Job Overview

• Category: Accounting and Finance
• Position: Finance Officer
• Location: Addis Ababa, Addis Ababa 
• Career Level: Mid Level ( 2+ – 5 years experience)
• Employment Type: Full time
• Deadline: Aug 13, 2023

Job Description

Company Overview 

Pharo Ventures is the commercial, for-profit arm of Pharo Foundation and has been set up to harness the power of a vibrant private sector by investing in enterprises across various spheres within East Africa. The objective is to build and grow commercially and environmentally sustainable businesses. The focus is maximising the creation of economic value and jobs for local communities.

We have a vision of an economically vibrant and inclusive Africa. We believe we can achieve our vision and ambitions by investing in the human and physical capital of Africa. Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, Pharo Ventures has country offices in Ethiopia (Addis Ababa) and Somaliland (Hargeisa).

Position Summary 

 As part of the finance team, the Finance Officer will be expected to work flexibly and collegially in offering support to the Finance Manager and other internal stakeholders in the financial management system of Pharo Ventures Ethiopia and its subsidiaries. S/he will be responsible for providing timely and efficient accounting and financial service support services to Pharo Ventures Ethiopia and its subsidiaries by ensuring accuracy and completeness in the payment processes, data management and reporting, and maintaining high financial management and control standards.

Collaborating with dedicated colleagues in a team-oriented environment, this position offers a career-enriching opportunity to a resourceful finance professional who is seeking to work within international standards and relishes the challenge of managing multiple, time-sensitive assignments with the strongest attention to detail and with the capacity to prioritise tasks independently.

Role:  Finance Officer (Addis Ababa)
Reporting: This role will report to Finance Manager, Pharo Ventures Ethiopia 

Functional Relationships:

• Pharo Ventures Team in Ethiopia, which includes Finance, HR, Operations and Marketing Leads
• Pharo Ventures Team in Nairobi, Kenya

Reporting: This role will report to Finance Manager, Pharo Ventures Ethiopia

Functional Relationships:

•  Pharo Ventures Team in Ethiopia, which includes Finance, HR, Operations and Marketing Leads
• Pharo Ventures Team in Nairobi, Kenya

Key Measures of Performance

The performance of this role holder will be assessed on f the achievements made on:

•  Compliance with Pharo Ventures Somaliland and its subsidiaries’ financial management policies and procedures
•  Accuracy, completeness and timeliness of financial reports and financial transactions posted in the finance system.
• Timeliness, accuracy, and completeness in payment processes
• Turnaround time in the financial management processes
• Quality of content of deliverables
• Effective and efficient cash management
• System Management and implementation
•  Demonstration and development of core abilities and other soft skills required for the performance of your role.
• Development and capacity building of the finance assistants/accountants

Key Measures of Performance

The performance of this role holder will be assessed on f the achievements made on:

• Compliance with Pharo Ventures Somaliland and its subsidiaries’ financial management policies and procedures
• Accuracy, completeness and timeliness of financial reports and financial transactions posted in the finance system.
• Timeliness, accuracy, and completeness in payment processes
• Turnaround time in the financial management processes
• Quality of content of deliverables

• Effective and efficient cash management
• System Management and implementation
•  Demonstration and development of core abilities and other soft skills required for the performance of your role.
• Development and capacity building of the finance assistants/accountants

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Ensuring all financial documents are timely and accurately prepared, reviewed and posted o generate financial reports.

• Reviewing and ensuring that all payments support documentation is in line with the policies and procedures before processing of payments are made.
• Timely and accurate processing of payments and follow-up to ensure the payment process is complete.
•  Journalize each entry of the payroll for each staff in the finance system.
• Ensuring that the finance system’s accounting routine actions are adequately handled and any issues of concern are brought to the attention of the Finance Manager for action.
• Management of the Pharo Ventures accounting filing system.

