Overview

The Legal Services Facility (LSF) a registered non-government Organization (NGO) with Registration No. 00NGO/R2/00011. It is a basket fund created to channel funding on equal opportunity basis to organizations which are providing legal aid and paralegal services in Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar.  These services assist individuals to claim their rights, redress grievances and protect their fundamental human rights.

The LSF manages a basket fund to which DANIDA and the EU are contributors. It operates as grant maker with the overall goal to increase access to justice through a legal empowerment approach, in particular for women and girls. Through implementing partners, a paralegal cadre of around 3,500 is supported, organized in 168 small district based paralegal organizations.

Post:  Senior Grants & Finance Officer

Location: Dar es Salaam

Reports to: Director of Finance & Admin (DFA)

The Role      

1.0 Job Purpose

Preparations of financial statements of the LSF and interpretation of those statements. To ensure proper management of grant-making finance related activities from initial stage of grant application to grant closure in order to ensure smooth and efficient grant making processes exist within LSF. The Senior Grants & Finance Officer will work closely with LSF program staff to ensure proper management of LSF resources managed by grantees.

 

2.0. Reporting Lines

The Senior Grants & Finance Officer reports to the Director of Finance & Administration (DFA).

Directly supervises the Finance & Accounts Assistant.

3.0 Key responsibilities and tasks:

Staff Management

• Supervise Finance & Accounts Assistant and Perform annual job performance evaluation with an intermediate assessment after 6 months.

3.1. Grants

• Assist with initial grant making process by reviewing budgets of potential grantees and participate fully in negotiation and contractual processes.
• Conduct thorough review of all grantee financial reports and prepare quarterly summary report for all reports received for each call of proposals within a month after end of the quarter.
• Maintain proper filing system for grant agreements, financial reports, budgets, letters and all forms of communication between the LSF and grantees.
• Monitor expenditure against budget for all grantees and timely propose corrective measures in order to prevent unacceptable over or under-expenditures.
• Coordinate all grantee finance trainings including, training sessions, workshops, orientation programmes, peer learning programmes and others. This shall be done in collaboration with the LSF Capacity Development Manager (CDM)

• Coordinate all finance related routine correspondence with grantees.

• Ensure timely disbursements of grantee funding to ensure smooth implementation of activities.

• Maintain update to date grantee contact lists of finance personnel.
• Respond to routine grantee routine inquiries via phone and e-mail.

• Coordinate grantee annual and end of project audit exercise. This includes amongst others, making sure proper preparations are timely done, accurate information from the LSF and grantee required by auditor is provided adequately and timely, grantee responds to auditor queries on a timely manner and provide mechanisms are going to apply to address those issues.
• Ensure proper grant closure for all grantees by making sure all financial procedures are properly followed including return of unspent money within 30 days after termination of the grant contract.

• Provide to senior managers with finance data for all grantees as necessary.
• .Assist with any other activities as assigned by management.

 

3.2. Finance

• Enter financial data in the general ledger (GL) and ensure accounting software is sufficiently and properly managed and used.
• Prepare accurate monthly and quarterly financial statements of the LSF to specific deadlines and assist in interpreting financial information from these statements.

• Manage LSF financial accounting, monitoring and reporting systems.

• Keep abreast of National changes in financial regulations and legislation and ensure that the LSF complies with all requirements.
• Review the payroll before recommended to HR manager and DFA and ensure all computations and deductions are properly done.

• Participate in preparations and conducting of the financial audit by working collaboratively with Auditors (Internal and External) to ensure LSF receive clean (unqualified) Audit report.
• Lead the LSF team to ensure all audit queries are solved within agreed time and repetition of queries is abolished.
• Prepare LSF annual final accounts (financial statements) in accordance to prevailing required reporting Standard.
• Supervise the Finance and  Accounts assistant to ensure all statutory payments are accurately prepared  and paid on time to avoid penalties.
• Ensure all financial policies and procedures are properly followed including addressing tax matters to ensure the Organisation Charitable status is well maintained.

• Participate in periodical reviews and evaluations of internal controls and suggest appropriate actions.

• Prepare periodical cash flows statements and requirements for the LSF for different purposes.

• Participate in developing and updating financial manuals and policies and developing financial management mechanisms that minimise financial risk.

• Assist in overall budget preparations and budget management as required by the LSF.
• Assist in preparing fund requests to all Basket Fund Partners.
• Assist with any other activities as assigned by management.

 

4.0 Qualification

• A minimum of bachelor degree in Finance or Accounting or related field with a CPA
• Excellent computer skills including Excel, PowerPoint and others.
• Good communication skills in both English and Kiswahili and excellent organizational skills.
• Strong motivation and preparedness to put in the ‘extra mile’
• Ability to organize and prioritize work.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively as part of the team.

 

5.0 Experience

• Experience of working in a similar job in a reputable organization for at least 5 years.
• Experience of at least 5 years in international accounting software is a must. Experience in Sage Evolution would be an added advantage.

 

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

If you are Tanzanian and qualified for this post, please submit a single page application letter showing your suitability to the role with an updated Curriculum Vitae to  hr@lsftz.org,    clearly indicating the position being applied for in the subject. The applications deadline is  Monday, 04^th January,2021. Only short-listed candidates will be notified. For more information about LSF please visit LSF Website: www. lsftz.org. 

LSF is an equal opportunities employer.