Senior Finance Officer-Nairobi (Maternity Cover)

Role Overview

This position takes on the day-to-day accounting and treasury workload of ACTED's Kenya mission in Nairobi, covering a colleague's maternity leave, and acts as the practical link between what field bases spend and what the country finance function records. The jobholder posts and reconciles transactions, runs the payment cycle, tracks project spend against budgets, and keeps the supporting paperwork ready for audit — work that determines whether programmes can disburse funds, report accurately and stay compliant. The cover is needed urgently, so the person who fills it must be able to pick up the systems and the finance calendar quickly and keep it moving without interruption.

Key Responsibilities

• Record and consolidate accounting entries for the Nairobi office and integrate accounting data submitted by field bases so the mission's books are complete and current each period.
• Maintain cash and bank books in line with internal accounting procedures, and apply correct account codes and project allocations to every transaction so that postings hold up at month-end.
• Run the payment cycle end to end: confirm approvals, ensure each payment is backed by complete and correct documentation before release, and see that statutory payments and other obligations are settled on schedule.
• Prepare and track weekly and monthly cash forecasts and cash requests, coordinating with field bases and other departments on how much is needed and when.
• Raise and follow up advances, loans and other open balances so that nothing remains unresolved on the accounts.
• Keep finance vouchers and supporting documents approved, coded, filed and digitised, and carry out regular spot checks to catch missing, incorrect or incomplete paperwork.
• Support monthly and annual closing and reconciliations, and monitor project expenditure against budgets, purchase orders and allocations, escalating variances or allocation problems to the Finance Manager.
• Produce financial reports and project financial information, maintain contract follow-up and debt follow-up schedules, and provide well-organised documentation and responses to internal and external auditors.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in finance, accounting, business administration, economics or a closely related discipline.
• A professional accounting qualification, or active progress towards CPA or ACCA, is an advantage.
• At least five years of relevant finance or accounting experience, ideally gained within an INGO, NGO or humanitarian organisation.
• Practical experience across the core finance cycle: bookkeeping, payment processing, cash management and financial reporting.
• Demonstrated exposure to project financial management, including budget monitoring and cost allocation across multiple projects or donors.
• Experience reviewing financial documentation for completeness and compliance, and supporting audits or compliance reviews.
• Previous responsibility for supervising or guiding junior finance staff.
• Solid grasp of accounting principles, internal financial controls, and Kenyan statutory and tax requirements.
• Strong Microsoft Excel skills and comfortable working across MS Office applications; familiarity with SAGA or comparable financial systems is an advantage.
• Sharp attention to detail with the ability to spot errors and inconsistencies, plus the organisation to work under pressure and hit tight deadlines.
• Clear communication and interpersonal skills, a high standard of integrity and confidentiality, and the ability to work independently while coordinating closely with other departments.

What We Offer / Why Join

• A defined maternity cover contract giving you ownership of a mission-level finance function during the assignment period.
• A Nairobi-based role within ACTED's Kenya mission, working alongside Finance, Logistics, Compliance and Programme colleagues, as well as field bases.
• Direct exposure to the full range of donor compliance, audit and internal control requirements in a humanitarian context.
• An urgent recruitment process — the mission is looking to have the right candidate start as soon as possible.
• A working environment governed by ACTED's financial procedures, Code of Conduct and PSEA/safeguarding policies.

Kenyan candidates who match the profile are invited to send a cover letter and detailed CV as a single document, with the cover letter on the first page and the CV beginning on the second, including contact details for up to two referees, to [email protected], using the subject line "Senior Finance Officer _Nairobi". Applications must arrive by 5:00 PM on 08 October 2026. Please do not attach additional documents; any further paperwork will be requested at a later stage if needed.