• Effective management of the office petty cash, ensuring timely replenishment and proper cash custody.
• Prepare the staff monthly payroll by ensuring that all payments are duly supported by appropriate documentation, ensuring that all payroll changes have been duly authorised and effected, and that relevant tax obligations are withheld and remitted within the given timeframes
•  Prepare statutory deductions and other deductions and make returns to the respective governments and related agencies before the due dates.
• Ensure that all relevant taxes for qualifying payments have been properly deducted, and accounted for and that withholding tax receipts are filed in an ascending manner using the dates of payment and the submissions made within the specific timelines.
• Tracking the employee advances and other accounts receivables regularly and following up on the recovery process or management action.
• Receives all inventory items from suppliers, verifies such deliveries against approved orders, and ensures such items are safely stored.
• Assists in maintaining an inventory database and ensures that insurance coverage is always in force.
• Assists in barcoding of office inventory.
• Maintain relationships with service providers for timely and quality services.
• Monitoring bank accounts, ensuring adequate liquidity is maintained each month, and avoiding risks of negative cash balance.
• Management of vendor accounts by ensuring that reconciliation is done on a timely basis and issues raised by Vendors are addressed promptly.
•  Preparing bank reconciliation statements for all bank accounts and bringing to attention all matters that require action.
• Preparation of other account reconciliations and addressing issues arising from these reconciliations.
• Ensuring the internal controls within the computerised accounting systems are safeguarded and working well.
• Design financial analysis tools that can generate financial information for decision-making based on the accounting database.
• Timely and accurate preparation of management and financial reports, audit and tax returns, and other required reports for internal and external use.
• Assist the finance manager with financial planning, including preparation of budgets, cash flow forecasts and implementing appropriate budgetary controls.
• Generating financial analysis based on monthly financial reports and guiding the Finance Manager on significant accounting issues that must be addressed.
• Periodically reviewing the balance sheet accounts and ensuring they are kept current and can be easily identified and reconciled.
• Assist in the preparation of the annual financial statements and relevant reports statements and relevant reports required by the management and stakeholders.
• Support in preparing, organising and conducting Pharo Ventures Ethiopia and Its subsidiaries audits.
•  Assist in the coordination and activities of the external and internal auditors and ensure all audit issues are resolved.
• Capacity building for finance and non-finance staff in understanding Pharo Ventures’ financial policies, processes and procedures and statutory regulations.
• Regularly, ensure that the Finance Manager/CFO/General Manager/Country Head’s expectations are met by providing weekly updates, promptly responding to their emails, and addressing all their inquiries within a reasonable.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Job Requirements

Qualification Requirements 

• The ideal candidate should possess a first degree in Accounting, Finance or Business Administration and or related equivalent.
• Full membership in an accountancy qualification such as CPA or ACCA.
• S/he must possess a minimum of Three (3) years of related professional experience, preferably within audit firms, and multicultural international organisations.
• Experience in using an accounting software package like QuickBooks, Tally, Sage, and Xero, being the ideal but not mandatory.
• Strong financial analytical skills.

• Excellent proficiency using Microsoft Office packages: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• A self-starter with initiative and the ability to multi-task, work under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Excellent communication skills and comfortable working with senior-level colleagues.
• Strong numeracy and literacy skills.

  Behavioural Competencies  

• Dedicated team player with demonstrable experience in setting up finance procedures and systems.
• Problem solver and creative thinker who can get results in fast-paced environments.
• A self-assured, self – driven and passionate individual driven to succeed and make a difference.
• An individual with high levels of integrity, professionalism, resilience, accountability and determination.
• Should possess a solid work ethic and a mature, professional, proactive demeanour.
• Extremely organised and efficient individual with high attention to detail.

How to Apply

Interested applicants who meet the minimum requirements may send;

• A detailed cover letter and CV (preferably as a single PDF file) [email protected]   for ten (10) consecutive days after the first day of this vacancy announcement.
• An updated list of at least three (3) referees with their names, titles, current email addresses and phone numbers as follows; one (1) supervisor and one (1) direct report and one (1) peer.

Review of applications will be on a rolling basis. In the event that we identify an outstanding applicant early in the search process, we reserve the right to appoint before the deadline. For this reason, we encourage interested candidates to apply as soon as possible. Due to the high volume of applications expected, we regret that we will only be able to contact the short-listed candidates.