Finance Officer Vacancy at The British Council, Lagos, December 2014
The British Council
is the world’s leading cultural relations organization and creates
opportunities for people in the UK and worldwide to understand each
other, to work together and learn from one another.
We see this as
crucial to building secure, more prosperous and sustainable futures for
us all. We build trust and understanding between different countries
and cultures and develop strong international links that are of
benefit to people in Britain and the rest of the world.
We are recruiting to fill the below position:
Job Title: Finance Officer
Location: Lagos
Reports to: Assistant Finance Manager
Purpose of job
- To support the delivery of the financial and business processes and systems in line with corporate standards
- The post holder will undertake specific work within Finance to
contribute to the development of British Council Nigeria as an
innovative and high performing country operation, modelling the values
and principles of a collaborative, integrated and mutually supportive
team
Context and environment
- The British Council is the United Kingdom’s international
non-profit organization for cultural relations and educational
opportunities
- For over 75 years, we have created international opportunities
and trust between people of the UK and other countries worldwide through
our work in the Arts, English, Education and Society. We call this
Cultural Relations
- We have offices in over 100 countries, and 250 cities. In
Nigeria, we have 4 offices in 4 locations with over 150 members of
staff.
- Partners and clients include government, public and private
institutions, foundations, private sector organisations and civil
society
- We work closely with the wider UK team including DFID and UKTI
- The Finance function is an integral part of Business Support Services team
- The Finance Officer will make contributions to the successful
management of Finance by carrying out specific day to day Finance duties
as well as providing vital support to other team members
- This post is instrumental in ensuring that Finance procedures
and policies are adhered to and that operational teams are supported to
embed these within their business as usual processes
- The British Council’s values are integrity, professionalism,
creativity, valuing people and mutuality; and these are embedded in all
our work
- Nigeria is one of the largest economies in Africa
- It is also the most populous country with over 170 million citizens
- The UK is its largest trading partner
- Nigeria holds significant political power in the region and
internationally and its society retains a positive attitude to the UK
- There are therefore major opportunities for the UK and BC to
increase influence, income and, through this, our impact by building on
our strong existing relationships with the Nigerian government,
institutions and customers/audiences
- However, there are complex and substantial risks to this work i.e. security and compliance
- Nigeria is the British Council’s largest operation in
sub-Saharan Africa with office in 4 cities - Port Harcourt in the south,
Kano in the north, Abuja the Federal capital and Lagos the commercial
centre
- Our 150 staff works across a range of states delivering large
scale contracts, partnership programmes examinations, projects as well
as services in Arts, Education & Society and English & Exams
- We are already achieving substantial impact and income (current
turnover is £19.8 million) and have plans to grow and develop our impact
further
Accountabilities, responsibilities and main duties
Income Recognition/Banking & Treasury:
- To ensure all over the counter income is banked in line with
relevant policy and parked and posted on SAP Cash Journals immediately
after being banked.
- To ensure appropriate procedures are adhered to when income is
received and to bank all income within 2 days of receipt or
immediately threshold of cash holding is attained.
- Ensure all relevant Cash Journals are balanced within 48 hours of banking being completed.
- Ensure all delegated banking activities are diligently carried out.
Procurement & Payables:
- To carry due diligence on all vendor invoices prior to scanning to Global Service Desk (GSD)
- Ensure all invoices are checked within 24 hours of receipt and
scanned within 48 hours; thus contributing to significant reduction of
Open Purchase Orders and late payment to vendors.
- To escalate promptly any issues around invoice processing to
relevant teams and follow up with GSD as appropriate for delayed
payments.
- Ensure that scanned invoices are backed up on the Finance shared drive.
- Assist in processing off-system (non-P2P) payments after being
authorised by Country Director or someone with delegated authority and
ensure all off-system payments are recorded on SAP in the month of
payment.
Payroll and Compliance with Tax Laws:
- Support in the monthly preparation of payroll ensuring that
staff salaries and employee related recovery and payments are completed
and duly authorised according to agreed timeline.
- Assist in ensuring that payroll deductions relating to PAYE,
Pension, NASA, Development Levy, etc are duly remitted to
appropriate accounts and authorities within agreed timeline.
- Ensure Withholding Tax deductions for BC office for each month is remitted before the end of the following month.
Customer Service:
- Timely provision of financial advice and support to other
colleagues to enable them manage their delegated finances and comply
with BC audit standards.
- Facilitating Finance workshops for new and existing colleagues on the best practices on SAP and finance processes.
Vendor & Customer Creation:
- Support the Assistant Finance Manager to ensure that all
potential vendors are first registered on Approved Supplier List (ASL)
before submitting request for registration on SAP.
- Support the Assistant Finance Manager to carry out due diligence
for each vendor or customer creation request in line with agreed
procedure before being reflected on SAP.
- Maintain a backup of all scanned supporting documentation of vendor and customer creation on Finance shared drive.
- Update the Vendor and Customer Master Database with every new creation/amendment of vendor and customer respectively.
- Ensure amendments of existing vendors and customers on SAP are done according to laid down procedures.
Financial Management:
- Participate in monthly review of Year to Date balances of Trial
Balance and to ensure that Month on Month movements have been analysed
and exceptional movements investigated and explained or escalated as
appropriate.
- Contribute to accurate financial information by ensuring that
all journals including corrective/adjustment journals are parked and
posted before month end.
- Participate in the preparation for internal audit and tax audit
exercises; ensuring that all relevant files and documents are in place
for smooth running of these audits.
- Support the Finance Manager and Assistant Finance Manager in the
delivery financial objectives and the management of financial risks of
British Council Nigeria.
Key relationships
Internal:
- Finance Manager and Assistant Finance Manager
- All Finance/resources team members
- All British Council Nigeria staff
External:
- British Council Vendors and Customers
Requirements
Behaviours:
- Connecting with others - More Demanding
- Working together – More Demanding
- Being Accountable - More Demanding
- Making it happen - Essential
Skills and Knowledge:
- Financial Management and Analytical Skills (with high levels of
personal effectiveness and the ability to focus on achieving deadlines).
- Computer skills – A good knowledge of Microsoft Office suite, particularly advanced MS Excel knowledge.
Experience:
- A minimum of 2 years’ experience in an accounting environment
with proven and demonstrable technical accounting skills, including
understanding and interpretation of financial data.
Qualifications:
- Graduate in any numerate course of study.
Other important features or requirements of the job:
- Occasional travel and unsocial hours may be required
Remuneration
Pay Band 4 - 2, 972, 136.96 NGN per annum
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online
Click Here To Download Role Profile
Application Deadline 11th December, 2014