy
contacts and compliance management, including due diligence processes and
award close out
Delivering Quality
Specific financial accountabilities within
the role include:
- Preparing and tracking invoices for assignments and
following up to ensure income is received and recognized within the system.
- Reviewing the Unit’s financial monthly budget holder
reports and working with the head of unit on providing budget notes.
- Support the team in accounting and reconciling
expenses for work floats taken. Preparing account accruals whenever
necessary.
- Submitting the unit timesheets to finance.
- Assist in booking statutory deductions online.
- Ensure floats are cleared promptly.
- Working with finance on planning and tracking of recoveries.
- Support the finance team members as may be delegated
from time to time; performing reconciliations, reviewing internal finance
documents, making internal control recommendations and closing matters as
needed.
- Provide technical financial input to the Unit’s long
term and short term consultancy assignment
- Supporting the finance team during audits to ensure
that the engagements run smoothly
- Backstopping some members of the finance team during
leave.
Administrative
accountabilities within the role include:
- Managing general correspondences on behalf of
Technical & Consulting Unit
- Preparing minutes of meetings relating to the Unit
if and when required
- Handles training and workshops logistics for the Unit
- Accurate filing of project documents and correspondence
- Support development of ToRs and staffing needs for
projects/consultancies
- In line with Practical Action’s policies, liaise
with relevant staff in admin to arrange travel, accommodation and
administrative needs as required to carry out particular assignments
- Work with procurement on ensuring policy adherence
in Countries where Practical Action does not have a physical presence and
consultancy contracts are being implemented. Especially as it extends to
staff safety and security
- Provides input to proposal development process
- In liaison with People and Administration Unit,
draft consultancy contracts in compliance with prescribed templates and
track contract implementation.
- Review and track Inter Office MOUs and MOUs signed
on behalf of the Unit.
- Conduct due diligence on Technical & Consulting
Unit suppliers while ensuring that they are added to the preferred
suppliers list.
- Maintain Practical Action Consulting database of
associate consultants
PERSON PROFILE
To be successful in the role, the ideal
candidate will be able to demonstrate:
Experience & Knowledge
Extensive
experience in project management, multi-donor financial accounting and local
and/or international financial working knowledge. Experience in accounting for
short-term consulting assignments and managing annual external audits with the
auditors is required.
Essential
- Graduate in Business Administration, Accounting,
Finance or related field.
- Qualifications in accounting i.e. CPA or ACCA.
- At least two (2) years’ experience in a similar position.
- Excellent administrative skills
- Good inter-personal skills and ability to work in a
team
- Ability to organize multiple tasks and prioritize
appropriately
- Ability to handle confidential information in a
discreet and professional manner
- Practical experience in the use of the Internet,
email and MS Office applications
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Time management skills.
- Fluency in other languages and local languages in
Kenya.
- Existing strong relationships and networks within
the geographic area.
- Post-graduate degree in relevant subject.
- Experience in working in remote areas and with
refugee communities
Desirable
Commitment
to development principles and Practical Action’s vision, mission and ambition.
- Experience working with the SUN system
- A flair for figures and analysis
- Previous experience in short term or long term
consultancy assignments
Interested applicants
should submit their applications, including an updated CV with a cover letter
via email to: recruitment@practicalaction.or.ke not later than 7th
May 2021 indicating Finance & Admin Assistant on
the email subject line.
At Practical Action, we treat all
applications for employment on their merits and do not take into consideration
any factors that are not relevant to the job such as disability, race, age,
religion, gender, gender reassignment or sexual orientation.
We are committed to safeguarding and
protecting children and vulnerable adults and as such candidates will be
subject to pre-employment checks.
The successful applicant must have the
pre-existing right to both live and work in Kenya.
