Job Description

FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION OFFICER – PHARO SCHOOLS, ASSOSA, BENISHANGUL-GUMUZ REGIONAL STATE

Company Overview

The Pharo Foundation (the ‘’Foundation”) is a privately funded entrepreneurial organization that runs philanthropic programmes as well as for-profit social ventures. The Vision of the Foundation is an economically vibrant and inclusive Africa. The Mission is to achieve the Vision by investing in the human and physical capital of Africa, with a strong focus on job creation.

 Established in 2011 as a UK based non-profit, the Foundation has since made a strategic shift to directly design and implement its own programmes to ensure greater engagement with communities, better results and increased accountability.

The Foundation has carried out numerous projects in East Africa, with a focus on Ethiopia and Somaliland and has now established an office in Rwanda. The key strategic pillars for the philanthropic side of the Foundation are education, health, water and agriculture. At the end of 2019, the Foundation also started its Pharo Ventures franchise to priority sectors where the Foundation believes a real impact can be made by establishing self-sustaining businesses, which focus on job and economic value creation.

Pharo Primary and Secondary Schools in addition to Kindergarten Assosa, in Benishangul Gumuz Regional State are newly established schools aiming to increase the access to quality education services in Assosa city and create learning centers of excellence in the region.

Our schools follow the regional and national curriculum that is assisted and supplemented by reading materials and creative technology-based learning and education technology solutions including well organized instructional classrooms for active learning, continuous assessment, guidance and support, age appropriate library, science laboratories, ICT and pedagogical centers. Our schools offer a child friendly learning environment that treats all children in an equal and respectful manner and more importantly strive towards students’ all-round development.

Headquartered in the UK (London), the Foundation has an operational head office in Kenya (Nairobi) with country offices in Ethiopia (Addis Ababa and Assosa), Somaliland (Hargeisa), and Rwanda (Kigali).

Contract Type : Permanent

Number Required: 1

Reporting to: Primary School Principal

Functional Relationships with: Finance and Administration Coordinator, Assosa and Finance and Administration Manager, Country Office

Under the supervision of Primary School Principal, the Finance and Administration Officer will be accountable for maintaining financial and administrative processes within the schools through effective implementation of policies, systems and robust internal controls as well as accurate and transparent record keeping.

 She/he will also be responsible for the procurement and logistics functions of the school in consultation with the program office and put in place structures that ensure quality service delivery to the schools.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Finance and Accounting

• Work closely with Program Office Finance and Admin Coordinator to ensure smooth operation and compliance with the organisation’s financial procedures.
• Review the school financial transactions before payments are made and facilitate approvals for final payments.
• Handle and control petty cash of the Schools.
•  Enter monthly financial data into the accounting system.
•  Assist the School Principal in ensuring effective and efficient school budget utilization.
• Prepare management accounts for the school team reviews.
• Prepare School accounts reconciliations.
• Prepare and send monthly funds request to Country Office in collaboration with the School Principal.
• Assist with the financial year-end processes.
• Ensure compliance with finance policies and procedures.

Administration

•  Maintain and regularly update the fixed assets register.
•  Facilitate annual inventory taking.
•  Participate in procurement planning, execution and tracking.
• Organize and coordinate the efficient provision of office services, transport, maintenance and other general services to the Schools.
• Control vehicle management such as log sheets, fuel usage, insurance, pertinent reports and related tasks.
•  Create and maintain a filing structure for all contractual documents that is transparent and easily accessible.
•  Any other related duties assigned by the supervisor.

Job Requirements

Qualification Requirement

• BA Degree in Accounting and 5 years working experience.
• Experience in private schools and NGOs.
• Proven practice of IT, specifically with regards to Excel and accounting software. (Xero, QuickBooks, Sage)
• Ability to manage workload and ensures timely delivery with minimal supervision
• Good understanding of school environment

Behavioral Competencies

• High professional and ethical standards
• Great attention to detail and a flexible approach to work
• High level of commitment and self-motivation
• Positive outlook and outgoing personality with solid interpersonal skill
• Excellent time management skills with ability to balance multiple priorities
• Motivated to learn and perform and not afraid to ask questions
• Demonstrate the ability of strong communication skills in both Amharic and English, verbally and in writing

How to Apply

Review of complete applications will be on a rolling basis. In the event that we identify an outstanding candidate early in the search process, we reserve the right to appoint before the deadline. For this reason, we encourage interested candidates to apply at the earliest possible time. Due to the high volume of applications, we regret that we will only be able to contact short-listed candidates.

Please send the information listed below, as a single PDF file, to the following email address: recruiting.et@pharofoundation.org . Please indicate ‘’Application for Pharo Schools Finance and Administration Officer, Assosa” in the email subject line

1. A detailed CV and Covering Letter, 
2. A 500-word essay on the below: 

• What experience have you gained that makes you the most qualified candidate for the role?

1. One-page list of five references with current addresses, phone numbers, and email contacts.

Female applicants are highly encouraged to apply