Kingdom of Lesotho
Ministry of Health
REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS
Terms of reference
Job Title: Project Accountant
Location: Lesotho
Team: Project Accounting Unit Team
Contract type: 2 years with a possibility of extension
Reports to: Projects Finance Manager
Role overview: This is an entry-level position whose primary responsibility is to assist the project team with contract modifications, compliance, payments, reports, and any other project-related duties. The Project Accountant will be expected to travel to project sites on occasion for job status review meetings. If necessary, transportation to these locations will be provided.
Area of responsibilities:
Transaction processing and quality assurance
- Enter all transactions relating to Projects onto the finance system in a timely manner.
- Request new codes within PAU’s finance system to ensure project reporting is appropriate and prohibit posting in codes for projects that have ended.
- Create controls and processes, aligned to the finance community’s policies and guidelines, to ensure legality and quality of all transactions and such that they are approved in line with donor and PFMA policies.
- Prepare and review monthly transactions listing for completeness and assurance and post required adjustments in a timely fashion.
- Reconcile all project balance sheet accounts every month.
- Prepare and review monthly reserves statement for the project, and review for exceptions. Resolve and clear any historical outstanding balances.
- Ensure all transactions are supported by adequate documentation, Payment Vouchers approval and that documentation is filed and retained in a suitable way.
- Ensure all reversing transactions are adequately cleared on a timely basis.
- Ensure donor’s internal year-end deadlines are met, and transactions are accrued in a timely fashion at this stage if required. Ensure that all accruals are reviewed periodically and settled especially before project closure.
- Ensure all aspects of Contract Management System relating to finance are completed and consistent with the finance system.
Reporting and analysis:
- Produce monthly reporting as required by the project(s), as required by the project Finance Manager or other project governance body, ensuring accuracy through the actions above and adherence to donor requirements always. The same to be shared with project finance lead.
- As assigned/ required, attend oversight group meetings and raise any financial strategic concerns or risks and discuss financial performance.
- Produce financial analysis as required by the project team to assist decision-making
- Produce financial risk-register to be reviewed monthly, and share key concerns with Finance Manager, MOH Internal Audit office, senior project and PAU staff as appropriate, working with them to develop mitigation.
- Review, Produce and consolidate reports from Districts for donor reporting and internal management purposes as per required timelines. Ensure that adequate documentation is available for review such as transaction listing from Districts on a monthly basis. Ensuring adherence to donor schedule and Ministry of Health internal management deadlines.
- Produce explanatory narrative (financial) for any reports as required by the project team.
- Assisting the Programme unit in the calculation and recording any regular key performance indicators (KPIs) for the project(s), providing narrative explanations for variances versus expectations where appropriate Respond to donor questions regarding financials at any time and as required. Planning, start-up and closure
- Coordinate the initial project budget and subsequent iterations, obtaining sign-off as required from PAU, project or other managers, and addressing questions as raised by the donor.
- Ensure maximum cost recovery, including overhead costs and taxes on all projects.
- Upload final budget into donor’s finance system using appropriate coding and repeat exercise for periodic forecast.
- Develop reporting templates (and other tools) in line with donor requirements and the requirements of Ministry of Health’ finance system, allowing automated reports to be produced in the desired format and which include transparent reporting on cost-recovery.
- Run financial aspects of inception workshop in co-ordination with project teams and provide inception training on donor requirements to implementing staff and partners if required.
- Work with implementing staff to establish systems that are integrated and meet donor requirements and audit.
- Review the systems of all parties booking finance transactions (if appropriate, e.g. working with partners or multiple offices) to ensure all financial requirements, controls and conditions (both donor and Ministry of Health) can be met.
- Work with Finance Manager to close out projects within the finance system and align this closeout to final donor reporting, saving all appropriate documentation and evidence in a suitable way (and reviewing all transactions at this stage to ensure nothing has been omitted).
- Ensure that a checklist for projects closure is prepared in consultation with Finance Manager.
- Provide technical Support to budget holders/project managers to prepare required budgets during Ministry of Health’s planning process for internal planning and budgeting process annually and for re-forecasting purposes.
- Support in mid-term/periodic review and preparation of revised project budgets. In case of any changes, review the proposed changes to project budgets and ensure that they are in line with donor expectations.
Other:
- Provide technical advice and guidance on project financial management to project Finance Managers or country teams as required.
- Provide information and ongoing training to project staff on any relevant topic (e.g. transaction quality or cost-recovery) creating and sharing any materials where necessary.
- Work with donor’s finance staff to ensure banking arrangements are set up to meet donor requirements.
- Forecast required cash flow for the project and work with PAU staff to avoid any cash shortages or surpluses within the project(s).
- Manage day to day to finances, including processing invoices, expenditures etc.
- Work closely with others in the PAU and Operation’s Cluster to contribute to donors’ systems, processes, and guidelines.
- Liaise with internal and external auditors to manage audits, meet all requirements and complete any audit recommendations, coordinating districts or other staff at all stages.
- Provide inductions and capacity building support.
- Share Project Management best practices and tools.
- Undertake projects or any other work relevant to the grade and functional speciality as directed by line manager.
- Provide quarterly updates on progress against objectives for review and discussion with line Manager, the frequency of which may be reduced as deemed appropriate by Finance Manager.
Requirements:
- Bachelor’s Degree in accounting, or similar.
- Association of Chartered Certified (ACCA) or Chartered Institute of Management Accountant (CIMA) would be advantageous.
- 2-5 years’ experience as a project accountant, or similar.
- Proficiency in electronic accounting systems, such as Tompro and IFMIS.
- Ability to report to the Accounting Supervisor and other project managers.
- Advanced proficiency in managing general ledgers, journal entries, and account reconciliations.
- Exceptional ability to prepare project budgets, financial forecasts, and tax reports.
- Extensive experience in project invoicing and billing.
- In-depth knowledge of best practices in accounting.
- Excellent communication skills toward effective collaboration and client services.
- Excellent knowledge of English. Knowledge of local language(s) is an asset.
Proposal Submission
All applications ( CV, Cover letter, certified scanned Certificates) written in English, must be submitted through the following email only [email protected] with the subject of Position the candidate is applying for on or before 14th February 2024 at 2359hour. Ensure the size of file to be attached is not more than 15Mb.
Attn: Procurement Specialist at Procurement Unit, Ground Floor, Ministry of Health Headquarters, Corner Constitution Road & Linare Road P. O. Box 514, Maseru 100, Lesotho, Tel: (+266) 27323277.