Finance and Administration Manager - UCRT

The Ujamaa Community Resource Team (UCRT) is looking to employ a full time Finance and Administration Manager for their main office in Arusha, to support the organization’s growth and development in fulfilling its mission to improve the livelihoods of indigenous rural communities in northern Tanzania through sustainable natural resource management.

A number of basic values and principles underlie all of the work that UCRT carry out. These are reflected in six core Programmes:

Land Rights Activities: UCRT work with communities on demarcation and boundary reconciliation, mapping, village registration, certifying land occupancy, and facilitating the development of land use plans and bylaws.

Community Natural Resource Management: UCRT train communities to identify locally available natural resources that can be utilized for economic development.

Community Capacity Building: UCRT train village councils on good governance, book-keeping, financial management and conflict resolution. We train village assemblies on land laws, local government reform programmes, and current government laws and policies.

Women’s Rights and Leadership Forums: Forums have been to promote solidarity and engagement of women on local and regional land conflicts and to advocate for women’s land and property rights.

Advocacy: UCRT work to inform policy- and law-makers about how best to help communities realise their needs and secure their rights.

Education Support: UCRT firmly believe in the power of education transforming our communities’ futures and so we provide secondary school and university scholarships for students from poor families from pastoralist and hunter-gatherer communities.

Roles and responsibilities

The Finance and Administration Manager will be a part of the UCRT Management Team and will report directly to the Executive Director and through them to the Board of Directors.

More specifically they will be expected to carry out, among other tasks, the following:

• Under the supervision of the Executive Director of UCRT and together with the staff of UCRT will be responsible for financial management, accounts maintenance, budget control and for coordinating logistics and broad administrative support functions, which may include supervision and execution of administrative tasks.
• To be the pilot for all activities related to financial management, including procurement, accounting, financial reporting and controlling, project account statements, recruitment, HR procedures and payroll and risk management process.
• Play the lead role in financial reporting to donors, ensuring financial reports are delivered to donors by contractual deadlines, as well as collaborate with the Programme Manager on preparation of budgets submitted for fundraising purposes.
• Provide the UCRT senior management team with monthly financial reports and bank reconciliations showing expenditure against budget lines taking into consideration core and noncore costs and project expenses for all programs by 7th of next month.
• Ensure compliance to UCRT internal controls, using industry best practices, contracts and laws and regulations.
• Manage effective and appropriate computerized accounting software and ensure other finance staff are fully trained in how to use it.
• Oversee the processing of payment of salaries, allowances, travel claims and other payments to the staff, vendors and other claimants.
• Administer personnel policies and apply regulations, rules and procedures concerning recruitment, appointment, contracts, benefits, and other personnel matters including payroll and issues related to labour legislation as it applies to personnel hired and contractual service arrangements; ensuring that all statutory returns including tax (PAYE, VAT, Withholding etc), NSSF are filed on time.
• Management of the overall finance and administration side of UCRT through effective work assignment, supervision and staff development. Recommend annual staff development programs in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Office's administrative and managerial capability; plan and organize the implementation of approved training; participate or provide training in subjects related to administration.
• Maintenance and control over fixed assets
• Manage the organisations annual administration budget.

Qualifications and experience required

• Strong work ethic, personal initiative, ability to work as part of a team as well as independently
• Strong written and verbal communication skills – fluent in English and Kiswahili
• Excellent management and organizational skills and proven experience in management
• Experience of NGO operations is an advantage
• Strong personal commitment to sustainable development and social justice
• Educated to degree level or above in accounting or similar
• CPA qualification an advantage
• Highly computer proficient including in accounting software such as Quickbooks
• Work experience not less than 4 years.