Finance Officer at Creative Associates International

BACKGROUND

Creative Associates International Inc. is a dynamic and fast-growing professional services firm that specializes in international development in the areas of education, democratic transitions and stabilization in post-conflict environments. Based in Washington, DC, the firm has a field presence in 30 countries worldwide with a strong and diverse portfolio that includes global contracts with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and other clients including the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Defense. The firm has earned a solid reputation among its clients and missions worldwide and is well-regarded by competitors and partners alike. 

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has contracted Creative Associates International to implement the Northeast Connection activity to strengthen the resilience of communities vulnerable to violent extremist infiltration and conflict. By targeting communities not yet under the control of violent extremist organizations (VEOs), this activity will seize the opportunity to mitigate the grievances that make communities vulnerable to violent extremism, while building social cohesion within and across communities in northeast Nigeria. In addition to helping northeastern Nigerians create a stronger foundation against the violent extremist and conflict threats, the activity is designed to develop local capacity to respond to emerging threats. In order to enable flexible and adaptive management of the activity in a complex environment, the activity includes a focused effort on research and analysis of the threats and coordination around programmatic opportunities and responses

POSITION SUMMARY

• The Finance Officer will assist the Finance Manager in developing and managing the project’s financial systems.
• S/he will work under the supervision of the Finance Manager and will support him in all matters related to financial management, financial reporting, subcontracting.
• S/he will also assist the Finance Manager in ensuring sufficient funds are available for effective and efficient implementation of project activities and support programs.
• Specific areas of responsibility include financial report preparation, review and submission to headquarters and cash flow management.
• This position will be based in Adamawa State, limited travel may be required to programming locations in Yobe and Borno State.

REPORTING & SUPERVISION

The Finance Officer is supervised by the Finance Manager in Adamawa State.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Primary responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

• Preparing accurate and timely financial reports in line with USAID and Creative’s financial regulations
• Providing and interpreting financial information from Microsoft Dynamics SL and other project source documents
• Ensuring that monthly projections are collated from various components for cash requests and burn rate
• Developing external relationships with appropriate contacts, e.g. bankers and statutory organizations such as the Inland Revenue, NSITF and pension officials.
• Provide mentoring and coaching to colleagues on policies, procedures, financial regulations etc.
• Keeping abreast of changes in financial regulations and legislations and communicating implications to management as needed
• Maintaining collaborative professional relationships with managerial staff and colleagues in other departments (particularly Grants and Procurement) to support activity clearance, implementation and overall program delivery
• Applying internationally accepted principles and procedures to analyze financial information
• Ensuring appropriate accounting control and procedures in all financial operations
• Monitoring of cash balances, prepare advance account reconciliations and bank reconciliations and respond to inquiries from HQ.
• Monitoring cash balances on dynamics and bank, ensuring that drawdowns from USD to Naira account are done timely as soon as a confirmed exchange rate is received from the bank
• Reviewing local expense reports to ensure accuracy and compliance with USAID and Creative’s financial practice before reimbursement
• Coordinating with program and administrative staff to ensure that transactions are properly planned, recorded and coded
• Prepare payroll, send pay slips and make all statutory deductions to the relevant authorities
• Coordinate with the bank for information regarding exchange rate, bank balances, wire transfer etc.
• Ensure staff have good understanding of policies and procedures and that knowledge is reflected in the day to day financial transactions – avail staff with all relevant policies and procedures, provide on job trainings, as necessary provide feedbacks on irregularities, etc.
• Initiate and implement a planning and reporting practices for staffs under Finance Manager supervision.
• Support, as needed, in capacity building work of grantees.

Required Skills & Qualifications:

• Minimum of Bachelor's Degree or its equivalent in Accounting or Finance
• 5 years of general experience with at least 3 years of experience in accounting and finance work is required.
• Proficiency at using Microsoft office software: MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc. is required.
• Experience with computerized accounting systems is required.
• Strong analytical skills are required.
• Multi-tasking with positive attitude is required.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective, sustainable relationships with project staff and bank officials, as well as the development community is required.
• Prior experience with international organizations or international-funded projects is highly desirable.
• Experience working in a conflict environment is a plus.
• Fluency in oral and written English is required.
• Fluency in one or more of the local state languages in the Northeastern part of Nigeria is required.