Finance & Partnerships Specialist

Job Title: Finance & Partnerships Specialist

Location: Mbale, Uganda

Reports to: Project Coordinator with dotted line to Financial Controller

Program Background

GOAL is currently implementing the Green Resilient Enterprise for Empowered NTFP Development (GREEN) and Charity: Water Project in Uganda. The GREEN Project is a 28-month initiative implemented under the ReForEst Uganda Programme with funding from Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and the European Union. The project seeks to enhance livelihoods, jobs and ecological resilience through sustainable Non-Timber Forest Product (NTFP) enterprises while contributing to forest conservation, restoration and climate resilience across 16 districts in Eastern Uganda and Napak District in Karamoja. The project focuses on five priority NTFP value chains: bamboo, honey/apiculture, shea, cashew, and wild mango. Through a Green Entrepreneurship Platform (GEP), incubation services, acceleration support, cottage industry, access to finance and market linkages, the project will strengthen 140 enterprises, 50 producer groups and support 10,000 households along these NTFP value chains. The Charity: Water Project supports sustainable WASH programming in Mbale and surrounding areas through improved access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene services, community engagement, behavior change, infrastructure monitoring and service sustainability.

Job Summary

The Finance & Partnerships Specialist will work closely with project technical coordinator, monitoring, and evaluation (M&E), Grants and partnership team and finance operations teams. He/she will support donor reporting, monthly and quarterly spend analysis, budget proposal development, budget realignment, CSO and PSA due diligence and onboarding processes. He/she will collaborate with various departments to ensure accurate financial tracking, reporting, and compliance with both organizational and donor requirements.

Essential Criteria

• Qualified accountant with completion of any of the following; CIMA, ACA, ACCA and/or CPA
• Minimum of five (5) years’ professional working experience with an international NGO in a similar role
• Minimum of 3 years’ experience in audit or a senior role
• Working experience on budget preparation, budget management and financial reports
• Experience in preparation of donor Budgets and reports
• Experience in private Sector Sub-grantees
• Strong analytical and conceptual skills, with emphasis on planning, working to tight deadlines, providing training, facilitating capacity building and supervising team activities
• Excellent computer skills - advanced Microsoft Excel

Desirable Criteria

• Ability to Manage multiple donor project, deadlines and priorities with minimal technical support
• Working knowledge of Sage

Key Responsibilities

Proposal Budget Development, Grant Management

• Support the Financial Controller and program staff in preparing grant budgets
• Assist in revising and amending existing grant budgets, ensuring all costs are accurately covered, budgets are balanced, and donor/GOAL formats are correctly applied
• Provide monthly grant-level financial analysis and advise budget holders on Spend variances
• Represent Finance in project management cycle meetings
• Review downstream partner financial proposals and budgets for compliance with donor guidelines, grant agreements, and GOAL budgeting rules

Budget Monitoring, Spend Planning and Rolling Budgets

• Review project forecasts to ensure compliance with GOAL and donor regulations prior to approval
• Support the Financial Controller in setting up budgets and forecasts in line with donor reporting formats
• Track support cost spending and provide quarterly analysis to inform budget amendments or new proposals
• Review and consolidate program team spending plans before submission to donors
• Provide guidance to operations, program coordinators, managers, and budget holders on the use of Budget Monitoring Tools (BMTs)

Partner Financial Management

• Generate and submit monthly BMTs to the team and update forecasts accordingly
• Ensure payments to project partners and/or sub-grantees are computed correctly and according to the signed partnership agreements
• Ensure periodic partner management accounts are reviewed, and partner spend is in line with agreed activities and in adherence with GOAL and donor requirements
• Ensure timely, accurate and high-quality financial reporting on project activities including Partners
• Ensure that Partners effectively manage donor funds in pursuit of agreed objectives
• Participate in potential partner due-diligence assessment, partner capacity assessment, partners project kick-off and close-out meeting
• Review sub-grant agreement for donor’s audit requirement, instalments, reporting, etc.

Other Tasks

• Lead the expenditure verifications and audit as per donor rules
• Conduct regular training sessions for new staff and GOAL’s field offices on Budget Management and donor regulations for Program, Operations and Finance staff in close coordination with Grants team
• Support the procurement department in ensuring that tendering and bidding process is fair, compliant, competitive, and finance focal person in the procurement committee