Finance Specialist – Budgeting & Reporting

Job Level Specifications

Essential

• Post graduate diploma in Financial Management, Accounting & Finance
  
• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration with Accounting option
  
• Minimum of Five (5) years’ relevant working experience with an international NGO in a similar role
  
• Working experience on budget preparation, budget management and financial reports
  
• Excellent computer skills - advanced Microsoft Excel
  
• Experience in preparation of donor Budgets and reports
  

Proposal Budget Development, Grant Management.

• Support the Financial Controller and program staff in preparing grant budgets for new proposals.
  
• 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 variances in spending.
  
• 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.
  

Finance Systems

• Prepare and post adjustment entries in compliance with donor requirements, ensuring all supporting documentation is attached and recorded in SAGE.
  
• Support the Financial Controller in updating the Chart of Accounts (COA) and creating/amending account codes for new projects.
  
• Verify that donor and country office budgets are correctly uploaded into SAGE and share details (codes, activity IDs) with program and grants teams to ensure accurate expense coding.
  
• Reconcile HQ intercompany recharges and ensure postings are accurate.
  

Budget Monitoring, Spend planning and Rolling budgets 

• Review 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).
  

Management & Donor Reporting

• Prepare donor financial reports for review by the Financial Controller, ensuring compliance with donor requirements and timely submission.
  
• Perform project reconciliations alongside financial reporting, posting adjustment journals as needed.
  
• Review grant trial balances and ensure all grant-related balance sheet accounts are reconciled.
  
• Monitor grant inventory status and take necessary action during donor reporting.
  
• Support statutory and project-specific audits.
  
• Prepare periodic financial reports for donors, HQ, and senior management team (SMT) members as required.
  

Other Tasks

• 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 Financial Controller during Internal and external audit. Ensuring that all documentation and required Schedules are made available for the Auditor in good time. 
  
• Support the procurement department in ensuring that tendering and bidding process is fair, compliant, competitive, and finance focal person in the procurement committee.