Virunga Power – Finance Associate.

About the job

Job posting: Finance Associate

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

About Virunga Power

Virunga Power is a rural electric utility company focused on scaling a new model for the generation and distribution of power in sub-Saharan Africa. We develop, own, and operate baseload renewable generation and grid distribution projects across East and Southern Africa to serve communities and industries in rural areas with reliable power. The company’s primary focus is to create a sustainable, affordable, and profitable solution to the problem of access to modern energy in sub-Saharan Africa at scale.

Virunga Power is currently developing, operating, and investing in run-of-river hydropower generation of up to 20 MW and rural distribution network projects in Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Malawi, and Zambia.

About the Role

Virunga Power is looking for a capable and experienced individual to support the finance team on all tax, compliance and accounting processes for its operations in East and Southern Africa. The successful candidate will possess strong investigatory, organizational and problem-solving skills, and will be dedicated to good corporate governance. She or he will have a working knowledge of internationally accepted accounting principles, use of accounting software and preparation of financial statements and ad-hoc reports. The successful candidate shall be able to work autonomously in self-directed environment, shall take initiative, and be a good communicator.

Duties & Responsibilities

The Finance Associate will be entrusted with the following duties and responsibilities:

Accounting & Financial Analysis

• Work closely with the Finance team and take ownership of a range of general financial & administrative tasks
• Supervise, review the work, and provide guidance and feedback to bookkeepers in multiple countries
• Research accounting implications of financial transactions
• Ensure accurate maintenance of all ledgers & sub ledgers for the group subsidiaries: account payables, account receivables, fixed assets, inventories and bank accounts
• Participate to the consolidation process
• Prepare the annual financial statements
• Handle the annual statutory audits
• Work with the Finance team in strengthening the control environment and improving the internal processes to improve quality of accounting records
• Create and maintain various spreadsheets and dashboards to analyse data
• Ensure journals and account reconciliations are completed accurately and timely
• Post transactions in the accounting system and perform monthly close of book procedures on all company ledgers
• Maintain the petty cash register
• Set up payments through MPESA
• Account for MPESA transactions
• Perform stock counts

Tax & Compliance

• Ensure accurate and timely filing of all taxes and contributions, and annual returns
• Follow industry trends and track changes in tax legislation; prepare overview briefs for Management
• Research tax implications of financial transactions
• Prepare necessary paperwork for tax declarations and payments
• Facilitate the communication with the administrations
• Ensure close monitoring of service providers (tax, payroll, company secretary)
• Build and sustain positive relationships and collaboration with the service providers
• Keep up to date with regulatory environment

Minimum Requirements:

The ideal candidate would have the following skills and credentials:

Education and Experience:

• Four plus years of experience in a similar role
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Accounting, Economics, Finance, or similar
• Past experience working with a ‘Big 4’ firm in a tax or assurance department is an added advantage
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word), QuickBooks, Odoo and other relevant accounting software
• Experience with accounting for infrastructure projects and/or energy project development, especially Power & Utilities, a plus
• Experience working or traveling in East and Southern Africa a plus

Competencies:

• Knowledge of accounting and bookkeeping procedures
• Solid understanding of basic accounting and IFRS knowledge
• Strong fluency with Excel formulas and reporting
• Detail-oriented and strong data gathering skills
• Good communication skills with team members
• Strong written and spoken English skills are required. French or additional language spoken which are relevant to working in East and Southern Africa is a plus.
• Effective organizational and prioritization skills
• Keen attention to detail
• Commitment to professionalism and high standards of integrity and ethics
• Ability to work autonomously and with minimal instruction
• Takes initiative, positive and proactive, hands-on
• Able to work in a multicultural environment
• At ease working remotely and with online collaboration tools

Method of Application

If you are interested and feel that you meet the criteria outlined above, please send a copy of your current CV and brief note to jobs@virungapower.com with the subject “Finance Associate”.

Note: Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.