Job Summary:

The Finance and Operations Officer will provide support and assistance to the technical team

on project finance and operations in Malawi. They will perform a variety of financial and operational duties, including core and/or field activity budgets, donor reports, travel logistics, procurement, and sub award management (if applicable). This position will prepare and justify proposal and/or operational budgets, and review operational budget analysis and budget system/report testing. Prepares annual program and General and Administrative (G&A) budgets with periodic updates as needed. Performs monthly financial analysis for direct projects as assigned. Prepares and distributes monthly management financial reports. Provide financial guidance to program and field office staff. Provide training to supporting program personnel on financial reporting systems and procedures. Develop, monitor, and adjust fiscal year budgets. Perform Actual vs. Budget analysis, forecasting, cost allocation and tracking, and other quantitative and qualitative analyses. Prepare routine monthly financial and labor related reports to be distributed to Senior Management, if applicable. Assist in the design and maintenance of supporting financial modules related to grants, awards, and contract management. Assists in development of best practices and training initiatives as requested.

Accountabilities:

Financial Duties:

• Assist in the development and review of program budgets and expenditures.
• Regularly monitors the budget; conducts analysis on discrepancies and ensure adherence to applicable regulations.
• Demonstrates basic knowledge of review and submission of budget revisions and are familiar with the budget systems.
• Analyzes spending patterns and identifies potential areas of concerns.
• Assists in providing technical guidance to staff relative to budgetary guidelines and laws.
• Prepares a variety of analyses, reports, and comparisons, as required.
• Reviews program budgets and expenditures and approves budget revisions for accuracy and program efficiency.
• Regularly monitors the budget; conducts analysis on spending patterns to identify potential strengths and weaknesses.
• Analyze project budgets and expenditures.
• Provides financial tracking of project revenues and expenditures, including sub award management, if applicable.
• Develops, reviews and manages annual work plan and budgeting process.
• Independently troubleshoots errors within the budget and provides recommendations to management for program improvements.
• Conducts spending forecasts or budget projections. Highly knowledgeable of all current internal budgetary policies and guidelines as well as external state and federal regulations.
• Review and interpret laws for intent and communicate their impact.
• Prepare VAT report and support with the VAT claim process
• Review project financials report for month end closings, including but not limited to, bank and petty cash accounts reconciliations, travel reconciliations, and travel advance
• Set up, maintain, and update the filing system to include financial reports submitted to the FHI 360 Malawi office and headquarters (ESARO and US based)
• Other duties as assigned

Operational:

• Support the country office team in the procurement process by providing financial information and documentation as needed, and ensure the procurement aligns with the FHI financial system and donor compliance. Work with Regional office and US office, as needed
• Manage inventory list of IDDS project equipment and supplies, in accordance with FHI 360 and USAID regulations, and submit annually to the Procurement and Operations Manager.
• Assist with the financial logistics of planning and management of meetings, workshops, and trainings.
• Participate in the coordination of travel authorization (TA) and travel expenses report (TER) between project staff and country office finance staff to ensure timely submission of the TAs and TERs and timely payments.
• Support financial aspect of travel arrangements e.g. hotel, ticketing, travel insurance, etc.
• Support project closing process as needed.

Applied Knowledge & Skills:

• Comprehensive knowledge of the principles of the company’s budgetary processes.
• Thorough understanding of general accounting/financial principles and methods in budgeting and administrative management.
• Capable of projecting the future fiscal requirements by considering the various future projects of the organization.
• Analyzes the cost benefits, studying the financial requests and research on various funding procedures for the organization.
• Reallocates the excess funds if any deficit occurs in the funds.
• Analyze monthly department budgeting and accounting reports to maintain expenditure controls.
• Suggests suitable modifications to the existing budget plan in order to improve efficiency and profits.
• Consolidates the required data to prepare budget presentations.
• Provide advice and technical assistance with cost analysis, fiscal allocation, and budget preparation.
• Review operating budgets to analyze trends affecting budget needs. Ability to review contracts, as needed.

Education:

** Bachelor’s Degree or its International Equivalent.

Experience and other Qualifications:

• Requires a minimum of 5+ years relevant experience in a professional business environment.
• Computerized accounting software experience, basic computer skills, with the ability to use Microsoft and other applications such as SharePoint and proficiency in spreadsheet software required.
• Must demonstrate excellent analytical and organizational skills.
• Must have experience with U.S government rules and regulations and experience working in a non-governmental organization (NGO) environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English

• Able to work independently and in a team
• Ability to travel within country if needed
• Malawi nationals only

Problem Solving & Impact:

• Analyzes issues and problems and proposes solutions which are consistent with the company’s priorities and financial resources.
• Uses tools to identify meaningful patterns or relationships and draws conclusions about the meaning of the data.
• Identifies cause and effect of problems; looks at underlying problems for solution.
• Collects, relates, associates or compares data to identify options/alternatives.
• Identifies problems that require in- depth analysis.
• Gathers and analyzes/interprets information to better understand problems.
• Creates relevant options for solving problems.

This job posting summarizes the main duties of the job. It neither prescribes nor restricts the exact tasks that may be assigned to carry out these duties. This document should not be construed in any way to represent a contract of employment. Management reserves the right to review and revise this document at any time.