Plan International was founded over 75 years ago with a mission to promote and protect the rights of children. The organisation was set up by British journalist John Langdon-Davies and refugee worker Eric Muggeridge in 1937, with the original aim to provide food, accommodation and education to children whose lives had been disrupted by the Spanish Civil War.
ROLE PURPOSE
Plan International is a rights-based development and humanitarian organization working for better lives for all children. We are independent of government and have no political or religious affiliation. Our purpose is to strive for a just world that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We have been building powerful partnerships for children for more than 80 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries.
Our global strategy has a specific focus on girls, as they are often the most marginalized and most often left behind. We have committed ourselves to the ambitious target of reaching 100 million girls over 5 years, to ensure they can learn, lead, decide and thrive. This is our contribution to reaching the sustainable development goals, and in particular the goals on gender equality. Our organization is transforming itself to meet this enormous challenge everywhere we work. We need bold, forward-thinking and innovative individuals to lead our country operations, driving change and delivering results that will allow us to reach our target of 100 million girls.
The Shared Services Centre is a Centre of Excellence based in the MEESA region office. The centre’s vision is that within 2 years its clients will have recorded added value within their support services. The centre is committed to a reliable, efficient and effective service to the MEESA regions at a competitive price. Its ultimate goal is to be trusted, predictable, and dependable to our clients at all times and to ensure commitment to excellent turnaround times in all our service delivery.
The Finance Assistant will support the provision of financial and grants management functions and ensures compliance with Plan policies, procedures and donor requirements at the SSC level.
The post holder will report to the Senior Finance and Grants Coordinator. In liaison with the Shared Service Centre(SSC) Team supports support in the implementation of grants and sponsorship budgets in the KCO and MEESA RO offices.
Accountabilities And Main Work Activities
Payment Processing
Receive, track and sort all payment requests confirming they are properly approved for processing. Enter in to the SAP all approved vendor invoices for payment while observing segregation of duties. Receive approved Mobile requests, process them on available platforms (Mpesa/Popote) and submit for payment. Process all mobile transactions and related journals in SAP. Process fund requests for all approved travels and subsequent liquidations as per Plan policies Create internal orders to facilitate partner advances and subsequently process partner advances liquidations in SAP advances module. Support in management of staff and vendor accounts and clear open items. Support in period-end adjustments and balance sheet reconciliations Prepare support documents for intercompany recharges including analysis and allocation of costs Coordinate and analyse withholding tax for MEESA Regional office, Plan International Kenya, Nyanza & Coast hubs as well as process the payment Ensure that all financial documents are properly filed for easy retrieval. Support audits in retrieval of sampled documents. Update approved partner liquidations in SAP module Issue remittance advices to payees
Safeguarding Children and Young People (Safeguarding) and Gender Equality and Inclusion (GEI)
Understands and puts into practice the responsibilities under Safeguarding and GEI policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), ensuring that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.
Technical expertise, skills and knowledge
Qualifications/ experience essential:
Bachelor’s Degree in Finance/Accounting related courses. CPA II or other professional qualification in accounting 1-year relevant accounting experience preferably in an INGO Knowledge of finance processes, systems and principles. Experience in computerised accounting applications.
Qualifications/ experience desirable:
Previous experience in SAP or ERP Analytical skills Facilitation and training skills Administration and effective communication skills Ability to work and interact with others at all levels Planning and organizational skills Have a customer centric focus and vision on timeliness, effectiveness and efficiency
Languages required
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
Technical competencies
Knowledge:
In-depth knowledge of finance processes, systems and principles. Good Knowledge of major donors’ compliance requirements Proven ability to support program teams during budgeting and reporting
Skills:
Ability to work and interact with others at all levels Hands on experience and skilled in usage of SAP or Major ERP system Strong analytical skills Excellent planning, management and coordination skills Ability to communicate clearly and effectively
Behaviors:
Role model our values and behaviors both internally and externally. Engages sensitively with community members on issues of gender equality and inclusion, demonstrating an understanding of the local culture and context. Promotes equality, including gender equality, inclusion and girls’ empowerment in Plan’s work and in its work with partners The ability to build collaborative working relationships Uses creativity to challenge the norm and promote innovation and thinks and acts for the wider organization – linking partnership opportunities with the context of the wider organizational strategy Communicates effectively at and with a range of appropriate styles for different audiences Builds capability through knowledge sharing, networking, mentoring, coaching and advocates the importance of knowledge management
Plan International’s Values in Practice
We are open and accountable
We create a climate of trust inside and outside the organisation by being open, honest and transparent. We hold ourselves and others to account for the decisions we make and for our impact on others, while doing what we say we will do.
We strive for lasting impact
We strive to achieve significant and lasting impact on the lives of children and young people, and to secure equality for girls. We challenge ourselves to be bold, courageous, responsive, focused and innovative.
We work well together
We succeed by working effectively with others, inside and outside the organisation, including our sponsors and donors. We actively support our colleagues, helping them to achieve their goals. We come together to create and implement solutions in our teams, across Plan International, with children, girls, young people, communities and our partners.
We are inclusive and empowering
We respect all people, appreciate differences and challenge inequality in our programmes and our workplace. We support children, girls and young people to increase their confidence and to change their own lives. We empower our staff to give their best and develop their potential.
