« The African Legal Support Facility (“ALSF” or “Facility”) is an international organization dedicated to providing legal advice and technical assistance to African countries in matters pertaining to creditor litigation and complex commercial transactions. The goal of the Facility is to remove asymmetric technical capacities and level the field of legal expertise among parties during litigation and negotiations. The ALSF’s main objectives include: (i) assisting African Governments in defending against litigation brought against them by vulture funds (and other such entities); (ii) providing legal advisory services to African Governments in the negotiation of complex commercial transactions relating to natural resources & extractive industries, infrastructure/PPPs, energy and sovereign debt (“Key Sectors”); (iii) capacity building for lawyers and Government officials related to the above; and (iv) development of knowledge products.
The ALSF is hosted at the African Development Bank (AfDB), in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire and was established by Treaty on December 22, 2008. Its membership is open to (a) all AfDB member states; (b) other states; (c) AfDB; and (d) other international organizations or institutions. The ALSF currently has 60 members, comprising 53 countries and 7 international organizations.”.
THE POSITION:
Work under the supervision of the Senior Budget and Finance Officer to perform administrative and financial support functions including such tasks as the provision of and administrative services to support the coordination of the disbursement of operational activities; the execution of the staff financial administrative issues within the Facility; maintain administrative and budgetary control records; perform requisition for office supplies and equipment; review and compile supporting documents to all operational subjects’ matter areas regarding the disbursement process.
KEY FUNCTIONS:
Under the leadership of Senior Budget and Finance Officer, the Finance Assistant will be required to perform the following duties and responsibilities:
Financial and Operation
- Review appointment letters and letters of agreement to validate their conformity as supporting documents for the Projects Team prior to submission of all the requests for payment to the Finance Financial Control (FIFC) Team of AfDB.
- Monitor and screen all requests for payments provided by the Projects Team (invoices, receipts vouchers for their accuracy, agreements, non- objection letter and summary of claimed expenses) for each disbursement provided by Service Providers and/or by Task Manager.
- Control, and compile of all payment files for their submission into the Billing Tracking System ZBTS.
- Creation of Purchase Requisition in SAP Material Management SAP MM Module.
- Ensure strict compliance with the Bank’s administrative and fiduciary policies and guidelines and guarantee the effective management of resources and the smooth operation of the office.
- Review of staff contracts and create Service Entry Sheet in SAP Material Management Module SAP MM Module to process payment.
- Create as requested the trips and processing of mission claims in SAP Travel Module and other related administrative expenses.
- Maintain and archive all related Memorandums for payments of projects expenditures and maintain a simple database of all these payments.
- Ensure that the projects disbursement documents are reviewed to ensure payment of Service provider in a timely manner.
- Process payments through SAP of all ALSF Contract Agents and Consultants as requested.
- Perform any other duties reasonably requested by the Senior Budget and Finance Officer.
Administration
- Track and follow up on documents with the operational task manager,
- Manage the flow of information by receiving, and monitoring FIFC’s incoming and outgoing mail with FIFC2, considering the priority and urgency of the documents concerned, and compile documents for logical filing of this correspondence.
- Coordinate and organize weekly meetings of the Finance Unit.
- Draft mails and documents in conformity with the Senior budget and Finance Officer’s instructions.
- Draft memoranda and acknowledgement letters to be submitted, along with their background documents, for the Senior Budget officer.
- Make necessary arrangements for visiting delegations.
- Assist in and advise the Senior Budget and Finance Officer on a variety of administrative and personnel matters.
- Submit reports on personnel management, in accordance with the Human Resources policy and instructions in force.
COMPETENCIES (skills, experience and knowledge)
- A minimum Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent in Accounting and Finance or related discipline, preferably supplemented with courses in administration/banking and financial studies and office management.
- A minimum of Six (6) years of progressively relevant and practical experience, in an executive office preferably in an international organization.
- Good organisational, budgeting and planning skills will be highly desirable.
- Good organizational, analytical, and writing skills, ability to make sound judgments and decisions.
- Ability to work under pressure in the dynamic setting of an international and multicultural setting
- Speedy and efficient handing of internal and external requests
- Ability to work and cooperate with others from diverse background
- Excellent working knowledge and experience in administrative and sectorial skills and duties
- Strong customer or client service skills, good organizational skills, ability to multitask, attention to detail and ability to work with a diverse workforce.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and/or French, with a good working knowledge of the other language.
- Competence in the use of Bank standard software (Word, Excel, Power Point), knowledge of SAP or other ERP system would be an added advantage, excellent levels of initiative, enthusiasm and team spirit, and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to interpret ALSF policies, guidelines, and procedures.
- The Finance Assistant will report to the Senior Budget and Finance Officer who also acts under the supervision of the Director of the Facility.
THIS ADVERTISEMENT IS POSTED BY THE AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (AFDB) ON BEHALF OF THE AFRICAN LEGAL SUPPORT FACILITY (“ALSF” OR “FACILITY”) WHICH IS THE EMPLOYER FOR THIS POSITION. ENGAGEMENT AS STAFF OF ALSF DOES NOT OFFER ANY EXPECTATION FOR FUTURE EMPLOYMENT AS STAFF IN THE AfDB.