Finance Officer - Northern Education Initiative Plus at Creative Associates International

Project Summary

• The Northern Nigeria Education Initiative Plus (NEI+) project works to improve the quality of and access to education in Northern Nigeria, equitably and sustainably.

Position Summary

• The Finance Officer will be responsible for managing project expenditure and accounts for the NEI+ project in line with Creative's Washington, DC financial systems.

Reporting & Supervision:

• This position is housed in Abuja, Nigeria, reporting to the Finance Manager.

Primary Responsibilities

• Processing of check requests and wire transfers for payments to vendors in compliance with contract requirements.
• Process vendor and consultant fee payments in accordance with USAID and Creative account procedures and contract policies.
• Process all the statutory deductions (PAYE-pay and process tax clearance certificate, NSITF, NHF and pension remittance)
• Input data entry into Dynamics SL on a daily basis for Abuja office.
• Review of Trial Balance on a Monthly basis to ensure that we have true balances that reflect the reality on ground and update the advance tracker.
• Respond to vendor inquiries regarding status of vouchers, payments, and budget submissions.
• Tracking and reporting on financial aspects of grants
• With guidance and approval of the SFS, draft documents for and execute wire transfers from the home office in Washington, DC.
• Ensure the process of cleanng bills, payments, and vouchers from the Abuja office; in concert with the finance manager, affect the transfer of project funds from the central account to field accounts based on their forecast and funds request to ensure fund availability at all time.
• Review project procurement in accordance with the project contract and USAID and Creative requirements and regulations.
• Verification of vouchers to ensure supporting documents are complete, and all necessary procedures are followed before payment, also ensure liquidations meet criteria of standard rates for review and approval.
• Ensuring compliance with all donor and home office procedures
• Implement systems and ensure proper checks and balances to mitigate potential for fraud or improper use of funds
• Collation of cost projections and submitting requests for funds on a monthly basis to the Director of finance
• Preparing bank reconciliation statement at the end of the month
• File all support documents into the archive room, scan and maintain an electronic file for easy retrieval.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Accounting
• 5+ years' experience in international development project financial management
• Knowledgeable about USAID Rules and Regulations, previous experience working on USAID-funded projects is preferred.