Finance Specialist

Project Background

The Feed the Future Policy LINK project will strengthen the capacity of local actors and institutions to lead and manage the agricultural transformation process and contribute effectively and collectively to improved, broad-based food security policy outcomes.

Specifically, the program aims to strengthen food security policy systems by investing in and reinforcing productive human and social capital and developing strategic partnerships that help bring these innovations and capacity investments to scale in order to achieve a critical mass of local actors with the ability and opportunity to effect positive policy change through collective action.

Policy LINK’s general approach is grounded in facilitative leadership and collaborative governance, which emphasize engaging stakeholders from civil society and public and private sectors in consensus-oriented decision making, collaborative problem solving, and adaptive learning.

Policy LINK in Ethiopia

USAID/Policy LINK Ethiopia is a five-year activity with the overall objective of supporting the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) and other policy system actors in their aspiration to develop an inclusive policy development process. Specifically, the activity will facilitate the transition towards a policy development paradigm driven by multiple stakeholders.

This approach to policymaking will strengthen the capacities of Ethiopia’s main agricultural policy system actors and institutions and support them to engage stakeholders traditionally excluded from decision-making, including academia, financial institutions, the judiciary, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and private sector representatives from the national, regional, and local levels.

This approach is underpinned by Policy LINK’s overarching theory of change focused on increasing human and social capital, engaging policy system actors in collaborative processes, and developing mechanisms for collaborative governance and dynamic learning systems and platforms to sustain collective action.

Position Objectives

The Finance Specialist is a key member of the Project’s finance team. The Finance Specialist will provide accounting and financial analysis support and will prepare financial reports based on internal deadlines. The position is responsible for recording costs and day to day general accounting, accounts receivable/payable, payroll, assuring all backup documentation is audit ready, and troubleshooting accounting issues. This position will work collaboratively with local and home office staff and will report to the Finance Manager.

S/he will continually reinforce Policy LINK’s agreed-upon core purpose and principles, and ensure all decision-making is rooted in those purpose and principles. S/he will contribute to foster a learning environment in which personal and team growth is supported, with a shared understanding that the “team” always comes before the “individual.”

Responsibilities

The Finance Specialist will be responsible for the following:

General Accounting

• Initiates wire requests for field project implementation.

• Verifies vendor invoices for accuracy.

• Verifies accuracy of expenses, and project accounting codes.

• Ensures accurate and timely processing of invoices, advances and reimbursements, checks, and wire transfer payments.

• Ensures request for payments have appropriate approvals.

• Ensures the timely deposit of cash receipts.

• Responsible for recording and assigning costs in the project’s field accounting system.

• Routinely monitors bank account balances.

• Compiles backup documentation for all project related transactions and ensures completeness and appropriate review and approvals are documented.

• Verify, store, and ensure the quality scanning of all payment vouchers in SharePoint. Manage archive and facilitate ad-hoc archive requests for reference or audit purposes.

• Supports in replenishment of petty cash maintenance of field offices according to maximum petty cash policy and ensures that all petty cash procedures are followed.

• Ensures the safeguard of bank checks, cash receipts, and petty cash.

• Supports management of banking relationships.

• Prepares project cost data for review prior to sending to DAI Washington.

• Responsible for maintaining file management systems for soft and hard copy documentation.

• Maintains files on subawards/procurement/subcontractor documents and modifications as applicable.

• Supports periodic cash counts.

• Ensures non-billable expenses are thoroughly reviewed and kept to a minimum.

• Supports and ensures that taxes paid are tracked, recorded, and reported to USAID in accordance with guidelines.

• Coordinates with field staff for weekly wire transfer requests and process and follow-up with assigned bank for weekly wire transfers made from HO.

• Prepares vendor and remittance tax forms and ensure these are submitted in a timely manner.

• Prepares and submits monthly reconciliation reports for review.

• Monitors and submits advance, commitment, and subawards reports as applicable.

Payroll

• Follow-up on the submission of all timesheets, and processes timely and accurate payroll payments for the office, ensuring leave balances, payroll taxes and pension are accurate.

• Tracks and monitors leave balances in the payroll and liability payments.

Qualifications

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or equivalent.