Job Specification
BACKGROUND
The primary responsibilities are: formulation, justification, and implementation of the USAID budget; specifically, daily oversight of the program budget, and overall budget tracking for the Somalia Field Office. The Analyst provides advice and recommendations to Mission management and Technical Offices and Teams on all aspects strategic and annual program budgets, including issues concerning annual Operating Year Budget, strategic plan budgets, country and DO (Development Objective) funding levels, notification requirements, availability of funds, etc. The Analyst prepares Annual Mission Resource Requests (MRR), Congressional Budget Justifications (CBJ), Congressional Notifications (CNs) Operational Year Budgets (OYB), and annual Procurement Plans. The Analyst works to develop the overall budget strategy and the annual Procurement Plan for each DO in the Somalia Field Office.
This position will have secondary responsibilities as an accountant for the Somalia Field Office. In this role, s/he will be responsible for updating and maintaining the Phoenix accounting system. Additionally, applying professional accounting principles, theories and practices, the incumbent serves as a senior Accountant who coordinates and monitors professional accounting, budgeting, and reporting activities of a broad scope and complexity for the Somalia Field Office. The incumbent shall provide leadership, direction, training and coordination of all financial management functions for the Somalia Field Office.
MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Accounting 40 %
The Analyst performs all project and program accounting and operating expense activities for USAID/Nairobi Mission Somalia Field Office. Reviews and provides clearance to strategic objective funding documents such as Limited Scope Grant Agreements, Strategic Objective Agreements, Development Assistance Grant Agreements, Implementation Letters, Contracts, Grants, Travel Authorizations, Purchase Orders, and Leases to ensure compliance with USAID accounting regulations/policies and procedures. Based on this review, the Analyst provides funds availability certification to the Mission within each program budget allowance taking into consideration Congressional earmarks, if any. The Analyst provides input to activity implementation documents to ensure all accounting concerns are properly addressed.
The Analyst is responsible for the establishment and maintenance of formal accounting records through Phoenix. These include, budget allowance ledgers; project and strategic objective ledgers; advance ledgers, obligations, sub commitments, and sub obligation records for activities financed from dollar and local currency funds allowed to the Mission. The Analyst reviews proposed activity budgets for cost allowed, reasonableness, and accuracy, assigns object class codes (EOCCs) to all obligating documents, conducts quarterly reviews of un-liquidated program obligations (Section 1311 review) and takes appropriate action to de-obligate funds no longer required. The Analyst monitors status of expired obligations and obligations nearing expiration, executes the de-obligation of funds during the contracts/grants closeout process, advises USAID/Washington concerning close-out of instruments financed through Letter of Credit, assists the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR)/Agreement Officer’s Representative (AOR) in calculating the accruals expenditure, posts the accrual in Phoenix, and files all accrual supporting accrual documents electronically.
The Analyst performs the reconciliation between the Mission’s reported disbursements and those recorded by the U.S. Disbursing Office (USDO) Charleston/Bangkok and the U.S. Treasury, investigates the reconciling items to resolve all discrepancies, takes corrective action to resolve reconciling items in conjunction with the Chief Accountant, prepares SF 1081s to transfer funds from one appropriation to another, prepares journal vouchers to correct double postings or to correct other payments erroneously reported, prepares SF 224 to reflect all disbursement transactions processed by the accounting station for the particular month, prepares the 6653/6655 to verify that Mission’s disbursements as reflected in the USDO reconciliation (1221) and the SF 224 with Treasury were prepared correctly, receives and records inter-agency charges (Interagency Payments and Collections, or IPACs) from other U.S. government agencies, issues IPACs and supporting documents to other agencies, reviews and records General Receipts (collections) received from the Class B cashier in the financial system. The Analyst coordinates with Contracting Officers, and the Executive Office’s (EXO’s) Procurement on contract closeouts, including the Mission and USAID/Washington-funded contracts where the Office of Financial Management is the paying office, by reviewing the expenditures in Phoenix accounting records, and reconciling these with USAID/Washington records, and communicates with Grantees to ensure final payment has been made. In case of discrepancies, further reviews the records, and takes the necessary corrective action, and advises USAID/Washington and the Mission management accordingly. Analyst travels regionally and within Somalia to support and assist technical teams, and implementing partners meet program objectives. The incumbent may be required to travel between 15 to 20 percent of the time.
- Budget Management – 30%
The Analyst develops activity level budgets in close coordination with USAID/Washington, including prior year un-obligated carryover funds and current year appropriations. The work requires a thorough knowledge of the Somalia Field Office portfolio, their resource requirements, and implied analysis of activity expenditure rates and pipelines; discussion and clearance of plans by the Program Officer, and approval by the Office Director. The Analyst tracks and records allowances, commitments, and obligations against budgets throughout the year; and, assures obligations are recorded timely, in accordance with approved procurement plans, and that prior year carryover funds are the first obligated; reviews the budget during the year; discusses issues with the Teams and USAID/Washington; and, suggests changes in OYBs as appropriate and shares revised budgets with the Somalia Field Office and the Bureau staff. The Analyst prepares budget allowance requests according to funding requirements identified in procurement plans; submits to the Africa Bureau; and, requests the Bureau to de-allow un-obligated balances of funds at end of year, and to re-apportion and re-allow in the following fiscal year. The Analyst tracks Congressional earmarks and directives at the office level; and assures they are reflected in the OYB and implemented; and, prepares memoranda for approval of the Director of Foreign Assistance (F), and/or change notices, to request approval for additional funds, reprogramming, or emergency requests for funds (F memos also accompany all Congressional Notifications).
