Finance Support Assistant

Job Description

Purpose of the Assignment:

The Finance Support Assistants will:

• Provide clerical and administrative finance support throughout the campaign period.
• Facilitate and track payments related to MDA activities, travel related procurements and logistics.
• Ensure accuracy and completeness of financial documentation in accordance with donor and MC internal policies.

Methodology:

• The methodology for this assignment involves providing targeted finance support to the State Finance Officers during and after the 2026 Cascade training and round 3 distribution campaign in Kaduna and Jigawa State.
• The states are subdivided into 23 LGAs and 27 LGAs respectively, organised into 3 operational clusters. One Finance Support Assistant will be assigned per cluster (covering approximately 8-9 LGAs each).
• Each assistant will support payments for an estimated 5,000 - 6,000 campaign personnel and over 40 vendors per cluster. Responsibilities will include documentation review, payment tracking, schedule preparation, and compliance monitoring in collaboration with the finance officers.

Key Responsibilities

Daily Tasks:

• Review all transactions and ensure completeness of documentation and required approvals.
• Review attendance records using the approved database and prepare accurate payment schedules for AZM Campaign personnel, ensuring that schedules match both the attendance sheets and the database.
• Prepare payment vouchers and ensure proper cost classification and coding.
• Receive payment advice and attach to relevant documents for proper filing.
• Collaborate with the Finance Officer to ensure that payment vouchers (PVs) are raised with all supporting documents and are properly filed.
• Advise the Finance Officer on financial issues and flag areas of concern, proposing potential solutions.
• Maintain an Excel journal template to record all completed payments and share with the Finance Officer weekly for posting.
• Safeguard the organisation's resources by thoroughly reviewing all payment requests, TAFs, and PRFs in compliance with the Malaria Consortium Manual, Policies, and Procedures.
• Follow up on the stock balance of financial forms (e.g., arch files, stamp, pins, clips,) and make timely requisitions to prevent stock-outs.
• Support onsite logistics and distribution of training materials where necessary.
• Attend and take finance-related notes during cascade training sessions.

Weekly Tasks:

• Follow up with finance officer and dotted line supervisors for pending documentation that would enable achievement of deliverables.
• Prepare and submit payment schedules for cascade trainings and MDAs by LGA.
• Review supporting documents before submission to the country office for archive.
• Maintain and update trackers for paid vs pending claims by activity and LGA.
• Track and receive all invoices from suppliers and vendors; process invoice authorisation forms and process payments with appropriate approvals.
• Assist with Failed payment tracking and reconciliations.
• Generate weekly summary reports of all finance activities.

Operations and Other Tasks:

• Archive, scan, and file all finance documents ensuring compliance with the MC finance manual filing standards.
• Maintain a tracker for all payment documents and ensure they are sent to or received from Abuja.
• Support audits by making required documents available.
• Assist in asset spot checks and physical verification exercises.

Deliverables:

• Complete and verifiable payment schedules for all cascade trainings and MDA rounds.
• Scanned and filed documentation for each payment batch.
• Weekly activity tracker and finance support status reports.
• Monthly summary report
• Final summary report at the end of the 8-week assignment.

Accountability:

• The Jigawa FAs will be directly accountable to the State Finance Officer - Jigawa State and the Kaduna FAs will be directly accountable to the Country Finance Office-Abuja.
• Functionally report to the State Program Manager.
• Must maintain confidentiality and adhere to MC's safeguarding and data protection policies.

Timeline and Other Assignment Details:

• Duration: 44 days
• Location: Kaduna (Having one out of the 3 required FAs based in Abuja with the country finance officer) and Jigawa State
• Number of Finance Support Assistants Required: 6 (3 per state)

Support and Resources:

• Consultant would be required to work with their personal laptops
• A workstation at the MC state office in Kaduna and Jigawa will be made available.
• Orientation on SARMAAN finance tools and reporting templates.
• Supervision and oversight by the Finance Officer and designated MC staff.

Expected Outcome:

• A smooth and timely financial documentation and payment process across all the LGAs.
• Reduced errors and improved turnaround time in processing participant and vendors' payments, with an estimated payment completion period of no later than 13 days after the conclusion of each activity.
• Strengthened compliance and transparency in MDA-related financial transactions.

Specific expected outcomes include:

• Submission of Accurate Payment Schedules: At least 3 LGA payment schedules must be reviewed, validated, and submitted within 48 hours of receiving complete supporting documentation (i.e., attendance sheets and Approved databases).
• Voucher Preparation and Processing: Prepare corresponding payment vouchers within 24 hours of validation and submission of the payment schedule.
• Documentation and Attachment: Ensure payment advices are properly generated and attached to all processed vouchers immediately after final authorisation on the I-banking platform.
• Document Scanning and Filing: Scan and file all payment-related documents within 3 days of final payment authorization.
• Archiving Coordination: Collaborate with the finance officers to ensure all original payment documents are packaged and dispatched to the Country Office no later than the 10th working day of the following month.
• Ongoing Support and Compliance: Maintain 100% compliance with documentation standards (complete signatures, correct codes, proper use of templates) and escalate any discrepancies to the Finance Officer within 12 hours of detection.

Consultancy Requirements

• A graduate preferably with a degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration or any social science course
• Computer literate preferably at intermediate level - use of Excel and Word
• Excellent numeracy, written and verbal communication skills
• Exceptional attention to details and accuracy
• Ability to work independently in an organized manner but within an integrated team.