Project Name: Northern
Uganda Literacy Program (NULP)
Mango Tree is an
international NGO whose mission is twofold: to empower African educators with
the best tools and methods, and to serve as a socially responsible business
model for Uganda. Mango Tree was created in 2000, the brainchild of an American
Peace Corps Volunteer who served as a trainer for primary school teachers in
eastern Uganda. During his time upcountry, he experienced firsthand the need
for quality educational materials – created using local artists and locally
available materials – that fit within the national education curriculum. He
decided to address this need by creating a business, rather than an NGO. In his
own words: “There are many NGOs in Uganda that do a lot of good work. What I
believe Uganda desperately needs, however, are socially responsible companies
that can serve as role models for other businesses.”
Mango Tree is
known for making high quality, impact-oriented educational and communication
tools. With its first mission in mind, the company has helped many
organizations transform information that is only accessible to those at an
academic level into a range of educational materials that are understandable
for audiences of varying literacy levels. Every day, Mango Tree supports
thousands of professionals to educate millions of the most vulnerable members
of emerging economies in Africa on life changing topics such as health,
HIV/AIDS, nutrition, safe water, sanitation, hygiene, agriculture, life skills,
economic empowerment and good governance. Mango Tree does this by executing
tool development projects for over 100 clients every year. Mango Tree operates
a multi-million dollar early primary education program in northern Uganda.
Mango Tree’s
Northern Uganda Literacy Program (NULP) is working in the Lango language
community, based in Lira. Our goal is to improve literacy performance among
pupils in early primary classrooms (P1-P3) and strengthen the literacy
infrastructure in northern Uganda so that reading and writing, especially in
the local language, become a meaningful part of daily life. The Literacy
Laboratory Project (LLP) within NULP focuses on improving pupils’ performance
in reading and writing in their local language and English in the first three
years of primary school. Mango Tree has developed a literacy instructional
model, methodology and teaching and learning materials for early primary
classrooms in both the mother tongue and English. Following a successful pilot
impact evaluation in 2013, Mango Tree is now implementing the project in a
larger number of schools and districts in the Lango Sub-region. The Mango Tree
literacy model has a number of key innovations that make it significantly
different from, and more successful than, other large-scale literacy projects
currently underway in Uganda and East Africa.
Job Summary: The Finance Manager (FM) will be tasked with increasing
the financial management capacity within NULP. As such the FM is a senior
management position and she/he will work closely with the Program Director and
the Project Managers for NULP as a pro-active member of the NULP management
team. The FM will be responsible for the financial management of NULP. The FM
will be directly responsible for financial planning and budgets, adherence to
financial policies and procedures, procurement and payments, documentation and
accountability for all program activities. She/he will also actively
participate in the strategic planning of activities, support managers with
operational budgets and information to guide implementation, and ensure
adherence to MT policies and procedures. Working with the PD, the FM will play
a vital role in financial reporting towards donors. The FM will be responsible
for ensuring that all reports are accurate and compiled in a timely matter
according to the agreed schedule. Donors include Hewlett Foundation, Comic
Relief, DfID, and IGC.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
1.
Financial Administration:
·
Manage all payments and receipts in accordance with
the MT’s financial procedures
·
Ensure all transactions are properly recorded in
QuickBooks
·
Responsible for petty cash management and handle all
cash payments and receipts
·
Carry out monthly reconciliations of all bank and
petty cash accounts
·
Carry out relevant financial close processes for all
month ends, quarter ends and year end.
·
Ensure all financial documents are properly filed
and filing systems are kept accurate and up-to-date
·
Ensure effective and efficient interaction with
Finance Office MT Kampala on all procedural matters
·
Maintain and update Financial Policies Manual in
consultation with Finance Office MT Kampala.
2.
