Job Vacancy at IPA (Innovations for Poverty Action) – Finance & Administration Officer

The Sierra Leone country office in Freetown is seeking a dedicated and experienced Finance and Administration Officer to lead its finance unit and drive its financial processes. This officer will also oversee administrative tasks done by an associate and contribute to the overall office administration with country office leadership.

Responsibilities 

Under the supervision of the Country Director (CD) and functional line to the Finance Manager of IPA in Ghana, the Finance and Administration Officer is responsible for the following tasks:

Finance (70%)

• Maintain accurate and timely financial information in IPA’s financial system (NetSuite)
• Ensure compliance and strict application with the accounting rules and practices established by local authorities and IPA Global
• Budget monitoring and monthly financial reporting of projects

Processing of all financial requests (Check Requests, Advance requests, Cost transfer requests, etc). This also includes;

• Ensuring that all requests have first satisfied procurement requirements
• Ensuring that the right forms and IPA approved rates are used for all requests
• Timely communication with staff concerning issues related to reconciliation, at most, a week after reconciliations are submitted
• Requesting monthly cash flow forecasts and cash transfer requests to head office Overseeing payment suppliers (filling, photocopying, and handing over checks to beneficiaries)
• Responding to requests from the Finance Manager, CD, and the Global Finance team
• Reconciling bank accounts
• Coordinating and processing of statutory payments (Withholding taxes, Social Security, PAYE, Severance, etc.)
• Overseeing Petty-cash transactions
• Tracking of outstanding advances on a monthly basis after books are closed
• Managing and processing of staff expense reports
• Archiving of supporting documents and other accounting and legal documents
• Supporting office budget management for Sierra Leone
• Ensuring knowledge, mastery, and application of administrative and financial procedures
• Keeping an eye out on fraudulent transactions & activities including rumors and reporting to the CD and immediate supervisor
• Supporting and organizing IPA Sierra Leone audits for specific

Administration (30%)

• Overseeing the work of the Administration and Finance Assistant
• Preparing and providing information to HQ (labor, financial evidence, etc.)
• Monitoring of relations with the various partners in Sierra Leone: government, decentralized authorities, banks, taxes, lawyers, donors, insurance, etc.
• Supporting the management of legal and fiscal affairs;
• Supporting the administrative team for the execution of their tasks (inventory management, procurement, etc.);
• Participating in purchasing decision-making committees;
• Managing office insurance

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or related field (Master’s degree preferred)
• Experience: A minimum of 2-year of work experience as part of a global organization within a Finance/Accounting role required
• Demonstrated advanced use of Excel is required and NetSuite or other accounting software is strongly preferred
• Knowledge of local accounting policies
• Ability to communicate issues and thoughts clearly
• Process and control-oriented
• Ability to multitask and prioritize

Application Instructions Complete the J-PAL/IPA common application. After completing a brief registration, choose the Policy job category, then select “Finance & Administration Officer”. Most applications require at minimum a statement of purpose (cover letter), CV and transcripts.

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