Uganda: Mentor Accountant for Community Dev Org

Our partner is a relatively new organisation registered in 2012, and focus primarily on the rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners. Prisons in Uganda have a high rate of overcrowding, largely made up of young people on remand for petty crime committed through a lack of education or economic opportunity. Many young people reoffend after release. The prisons themselves do not have rehabilitation resources, so our partner has formed a partnership with several prisons, whereby they give training to inmates and wardens in entrepreneurship and finance. Once inmates are released, they are supported in setting up small businesses, giving them an alternative income, away from crime.

They also works with the government on a project based on youth unemployment, ensuring that a current government programme in entrepreneurship training is offered to all young people, regardless of their gender, location, tribe or political affiliation. In Gulu, they are working with local women, offering those cooking skills and again entrepreneurship training, enabling them to make and sell stoves for an income.

You will be the first AfID volunteer with them, and your role will include undertaking a general assessment of their financial controls and procedures, identifying any weaknesses, and recommending and implementing any changes which you deem necessary. As the organisation is still quite young, the Director feels there are many areas in which they are still clumsy, or under developed. This includes budgeting, reporting and general bookkeeping. They have created some policies, but they would like you to make sure they are correct and working efficiently. They have particular difficulty writing the financial parts of reports, and ideally wants a system that is robust and can be understood by all staff, and written policies which can be easily passed on in case of a change of staff.

They are also due to be audited in February, so depending on your arrival date, would appreciate help in either preparing for this, or implementing any issues raised by the auditors.

Although the volunteer would be based in Kampala, they would facilitate travel to Gulu for you as well, so that you could see all of their projects in the field.

We envision this to be a 2-3 months placement. Accommodation is provided free of cost by our partner.

For more information feel free to contact us on +442087417000 or email on volunteer@afid.org.uk

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