Finance Manager

Lubuto Library Partners Zambia Office

Finance Manager

Background – Lubuto Library Partners

Lubuto Library Partners (LLP) is a non-profit non-governmental development organization, headquartered in the U.S. with program operations initially in Zambia and plans to expand to other African countries.  LLP’s mission is to enlighten and enrich the lives of children and youth in sub-Saharan Africa, and to especially provide those not in school and highly vulnerable opportunities to develop the knowledge and skills that will reconnect them with their culture and community, and empower them to participate fully in society.

The Lubuto Library model provides high-quality public libraries, providing accessible and holistic educational services to demonstrate and advocate for the impact that public libraries can have in providing opportunities for equitable education and poverty reduction.

LLP constructs enduring open-access libraries whose design is inspired by traditional and contemporary social, economic and cultural patterns and which freely offer comprehensive collections of well-chosen books and technology resources. Lubuto libraries serve as safe havens and are the center for dynamic library programming offering education, psychosocial support and self-expression through reading, music, art, drama, computers, mentoring and other activities.

With a fundamental focus on capacity-building, LLP maintains a continuous learning relationship for children and youth public library services with a growing network of Lubuto libraries owned and operated by Zambian organizations, developing a model poised to scale regionally.

FINANCE MANAGER 

The Finance Manager will be based in LLP’s Zambia office on a 40-hour per week basis. He/she will lead and coordinate effective management of finance, manage all aspects of accounting, and regular audits for LLP’s Zambia office, and develop/institutionalize strong financial internal control mechanisms/system for the organization and will reports to the Country Director.

Key Responsibilities and Tasks:

Accounting

• Advising the Country Director on all financial aspects of the organization
• Ensuring compliance with organizational policies and financial procedures
• Posting all expenses into Quick Books accounting software and ensuring that all expenses are accurately allocated to the appropriate budget lines
• Preparing the payroll and updating staff leave days on payroll
• Managing cash flow and advising the Country Director on all banking and cash flow related issues
• Preparing all statutory returns before due dates
• Reconciling mobile money transaction with the administration manager
• Liaising with Headquarters and sending fund transfer requests to the President in collaboration with the Country Director.
• Processing all inter account bank transfers at the National Office
• In liaising with the Book keeper (Contractual), ensuring that the bank reconciliations are done and completed on a timely basis.
• Managing the LLP Inventory capital assets
• Preparing financial monthly and quarterly reports in accordance with the donor’s reporting format and year-end financial statements for audits.
• Preparing the monthly financial reports for submission to the Treasurer to facilitate preparation of the quarterly Treasurer’s report.
• Monitoring expenditure against program budgets and prepares the Budget versus Actual expenditure report for the national office and headquarters as and when they are required.
• Assisting the Country Director in developing annual and program budgets
• Maintaining all relevant books and records of accounts at all times using the available accounting software and report all financial matters to the Country Director as requested.
• Making sure that all transactions have been posted and are in LLP’s accounting software in a timely manner.
• Preparing financial statements which shall reflect all financial transactions in respect of the work carried out by LLP.
• Meet with the Country Director and President when grant is awarded to review responsibilities for grant management and reporting
• Through the Country Director, collaborate with Head Office to ensure proper and timely expenditure of grant funds in compliance with applicable guidelines
• Maintain a regular communication to inform the Head Office of current issues relating to utilization of funds
• Treatment and recording of all accounting transactions using Generally Accepted Accounting Practices. In particular, attention will be given and not limited to the following:
• All external funds have been used in accordance with conditions stipulated in the financing agreements with due attention to economy and efficiency and only for the purpose for which financing was provided.
• Goods, consultancy and other services, and civil works financed out of the Partners funds have been procured in accordance with stipulations in the financing agreement
• All supporting documents, records and accounts have been kept in respect of all Partners ventures including expenditures.
• Each donor will have separate accounts and reporting done separately before consolidation.

Internal Controls

• Reviewing LLP’s internal control systems and recommending appropriate remedial measures where necessary
• Ensuring that all bank reconciliations are done monthly
• Carrying out mobile money reconciliations and advising on cash flow position of the organization.

Reporting

• Ensuring that monthly accounting and financial reports are prepared and submitted to the Country Director within one working week following the end of each month.
• Preparing other reports for submission to LLP’s management and/or Board of Directors to support decision-making on an as-needed basis.
• Preparing year end accounts with all supporting schedules for audit purposes.

Overall, the key outputs will be as follows:

• Weekly financial progress report
• Monthly Financial Reports
• Monthly and Quarterly Management Accounts
• Year-end financial statements
• Other reports as needed by Management

Qualification, Skills and Experience

• Must have a Full ACCA/ZICA or a degree in Accounting
• Must have 2-3 years’ work experience in an International NGO and knowledge of managing USAID/PERFAR Grants
• Proficient in MS Office
• Well vested in payroll processing and other statutory requirements
• Experience working with quick books accounting package
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written skills as well as good interpersonal skills
• Must be a team player

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