The Organization

 

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organization that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.

We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it’s girls who are most affected.

 

Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.

 

We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.

We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 85 years, and are now active in more than 80 countries.

ROLE PROFILE

 

Title Project Accountant
Functional Area Finance
Reports to Finance Coordinator
Location Maroua PIIA Travel required N/A
Effective Date Month Year
August 2023 Grade B1
Purpose: Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organization that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.
We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion, and discrimination. And its girls who are most affected.
Working together with children, young people, our supporters, and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.
We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national, and global levels using our reach, experience, and knowledge.
We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 80 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries.

The Project Accountant will maintain quality finance and grants accountability for the BMZ Project. Reporting to Finance Coordinator (Finco) and the Project Coordinator (PC). This position will work closely with Plan International Cameroon, Maroua PIIA’s staff, in finance and grants to ensure timely and accurate grant reporting, maintenance of grant records, and active participation in the revision processes of awarded grants. The Project Accountant will also be responsible for tracking the grant’s budget vs actual spending, developing income and spending projections, and managing disbursements. This position has limited field travel and logistical support for the program

Dimensions of Role
This role ensures overall financial accountability, compliance, and reporting to donors and management on the BMZ’s overall program implementation. He/she will be responsible for the grants management and reporting processes, budget management; financial management and reporting are conducted in a manner consistent with the Government of Cameroon and Plan International policies, procedures, and regulations.
Key Tasks and responsibilities
Financial Management and Reporting:

Monitor financial management of BMZ project funds to ensure consistency with agreed technical plan and actual implementation, and monitor the program expenditures against their actual incurrence.

Implement and monitor systems of checks and balances consistent with standard accounting practices, and bring instances of non-compliance or financial risks to the attention of the Finance Coordinator.

Participate in program procurement processes and expenditure payments whenever requested by the Program Team.

Prepare accurate and timely financial reports in line with donor requirements.

Reconciling expenditure in General Ledger (GL) and grants ensuring that all account lines (WBS) are correctly charged, monitoring and reconciling any exceptions identified.

Liaise with Project coordinator to provide variance explanations on all financial reports submitted.

Work with the Project Coordinator, and appropriate Maroua PIIA’s staff in the development of quarterly and monthly forecasts.

Supporting the preparation of budget amendment requests (alongside the program lead and the grants coordinator), compliant with donor requirements.

Monitoring commitments and accruals on grant; ensuring adequate documentation for accrual and that accruals are paid and cleared within the next 30 days.

Support the preparation of monthly grants expenditure forecasts together with partners; monitoring movements in the grants income and expenditure and alerting the Project Coordinator and the Finance Coordinator of any unusual items in SAP.

Review of payment documents and ensure WBS Lines and GL Account codes are correct and the necessary amount of funding available.

Ensure adherence to the country’s grants financial and accounting requirements as per requirements of the donors, other organizational policies, and procedures (Operations Manual (OM) erc.) to support sound grants financial management within the organization.

Ensure that partners comply with Plan International procurement procedures (unless the Partner procedure is approved), when procuring goods and services.

Support the Project coordinator and the Finance Coordinator to ensure that the monthly cash forecast is timely submitted and realistic as per the detailed program implementation plan.

Support to ensure withholding tax credit notes are promptly distributed to vendors/consultants.

Grant financial set-up and compliance:

Maintain an awareness of the donor conditions on financial management within the FAD and guide program teams accordingly.

Support the review and approval of new Program Outlines (PO) and modifications where necessary.
Grant closure, Audits, and risk management:

Support audit and other reviews of the BMZ project by ensuring all documents are provided.

Prepare the Program’s financial audit action list after each audit and ensure compliance.

Support the closure of grants through timely alerts to program team of pending end dates for expenditure, and support with reasonable timescales for payments and liquidations to ensure all these falls within the program period.

Support the admin department and the coordinators of the grant with the compilation of asset registers for each grant, ensuring alignment with the expenditure reported to donors.

Develop and maintain a comprehensive filing system both hard and soft copies of all financial reports and agreements pertaining to the BMZ grant.

Participate in due diligence assessment.

Others:

Support audit and other reviews of the BMZ program by ensuring all documents are provided.

Ensure your IAP, six months’ appraisal and annual appraisals are timely completed and documented.

Proactively advise the Project Coordinator and the team on the financial risks of under/overspending.

Support provide training and share good experience/practice amongst the team to strengthen team capacity and team building.

Keep your supervisor informed of any initiative or difficulties relating to the job’s responsibilities.

Perform any other duties that may be assigned from time to time
KEY RELATIONSHIPS
• Finance Coordinator
• Grant Coordinator
• Other finance staff in the PIIA
• Functional Finance Networks
• Program Management team

TECHNICAL EXPERTISE, SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE
Essential
• BAC+3 or Bachelor Degree in accounting, finance, management, economics
• Extensive experience of Finance (accounting; reporting; grants finance; financial planning and analysis) in an INGO at Field level.
• Demonstrable understanding of the humanitarian sector and ways of working.
• Knowledge of internal controls in financial management.
• Strong financial systems expertise. Fluency with complex financial systems including multi-currency accounting packages / ERP.
• Experience of developing Standard Operating Procedures and guidance notes
• Communicates clearly, effectively and as appropriate to the audience.
• Able to build networks and relationships under challenging conditions to promote high performance.
• Values ​​working in a team and willing to take on more responsibilities and support team members.
• Comfortable in challenging at all levels.
• Resilient under long term pressure; thrives in dynamic fluid environments: adaptable and proactive.
• Solution focused; able to prioritize, deliver on time and cope with ambiguity.
• Sensitivity to a wide range of cultures, context and varying levels of finance capability.
• Strong written and spoken English.

Desirable
• Knowledge of the requirements of the major emergency donors and experience in budgeting and reporting to donors.
• Experience of working in insecure environments
• Knowledge and experience in using SAP and Microsoft D365.

Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Child Protection (CPP) and Gender Equality and Inclusion (GEI) are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of ​​responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of ​​work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.

PLAN INTERNATIONAL’S VALUES IN PRACTICE
We are open and accountable
• Promotes a culture of openness and transparency, including with sponsors and donors.
• Holds self and others accountable to achieve the highest standards of integrity.
• Consistent and fair in the treatment of people.
• Open about mistakes and keen to learn from them.
• Accountable for ensuring we are a safe organization for all children, girls & young people
We strive for lasting impact
• Articulates a clear purpose for staff and sets high expectations.
• Creates a climate of continuous improvement, open to challenge and new ideas.
• Focuses resources to drive change and maximize long-term impact, responsive to changed priorities or crises.
• Evidence-based and evaluates effectiveness.
We work well together
• Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
• Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
• Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
• Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.

We are inclusive and empowering

• Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
• Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
• Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
• Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
Typical Office environment

LEVEL OF CONTACT WITH CHILDREN
Occasional interaction with children

Additional Responsibilities:
Child Protection Policy Responsibilities (mandatory for all staff)
• Adhere to the Child Protection Policy, Code of Conduct and reporting any CPP issues.
• Responsible for the implementation of the CPP standards as they apply to area of ​​responsibility plus the development of actions to address identified gaps and monitoring their effectiveness.
• Ensure that all Plan International partners, visitors and associates in his/her area of ​​responsibility are provided with, are made aware off and have signed and returned a copy of the child protection policy. Inform the partners, visitors and associates that they must comply with the policy in all contacts and communications with children during their visit.

 

Location: Maroua

 

Closing Date: 28th July 2023