Position: Accounts Officer (1 Post)
Reports To: Finance Manager/Branch Manager
Work Station: Bagamoyo
Apply By: March 7th 2023

Institute Overview

Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) is a leading research organization in Africa with a strong track record in developing, testing and validating innovations for health. Driven by a core strategic mandate for research, training and services, the Institute’s work now spans a wide spectrum, covering biomedical and ecological sciences, intervention studies, health-systems research, service delivery and policy translation. 

Position Summary 

Ifakara seeks a skilled and experienced individual to work as a branch Accounts Officer. The Officer should be able to control all expenditures and check the status of cash flow within the branch. The Officer will be a custodian of all fixed assets over the branch; will control and monitor the accounting systems in the branch; will also manage the budget of all units in the branch and ensure all expenditures are aligned with the approved budget.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Read, check, and verify all Institutional financial documents/vouchers which have been requested for payment if they are properly coded, described and fully supported in accordance with Institute’s policy and generally accepted accounting procedure before getting manager’s approval for payment processing and posting them into ERP Sage 300
• Timely and accurately post vouchers that are properly coded, authorized and fully supported into ERP Sage 300–both Petty Cash and Cheque payment vouchers, receipts, and imprest retirement vouchers for branches’ transactions
• Ensure effective financial controls, implement and maintain appropriate accounting systems, procedures and budgetary controls as per Institute policy and procedure.
• Ensure monthly returns (payments vouchers, imprest, Invoice, retirement etc.) are timely submitted to the Head office after posting whenever needed for other purposes including reconciliations and reporting to funding partners.
• Control and check correctness and accuracy of staff imprest/advance requests and retirement and maintenance of an up-to-date staff imprest accounts and making sure that no new imprest is issued to staff without the previous one being retired and unretired imprest should be recovered from staff salary.
• Check the accuracy of advance salaries and Loan application and making sure deduction is done in liaison with payroll accountant and HR team.
• Check the correctness of claims requested for payments and advice the claimant on the best way to file the appropriate application forms and attachments in accordance with the institute financial procedure, policy and general business best practices.
• Enforce financial control (in liaison with projects’ accountants) on projects’ expenditure to be in line with various funding partners’ requirements including the USAID, EU, SWISS TPH, WELL COME TRUST, WHO, and BMGF.
• Facilitate branch procurement and store system to ensure that they are conducted with best practice in accordance with institute procurement policy and administrative manual.
• Ensure branch fixed assets are safeguarded and well maintained.
• Monitor daily cash inflow (funds from partners and head office) and cash outflow (petty cash, banks, and mobile wallet payment) and check the daily petty cash movement in petty cash ledger book (disbursement and reimbursement).
• Ensure timely payment to the projects’ staff as well as other staff and local suppliers for excellent research and branch operational activities.
• Perform reconciliation for Memorandum Cash Book/General Ledger vs Bank Statement and pass necessary adjustment for transaction rectification.
• Control branch revenue collections, maintain revenue collection register, and prepare monthly expenditure and revenue report for management decision-making and submit to head office for performance analysis of the Internal generated revenue Units, monitoring the submission of revenue Invoices to head office.
• Prepare and review of the branch Institutional Budget and Practicing budgetary control mechanism to respective unit, so as to make sure the unit spent within their respective approved budget by the management and assist on the budgetary reallocation during the reallocation session.

Qualification and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree or Advanced Diploma in Accountancy or Finance; a certification in accounts will be an added advantage.
• At least 2 years working under the NGO setting; processing and managing banks and mobile wallet payments, staff advances and suppliers payments.
• Strong Bookkeeping Skills.
• Experience in accounting system (preferably SAGE 300, Norming and ARUTI)
• Project management.

 Skills and Competencies

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite.
• Strong written and oral communication Skills.
• Highest level of integrity.
• Excellent customer service and care,
• Decision making skills.

Remuneration

An attractive and competitive remuneration package will be offered to successful candidates as per IHI salary scales.

Equal Opportunity

IHI is an equal opportunity employer. We prohibit intentional biases or discrimination and harassment of any kind at the work place and during recruitment. All employment decisions are based solely on job requirements and individual qualifications, and our recruitment process is governed by the labour laws of Tanzania.