About US:
The Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) is a sub-regional not-for-profit organisation covering eleven countries in Eastern and Central Africa, comprising Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its mission is: To mobilize regional collective action in agricultural research for development, extension, training and education enhance sustainable use of resources in Eastern and Central Africa. The Goal of ASARECA is to reduce poverty, eradicate hunger, promote inclusive economic growth; protect the planet and enhance competitiveness of the sub- regional agricultural systems.’

Job Summary: The Accountant will be responsible for record keeping and management, management of petty cash transactions, handle bank transactions within the finance unit.
The job holder will be part of ASARECA’s finance function. The incumbent will also support and provide financial services in budgeting, accounting, disbursements and reporting and ensure that accounting staff perform their duties and deliver their assignments efficiently and timely.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:
Financial Management:
Tasked with identifying and contributing to the improvement of internal controls systems and procedures within the finance unit and support the implementation of new financial policies and procedures
Support the Head of Finance to initiate and draft correspondences relating to financial matters to donors, banks, customers etc.
Support the head of finance and program staff to develop budgets (key component to any proposal development) for submission to donors while ensuring that all proposed activities are well budget for
Coordinate the compilation of all internal and external financial reports for all programs
Provide relevant useful and timely information to senior management with respect to the current financial position and financial consequences of any proposed decisions and or activities
Ensure that all taxation and legislative requirements of host government are complied with at all times
Review expenditures to ensure grant compliance with donor and ASARECA requirements
Regularly monitor the cash positions to ensure that business cash flow adequately supports project
Activities:
Supporting staff to develop a stronger understanding of ASARECA financial systems and accounting procedures.
Support the building of the finance unit staff capacity.
Payments:
Analyse duty travel claims, workshop expenditure accountabilities, telecommunication bills, Projects Expenditure Accountability returns and forward them to Accounts Staff to raise vouchers in the Accounting system.
Review the accounting vouchers generated in the Accounting system for proper classification, accuracy of analysis codes, amounts and details of payees.
Payroll and related Duties:
Prepare staff payroll for approval and process payments in liaison with the Head of Human Resources and ensure timely submission of PAYE returns to URA, NSSF and executing these returns; so that the organization does not suffer penalties for late payment.
Follow up receipt of monthly casual wage sheets and process timely payments.
Accounting System Maintenance:
Ensure proper functioning of the Accounting system at all times by liaising with the System Administrator and service providers.
Ensure proper encoding and posting of all approved financial transactions in the Accounting system
Ensure accounting journals and source documents are kept systematically and are safely stored
Ledger accounts maintenance:
Review account balances, check entries and reconcile transactions to ensure the accuracy of all account balances.
Ensure the completion of the transactions process, close books and timely extraction of monthly financial reports.

Bank and Cash Management:
Follow-up receipt of monthly bank statements and prepare bank reconciliation statements on a monthly basis
Maintain register books for bank payments and receipts and journal entries.
Analyse accountabilities for petty cash before replenishment.
Reporting:
Prepare budget vs actual comparison expenditure reports by cost centres and distribute them to respective cost centre managers (head of units/ departments).
Regularly track reporting dates for specific donors and prepare their financial statements on a timely basis by extracting data from the Accounting system.
Ensure up to date and systematic record keeping of accounting support documents.
Advances and accounts monitoring:
Monitor cash advanced to staff and track business and personal account balances.
Update staff on status of their advances before recovery can be done.
Prepare and update statements of staff personal and advance accounts on a monthly basis.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
The ideal candidate must hold a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration/Commerce, Finance/Accounting
Possession of a Master’s degree in Business Administration, Finance/Accounting is an added advantage.
Professional qualification (ACCA, CIMA, CPA) and membership to a professional body is a must.
A minimum of five years of related working experience in a busy accounts environment.
Knowledge and experience of applicable donor rules and regulations such as for USAID, World Bank, DFID, EU will be an added advantage.
High degree of integrity
Knowledge of financial systems and procedures
Excellent interpersonal, administrative and team skills
Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Good computer skills
Highly flexible and ability to follow up on queries
Ability to work with minimum supervision

How to Apply:
All suitably qualified and interested candidates should send your application in confidence to the address below by indicating the job title on the subject line and send (by post or email). The application letter and curriculum vitae (as one PDF document) must contain details of your qualifications, experience, present position, current and expected remuneration as well as copies of professional/ academic certificates. Please include day and evening telephone numbers, e-mail address, names and addresses of three references. Please send to:

Head of Human Resource and Administration
ASARECA
Plot 5 Mpigi Road
P.O. Box 765, Entebbe, Uganda

E-mail to: hr@asareca.org

Deadline: 14th August 2017