PROJECT FINANCE COORDINATOR, WASH SYSTEMS STRENGTHENING

About Self Help Africa

Self Help Africa (SHA) is an international development organisation headquartered in Dublin, Ireland and dedicated to the vision of ‘Sustainable livelihoods and healthy lives for all in a changing climate’. We have almost 50 years of experience working in Africa, including over 20 years in Nigeria (as United Purpose and Concern Universal).

In 2021, Self Help Africa merged with United Purpose (UP), doubling our size. The organisation now works in 17 programme countries. 15 of these are in sub-Saharan Africa while subsidiary organisations, ‘Self Help Brazil’ and ‘Self Help Bangladesh’, have been created for our programmes in the two countries where we are working outside of Africa.

In early 2023, we launched a new five-year organisation strategy, which defines shared mission as the alleviation of hunger, poverty, social inequality and the impact of climate change through community-led, market-based and enterprise-focused approaches, so that people can have access to nutritious food, clean water, decent employment and incomes, while sustaining natural resources.

Our wider organisation also includes social enterprise subsidiaries: Partner Africa, which provides ethical auditing and consultancy services, TruTrade, an innovative trading platform in East Africa, and CUMO, Malawi’s largest micro-finance provider.

Our three core values are:
▪ Impact: We are accountable, ambitious and committed to systemic change.
▪ Innovation: We are agile, creative and enterprising in an ever-changing world.
▪ Community: We are inclusive, honest and have integrity in our relationships.

To achieve our organisational mission, we work across numerous sectors, such as Agriculture, Climate & Environment, Enterprise, Energy, Nutrition, and WASH. Our global WASH portfolio currently spans 10 countries, 25 active projects, and has reached 5 million people with safe water, and 5 million for sanitation to date. In Nigeria, we have a strong reputation in the WASH sector for our work on rural sanitation, having achieved the country’s first ODF LGA, and our systems strengthening approach to sustainable WASH service delivery. Programme descriptionSHA is anticipating the award of a GBP£5m programme focused on WASH systems strengthening, covering Nigeria and Sierra Leone. We would lead the overall consortia and the work in Nigeria, whilst another INGO would lead work in Sierra Leone, under our oversight and overall consortia leadership.

The aim of the programme is to strengthen the systems needed to establish and sustain reliable, resilient and inclusive WASH services. The programme is anticipated to start in Quarter 1 of 2024 and expected to be 4 years duration.

The precise intervention locations in Nigeria will be finalised during the inception phase, and may include (but not necessarily be limited to) northern states such as Kano, Jigawa and possibly Kaduna. This role is to be based in Abuja, with regular travel to project intervention sites in Nigeria.

The three broad focus areas of the programme are:

Priority 1: Strategic planning and budgeting for sustainable service delivery using defined Service Delivery Models and strengthening capacities and processes for accountable and inclusive planning and budgeting for WASH.

Priority 2: Support decentralised implementation of the Clean Nigeria Campaign in pursuit of the elimination of open defecation nationwide, demonstrating effective approaches to ODF, Market-Based Sanitation and ODF sustainability, in target LGAs, for scaling.

Priority 3: Facilitate systems leadership and support the mobilisation of a network of WASH champions by strengthening nationwide non-governmental sector organisations and networks, and their respective capacities and mentoring processes.Job Purpose: The Finance Coordinator has overall management responsibility for the finance and accounting functions for aforementioned programme. The post holder will ensure that the programme has the appropriate financial infrastructure and systems in place to support the smooth project implementation. S/he will contribute to the development of the programme’s strategic and operational plans and be accountable for ensuring and monitoring delivery against the financial plans through targeted and comprehensive financial analytical review.

S/he will be responsible for the day-to-day financial management of this grant ensuring effective utilisation of funds to achieve value for money while coordinating review of payment requests, floats, liquidations etc, financial planning/forecasting, and resource allocation in alignment to the approved budget.Key Responsibilities: Project Accounting, Cash flow Management and Risk Management:

– Lead the month- end closing process and ensure timely closure of the monthly books.

– Work with the finance team and prepare the project balance sheet reconciliations and internal reports.

– Responsible for day-to-day financial accounting of this grant ensuring effective utilisation of funds to achieve value for money.

– Coordinate review of project payment requests, floats, liquidations etc.

– Support the Country Finance Manager on project cash management including review of the sub-grant partners’ cash management and control system.

– Manage the project cash properly and ensure healthy cash inflows and out flows.

