Integrated Seed and Sector Development Uganda (ISSD Uganda) is an independent local NGO in Uganda, which aims to be a leading agricultural development organization in fostering resilient seed and food systems for sustainable agricultural production. ISSD Uganda builds on the impactful outcomes and experiences of the successfully implemented seed projects that focused on; seed sector transformation; capacity building and knowledge transfer; partnerships and sector coordination, as well as supporting fragile communities including refugees.
Project overview
Restoring Resilience of highland farmer communities and watersheds in Uganda is a 4-year project funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Kampala. The project is a land restoration and farming systems project in the Western and South Western Highlands of Uganda, implemented in a collaborative partnership between Wageningen Environmental Research (WENR) as lead partner, and ISSD Uganda, as the local implementing partner. The project works through three pathways to achieve its goal to build resilient farmer communities and watersheds in the highlands of Uganda. In Pathway 1 “resilient farming systems” the project focuses on empowerment and motivation of farmer households to work towards establishing resilient farming systems through the PIP approach; Pathway 2 “watershed restoration” focusses on restoring natural resources and ecosystem functioning to enable restored watershed resilience; and Pathway 3 “improved marketing” focusses on improved marketing opportunities for all farmers directly engaged in the project, and the wider community. The project headquarters will be in Fort portal.
Position overview
Based at the project HQ, the Finance and Admin Officer serves in a dual role to provide appropriate finance and administrative support to effectively implement the project activities. On the finance side, the position supports the Finance Manager to maintain accurate, comprehensive, and up to date financial records of the project and ensure that funds are spent efficiently within the limits of pre-agreed activity budget plans. On the administrative side, s/he is responsible for administrative and operational duties including office running, fleet, assets, security, ICT and vendor management (e.g., service providers for consultancies, landlords, IT, etc.). The position also works closely with field finance and admin staff to provide technical support and guidance in their finance and admin related duties.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
• The Finance & Admin officer has the following specific duties and responsibilities;
• Keep up to date financial records for the project and support the Finance & Admin Manager to provide monthly overviews of expenditure against budget.
Ensure all accounting records are duly verified, complete and posted into the accounting system as per the organization’s financial guidelines.
• Review expenditures relating to all accounting documents for accuracy and consistency with the organization’s financial guidelines. This includes travel to field offices to conduct periodic internal audits of expenditures by field offices and partners including verification of rates, recipients, etc.
• Provide technical support to field finance and admin officers in areas of compliance and financial accountabilities.
• Keep up to date records on balances and budget line expenditures for approved field activities and advise the FM accordingly in order to ensure efficiency in planning field activities.
Liaison with bank officials for project related financial transactions; this includes acting as a bank agent for the project bank account to make payments, cash withdrawals, etc.
• Follow-up on queries with field offices to ensure timely response to all finance concerns raised.
• Participate in and assist with external project audits.
• Be available to cover the other field finance & admin officers during absentia. Office Administration
Develop and maintain effective office systems (e.g., IT support, office maintenance, fixed assets, supplier contacts), ensuring they are consistent with ISSD Uganda operating requirements.
• Support the efficient running of the project HQ office daily operations.
• Provide administrative support to project management team
• Liaise with field finance and admin officers to ensure field offices are adequately supported and fully functional.
• Supervise the acquisition and maintenance of project computer equipment and supplies in accordance with ISSD Uganda procurement policies and budget.
• Main focal person for outsourced ICT services including ICT consultant to ensure all end-user computer and related IT needs are addressed in a timely manner
• Manage logistical support for office operations, including work-related travel, meetings, workshops and office events
Liaise with the ISSD HQ admin team for matters related to insurance services, claims, etc.
• Oversee various aspects of fleet management related to the project including travel plans and vehicle allocation, fuel consumption reports, vehicle/motorbike service, repairs and maintenance.
Human Resources
• Liaise with ISSD HQ admin team for project related HR matters such as recruitment (solicitation, shortlisting, and interviews); member care (staff welfare, benevolence, weddings, babies, team building activities, retreats); benefits management (leave, medical insurance); and grievances Maintain copies of personnel records for project staff in a secure cabinet including contracts, leave booking forms, appraisals, etc.
• Ensure project staff have timely access to benefits like airtime, internet bundles, medical insurance and attend to complaints on benefits, if any
Coordinate project staff feedback on HR & Administration matters Line management and reporting
Line management and reporting
• Supervise and support the project Drivers and office assistants in their day-to-day work
• Submit monthly report updates on finance and admin units to the Finance Manager.
• Prepare presentations for the project monthly and quarterly review meetings.
Qualifications, Experience, & Skills
Bachelor’s Degree in finance, or business administration, or related field
• ACCA CPA at least Level 2 will be an added advantage
• At least 5 years’ experience in finance, HR, and office administration, ideally with an NGO.
• Experience in setting up new accounting systems.
• Experience in book-keeping and computerized accounting systems (Tally, QuickBooks, etc.).
• Experience in making improvements to financial systems; an aptitude for this work is an advantage.
• Experience in reporting to donors in an NGO environment.
Good understanding of the Ugandan laws related to tax, insurance, etc.
• Experience in HR policies and procedures and administration systems.
• Experience of setting-up and managing office systems.
• Excellent IT skills, including Microsoft Office packages (Word, Excel, Outlook and Powerpoint).
• Good planning and organisational skills and efficient work methods.
• Ability to work well in a team, as well as independently.
• Proficiency in English languages (both spoken and written) and ability to communicate in local languages is an added advantage.
To apply for a position of your interest, please find the respective detailed job description on the ISSD Uganda website via: www.issduganda.org . Then email your application (Cover Letter and CV maximum 4 pages) to hr@issduganda.org while indicating the job title and desired location in the email subject, not later than 4th December 2022 at 5:00pm EAT. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.