Senior Accountant (SA) at Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development

Details of the Contract: Two-year contract, renewable based on satisfactory performance acceptable to FGN and IFAD

Background

• The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) is implementing a three-year IFAD assisted Value Chain Development Programme Additional Financing (VCDP AF1), as a follow-up to the successful six (6) - year Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), in nine (9) participating states (Anambra, Benue, Ebonyi, Enugu, Kogi, Nasarawa, Taraba, Niger and Ogun).
• The Programme's goal is: "Rural Poverty reduced, food security increased and accelerated economic growth achieved." The VCDP, which was approved for an IFAD loan of USD74.4 million in 2012, aimed to directly improve the livelihood of approximately 17,480 households (15,000 smallholder farmers, 1,680 processors and 800 traders) and to benefit indirectly approximately 22,000 households.
• In 2018, IFAD approved an Additional Financing (AF1) of USD 89.1 million to:
  • Expand VCDP activities to three (3) new states-Enugu, Kogi and Nasarawa - and to a total of 57 Local Goverment Areas (LGAs) from 30 LGAs at the Mid-term Review (MTR) of VCDP, in the entire nine states; and
  • Support the mainstreaming of issues that were not considered at the design of VCDP, consistent with national and IFAD policies; climate-smart agricultural practices; conflict mitigation as the conflict increases between farmers and herdsmen for land resources: nutrition and financial inclusion.
• The VCDP-AF1 focuses on enhancing the productivities and profitability of smallholder farmers (who cultivate not more than 5ha of land under rice/cassava) and mall/medium-scale agro-processors (with processing capacity of an average of 2MT/day for cassava and 4MT/day for rice) by improving their access to markets, and capacity to increase yield as well as add value to locally produced raw materials through improved processing and packaging.
• The programme is being implemented through three mutually reinforcing components; Agricultural Market Development, Smallholder Productivity Enhancement and Programme Management and Coordination.

Job Summary

• The Senior Accountant will work under the direct supervision of the Financial Controller.

Main Responsibility

• The Senior Accountant will work under the direct supervision of the Financial Controller in close collaboration with the State Accountants for the implementation of accounting systems consistent with international accounting standards and principles and Government requirements to ensure proper use of funds in line with the respective legal agreements.

Specific Duties

• Prepare Programme's Financial Statements on:
  • Monthly
  • Quarterly
  • Bi-Annually
  • Annually
• Ensure accuracy of computations and completeness of payment request at the PMU in terms of:
  • Receiving approval for payments
  • Uploading of payment on remita platform
  • Checking of retirements by staff
  • Checking of contract documents for completeness and implementation support.
• Check vouchers coming from the participating States for completeness:
  • Account payables
  • Invoices
  • Vouchers
  • Journals
  • Contract documentation and management
  • Goods received and issued to user departments.
• Participate in financial management monitoring in the participating States and visits to sites.
• Checking of postings and generation of reports on flexible accounting software for correctness/completeness of entries in conjunction with the Financial Controller
• Facilitate preparation, processing and replenishment, reimbursement or direct payment of SOEs and Withdrawal Applications in conjunction with the Financial Controller.
• Any other tasks that might be assigned to him/her by the Financial Controller.

Reporting and Location:

• The position will be based in the NPMU office located in Abuja.
• The Senior Accountant will report directly to the Financial Controller.

Qualifications and Work Experience

• First Degree in Accountancy or relevant fields
• Professional qualification in Accountancy
• Minimum of five (5) years post-qualification work experience
• Familiarity with Flexible Accounting Software
• Must be computer literate
• Experience working with Donor Assisted Projects and firms is an added advantage
• Possession of professional qualifications in Accounting is an added advantage
• Good knowledge/experience of rural development challenges and dynamics.