– Prevent and mitigate potential financial risks of the project. Employ the highest standards of openness, transparency and accountability to ensure good financial management in line with SHA’s zero-tolerance approach to fraud, bribery and corruption.

– Support in the development of an internal audit/ expenditure verification plan and lead the team on the project internal audit/expenditure verification process.

Budget Preparation, Monitoring, Reviews and Reporting:

– Assist in the preparation and maintenance of the country program’s annual operating budget to ensure data is complete and maintained on a timely basis.

– Assist in the development and preparation of cost allocation processes for pooled costs that comply with donor regulations on allowable costs.

– Work with programme staff to manage the project budget or realignments, ensuring adequate coverage of country operating costs and the required direct and indirect costs.

– Prepare actual vs. budget results to ensure maximum utilization of budgeted amounts and to provide recommendations for realignments as required.

– Assist on the formulation of annual operating budgets and operating budget reforecasts, and review operating budgets of the allocated field sites. Identify any shortfalls in pooled costs budget coverage and suggest corrective measures.

– Monitor support cost spending and advise the Country Finance Manager if there is a deviation from the policy.

– Provide programme management and programme staff with monthly actual-to-budget analysis for project funds and facilitate reviews and discussion.

– Ensure donor financial reports are prepared as per the donor requirements and ensure donor regulations are adhered to for all aspects of the operation.

Partnership Management, Team Management and Skill Sharing:

– Work with partnerships and technical staff to organise capacity and risk assessments for sub-grant partners.

– Work in collaboration with operations, finance and programme staff to manage sub-agreements.

– Liaise with partners for timely submission of accurate financial reports.

– Review financial reports submitted by partners and provide immediate feedback as necessary.

– Carry out follow up visits to relevant partners in order to develop a capacity building plan with specific action points.

– Conduct training for partner finance staff.

– Ensure that all partners submit their financial reports in a timely fashion and funds are transferred to partners without delay.

– Assist with financial monitoring and field visits to ensure that SHA requirements are being followed by partners.

– Ensure budgets and other operational policy and procedures are respected by partners.

– Support in the development and implementation of a training program for programme team to ensure staff development and minimise SHA’s exposure to risk.

– Support the development of a capacity building plan for programme finance staff to be capacitated to function effectively.

– Oversee training and technical support to the programme, operations and administrative staff for skills improvement in the areas of accounting, reporting and internal control.

– Manage programme finance staff activities and schedules to meet the financial reporting requirements and deadlines specified by the Global Head Office and the donor.

Financial Reporting, Internal Controls & Audit management:

– Ensure that all policies and procedures follow SHA and donor policies, procedures, and requirements.

– Closely monitor all financial activities and keep the management advised of all situations which have the potential for a negative impact on internal controls or financial performance.

– Support the annual audit process.

– Develop field visit schedules and perform country internal controls assessments, and initiate actions necessary to correct internal control weaknesses.

– Maintain current knowledge of government requirements related to financial matters and ensure compliance with tax regulations and other legal requirements. Key Relationships:Internal: Country Finance Manager, Global Office Programme Finance Team, Programme, MEAL, Operations, Finance & Compliance and Security teams.

External: Sub-grant partners finance teams Knowledge, Experience and Other RequirementsEducation and other qualifications:

– A Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Business Administration, Finance or related field. A master’s degree with a Finance concentration will be an added advantage.

– A recognized professional certificate in accounting such as ICAN, ACA, CIMA, CPA, or ACCA.

– ICT operation, and proficiency in MS Office.

Experience

– At least 6 years’ project finance coordination experience in an international development organisation/INGO/NGO or equivalent position.

– Extensive experience in working with computerized accounting systems and standard spreadsheet.

– Ability to carry out responsibilities independently with minimal support from within the program organisation.

– Experience coordinating and leading sub-grant partners and working with multiple partners.

– Experience in development of high standard financial reports.

– Experience working with culturally diverse teams.

Skills:

– Financial Accounting

– Donor Reporting

– Expenditure Verification

– Project management

– Excellent leadership and coordination skills (and ability to coordinate several tasks at once and managing priorities)

– Effective communication, problem-solving solving and decision-making skills and diplomacy in communication

– Respect for cultural diversity and gender sensitivity

– Team leadership and mentoring

– Flexible work attitude, proactive and demonstrated creativity

– Communication, networking, facilitation and team work

– Organisational development

– Reporting and documentation

Language Requirements:

– Excellent written and oral proficiency in English language is required and relevant local language competency is an added advantage.