The Analyst leads the fiscal year procurement planning process for the Somalia Field Office. Prepares drafts or consolidates procurement plans for the Somalia Field Office and sends to the Contracting Office for review and feedback; incorporates inputs, and works closely with counterparts to finalize the annual procurement plan; monitors implementation of the procurement plan during the fiscal year; updates plans regularly; and, suggests changes or revisions as appropriate.
- Program Planning and Reporting – 20%
The Analyst maintains the financial and programmatic portion Operational Plan (OP) for the Somalia Field Office, which serves as the basis for the CBJ; administers FACTS Info (an online database used for submission of OP data for all USG agencies under F budget authority), with responsibility for interacting with other associated agencies, tracking other agency budget allocations against multi-agency budget submissions (MRR, CBJ, OP, etc.), tracking changes to submissions, and advising on appropriate placement of funds; and, provides USAID FACTS Info training, coordination and oversight of data entry, and quality control of data entered into the FACTS Info system. The Analyst advises Mission Management, Offices and Teams on CN requirements, format, and submission schedules; prepares draft CNs for Office and Team review/comment; submits CNs to appropriate staff for processing and submission to Congress; tracks the CN clearance process in the Africa Bureau and the Bureau of Legislative and Public Affairs; and, advises Somalia’s Office staff on CN status, expiration dates, etc. The Analyst performs long-term, multi-year resource planning, considering Mission strategic directions and program priorities, general country budget trends and expected future-year budget levels, and mortgages of current and planned programs/projects/activities, and earmarks and directives. The Analyst serves as a key contact for the Somalia Field Office and Bureau staff for a variety of program financial issues; provides advice and recommendations to the Office Director, and Teams on strategic resource planning, budget formulation, justification and implementation procedures, etc.; and, serves as liaison with USAID/Washington, as well as the Desk Officer. The Analyst responds to scheduled and ad hoc budget requests from USAID/Washington, F Bureau, the Embassy, and the Government of Somalia requests, Bureau field support requests from Teams, specific Congressional requests, requests for historical funding levels, breakdowns of fiscal year funding, annual expenditures by specific program areas, etc.; and, collaborates with other offices in collecting and analyzing required data, preparation of information in a presentable format, and, after clearance, providing information to requestors.
- Reporting 10%
The Analyst prepares timely periodic accounting reports such as detailed quarterly and summarized pipeline reports, expiring funds report; Operating Expenses budget status reports; develops expected burn rates for the upcoming six-month period, and discusses corrective action leading to more timely expenditure of program funds, and develops internal ad hoc reports with graphical presentation of the financial data to illustrate how efficient programs/sectors are managed, consults with various technical offices to discuss the program/sector reporting needs, analyzes the information required, designs, and generates tailored financial reports from the official accounting data.
The Analyst collates and coordinates compilation analysis, and submits periodic accounting reports including those filed through USAID’s financial data collection systems. These include reporting on Property, Plant and Equipment; Operating Leases; Expendable Property; Payroll-related accruals (Unfunded Annual Leave for PSCs, FSN Separation Pay); and FSN Severance Liability Trust Fund. The Analyst prepares monthly and quarterly cash reconciliation reports including but not limited to the SF224/SF 6653/6655, suspense ageing and SF 6653 as required by USAID/W and US Treasury, prepares implementing partners’ expenditure reports; E2 travel reports, Advance outstanding reports and any ad-hoc reports.
POSITION ELEMENTS
- Supervision Received: The Analyst works under the general supervision of the Controller’s Office. Assignments are made orally and in writing, with most assignments occurring in the normal course of the work, but the Analyst is expected to determine those that must be coordinated with the supervisor. The supervisor provides a review of the assignment, the goals and objectives to be achieved, and the results expected. The Analyst will seek advice and assistance as required. Work is reviewed in terms of results achieved.
- Available Guidelines:The Analyst follows USAID operating policies, Mission Orders, guidance provided by USAID’s Automative Directives System (ADS), and oral instructions from the supervisor. Other guidance comes from the Project Officers Guide Book and the Evaluation Handbook; the Federal Acquisitions Regulations; US law and policies; and, established administrative procedures and regulations.
- Exercise of Judgment:Substantial independent judgment is required in determining budgets for the Somalia Field Office and for individual programs/projects/activities, and in recommending choices among conflicting demands for resources. Judgment is required in planning, monitoring, and evaluating design and program activities vis-à-vis proposed and allocated budgets. The Analyst exercises judgment in resolving technical and/or operational problems encountered, as well as in determining the need for consultation with superiors when circumstances require.
- Authority to Make Commitments:The Analyst has specific authorities delegated by the Program Officer, largely based on the personal skills and knowledge the Analyst brings to the job. The Analyst independently provides assignments to Teams regarding the preparation of DO and program/project/activity-level budgets and procurement plans; and, negotiates and determines the levels of obligation based on expenditure rates and Agency forward-funding guidelines. The Analyst has no personal authority to commit the USG to the expenditure of funds, but within the scope of the assignment the Analyst frequently negotiates ad referendum for the immediate supervisor.
The supervisor typically clears all major written communications to parties outside the Mission.
- Nature, Level and Purpose of Contacts: The Analyst interacts with tact and good judgment with senior and mid-level officials, both inside and outside the USG concerning design and program issues, policies, coordination, and consultation. Internal contacts include the Mission Director, Office Chiefs, and Team Leaders and members; external contacts include mid-level to senior officials in Ministries, and senior officials from the donor community, other associated agencies, and the private sector.
- Supervision Exercised:Continuing supervision of other Mission staff is not contemplated. The Analyst does provide work guidance to Teams and individual staff members, and reviews work performed by others, verifies work submitted for accuracy, and clears documents for administrative action.
- Time Required to Perform the Full Range of Duties:One year.
For a detailed description, visit www.myjobsinkenya.com/usaid.
The strict closing date/deadline for receipt of applications is February 3, 2017 at 4:30 pm East Africa Time.
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