Financial Controls and Procedures:
·
Ensure strict adherence to organisation’s financial
policies, procedures and controls, including but not limited to authorising
transactions, safeguarding organisational assets and maintaining integrity of
financial records
·
Constantly review and improve the existing
procedures based on risk assessment and operational needs
·
Maintain and update Financial Procedures Manual as
required
·
The incumbent will maintain a proper asset register
3.
Budgeting and Reporting:
·
Oversee the annual budgeting process to ensure
timely preparation and approval of organisation’s Annual Budget, and any mid-term
budget reviews as needed
·
Routinely review and improve the existing budget
template to ensure its effectiveness and relevance to organisation’s activities
·
Ensure annual budgets are properly reflected in the
accounting system
·
Take a lead in creating an effective and timely
budget monitoring system in consultation with the management
·
Build the capacity of project teams in developing
and monitoring their respective budgets
·
Prepare and submit monthly Budget Variance reports
for all programme components for the use by the management
4.
Cash Management and Organisational Development:
·
Prepare and review regular cash forecasts to ensure
sufficient liquidity for operational activities
·
Maintain current deposit arrangements in liaison
with organisation’s bankers, and continuously search for new investment
opportunities to maximise the return on cash balances
·
Support the Program Director in developing a sound
cost management strategy to maintain and improve the efficiency of all
operations
·
Take a lead in developing Projects Financial Manuals
in collaboration with project staff
·
The incumbent will support management and the Board
in strategic decision making, as required
5.
Fundraising and Donor Liaison:
·
Render support in preparing financial parts of
funding proposals when requested by Program Director
·
Assist the Program Director in his/her liaison with
existing and potential donors, as required
·
Ensure timely preparation and submission of all
donor financial reports
·
Ensure annual audit of organisation’s financial
statements is properly carried out
·
Offer support to Finance Office MT Kampala in
organising and carrying out annual audits
·
Manage any donor specific project and programme
audits as required
·
Regularly review all supplier and service provider
contracts for compliance with organisational policies and procedures and
principles of sound financial management
·
Maintain a database of all supplier and service
provider contracts
·
Ensure all suppliers and service providers are paid
on time and in accordance with the terms of the contract
·
Perform regular reviews of existing suppliers and
service providers to ensure continuous value for money
·
Guide management on any issues concerning external
contracting, on request
Qualifications, Skills and
Experience:
·
The ideal candidate for the Finance Manager
placement should hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting or Business Management
or its equivalent, from a reputable post-secondary institution
·
Professional Accounting qualification (CPA, ACCA) or
in the late stages of obtaining one
·
The Finance Manager should have a strong financial
background with at least four years of financial management experience,
preferably with an International NGO.
·
Previous experience with reporting towards the NULP
donors will be considered an added advantage.
·
Prior experience of working in developing country in
multi-cultural environment
·
Detailed working knowledge of computerised
accounting systems i.e. proficiency in QuickBooks
·
High degree of computer literacy
·
Clear and effective written and oral communication
in English.
·
Familiarity with major international donor agencies
(USAID, DfID, Comic Relief, etc.)
·
Self-motivated and ambitious
·
High degree of integrity and professionalism
·
Independence, ability to work with minimal
supervision
·
Excellent organizational skills
·
Independence and initiative, creating thinking and
focus on continuous
·
Accuracy, attention to detail
·
Excellent communication skills, ability to communicate
effectively at all levels
·
Sense of humor and a positive attitude
·
Competitive salary to commensurate with experience
·
AAR health insurance
·
Housing in Lira town provided
·
Work-related transport to and from Kampala covered
·
Reimbursement for work-related expenses (e.g.
Airtime, Internet)
All suitably
qualified and interested candidates should send a cover letter (no longer than
one page) which should include why you are interested in becoming Mango Tree’s Finance
Manager, NULP and why you think your experience makes you the
best candidate. Please also send a copy of your CV and details for three
references to: jobs@mangotreeuganda.org.
NB: Please include the following in the subject line:
Application for the position of Finance Manager, NULP
Deadline: 31st August 2015
Duty
Station: Lira, Uganda
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