MEDA’s Overview

Mennonite Economic Development Associate (MEDA) is an international non-governmental organization incorporated in Canada and registered in Ethiopia.  MEDA is currently carrying out EMERTA project which stands for Ethiopians Motivating Enterprises to Rise in Trade and Agri-business and means ‘to leap to great heights’ in Amharic by focusing specifically on women.  The project is committed to increasing sustainable employment and income generation for women and men in Amhara region of Ethiopia in rice, vegetables and gems sectors, with a focus on women.  MEDA is committed to identify and mitigate the social and economic barriers that limit women’s participation in the selected market sectors and constrain their participation in household decisions and control over resources.

Job Overview:

The Finance Assistant/Cashier provides technical financial expertise in documenting the organization’s finances in accordance with Ethiopian law, donor standards, best accounting practices and financial policies. The Finance Assistant/Cashier plays a key role in financial issues and assists the Finance Manager and Accountants in planning, organizing, and controlling the financial accounting activities of projects and facilitates tasks according to the policies and procedures in place. The incumbent will also be responsible for managing petty cash fund.

The Finance Assistant/Cashier works closely with the Finance Manager and Accountants of MEDA to coordinate financial transactions of the project and assure accuracy, quality and timeliness of financial accounting in the Ethiopia office. The position will be based in Bahirdar.

Key Responsibilities:

• Prepare cheques for withdrawal and payments; and handle all disbursements and bank deposits following MEDA’s Financial and Procurement policies and procedures.
• Assist in providing accurate and timely financial reports; review project’s financial report compared to implementation plans & budget.  Assist in preparing Excel uploader sheet & expenses summary submit with all supporting documents on a monthly or bi-monthly basis.
• Ensure timely settlement of taxes & pension contribution to the respective tax authorities
• Prepare petty cash payment vouchers, cheque payment vouchers, journal vouchers & coding according to the Chart of Accounts and submit to the Finance Manager for review
• Manage the petty cash as per the financial policy of the organization.  Keep custody of petty cash and collected cash from settlement or other sources
• Properly document all payment receipts and other necessary supporting documents substantiating CPV, JV and CRV.  Stamp “PAID” on all payment and settlement documents;
• Receive all approved cash after getting approval through Cash Receipt Voucher and ensure that all collected cash is deposited intact.  Ensure timely payment settlements
• Track bank balances on regular basis and prepare bank reconciliation for all bank accounts on a monthly basis
• Prepare tracking tool for medical expenses and PF ledger
• Ensure safe custody of financial documents, photocopy, scan, file finance related documents
• Provide general assistance to the finance team which includes disbursement of perdiem and other payments for training, workshops etc. as required.
• Actively participate in participation of annual budget & revision
• Assist in processing travel and work advance requests , check vehicle travel forms are filled properly by the staffs & approved by their supervisors and check fuel record whether it is properly filled on the log book.
• Cover other team member’s role when team member is absent and perform other similar duties as assigned by immediate supervisor.

Essential:

• Degree/Diploma in Accounting with minimum of 3-5 years in progressive working experience in similar environment
• Strong experience in corporate accounting and financial activities and standards
• Excellent computer skills in Excel and accounting software.
• Excellent analysis and writing skills

Desirable:

• Previous employment as Finance Assistant/Cashier in an international organization
• Working knowledge of major donor financial rules and regulations, operations, and practices.

Core Competencies:

• Results/solutions oriented
• Demonstrating accountability, accuracy, timeliness and commitment
• Communicating effectively and building cooperative working relationships
• Ability to gathering information and make sound decisions

Managing and improving performance