Finance and Administration Manager

The Agribusiness Initiative (aBi) Trust is a component of the U-Growth programme which was initiated by The Royal Danish Embassy in 2007. The Trust will support the government of Uganda and the private sector in achieving the objectives of the Competitive and Investment Climate Strategy and thereby contribute to poverty reduction through economic growth, wealth and employment creation. The development objective of aBi is to build a self-sustaining export led economy in which the benefits of .growth are shared by all Ugandans and the immediate objective is to strengthen the competitiveness of Uganda's 17 agricultural and agro-processing sectors. In order to achieve its development objective, aBi has three sub-components each with its own immediate objective, The sub components are: Value chain Development, Expansion of financial services supporting agribusiness and Trade-related Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and quality management systems. The aBi Trust will have a mission to:

• Invest in financial institutions that engage in the financing of agribusiness;
• Guarantee credit to agribusinesses and agribusiness financiers on a fee basis, informed always by sound due diligence;
• Deliver business development services to agribusinesses and agribusiness financiers;
• Provide leadership and technical assistance to the development of Uganda's key agricultural value chains, from input supply, through production, processing and export (including standards); and
• Ultimately provide the above services on a basis that covers the operating and financial expenses of the aBi Trust.

For the first four years, the aBi will be funded jointly by the governments of Denmark, Sweden, Belgium and the EC and will be based on a joint partnership with Denmark as the lead partner. The proposed joint funding will be to a tune of EUR 42.1 million. A Technical Assistance team will support the aBi Trust management and staff to establish and develop the institution. The aBi Trust is expected to develop and function as a professionally managed business which will transition into a permanent, unassisted, institution servicing agribusiness. The Trust is expected to generate income and to attract new investment, sufficient to sustain and grow its operations.

The Founders of the aBi Trust are the Government of Uganda and the Government of Denmark, with Denmark providing the Trust's initial capital endowment, inclusive of capital for the provision of portfolio guarantees, lines of credit and other facilities to commercial banks and other financial institutions. The Founders will appoint a Board of Trustees (BoT) who will have ovarall responsibility for directing the development of the Trust and the management of its assets and the operations, including the recruitment of a management team. The Founders will direct and supervise the Trust until the BoT are onboard and functional.

In order to deliver the mandate of the aBi Trust, the Founders seek to recruit competent, professional, business oriented individuals for the following managerial positions. These positions will report . directly to the aBi Trust's Managing Director (MD)

Finance and Administration Manager .

The Finance and Administration manager will be responsible for the financial accounting and reporting, day-to-day administration and the human resource functions of the Trust. In this role the FAM will have several staff reporting to him/her Inciuding an Accounts Assistant and other general administrative staff, The FAM's duties will include but will not be limited to:
- Regularly review and update the operations manuals (Financial Management and reporting, Administration and Human Resources) upon approval of the MD and BoT;
Financial management
- Maintain an efficient accounting system of the Trust, including;
- Supervise the Accounts Assistant in his/her responsibility of raising and posting of financial transactions and approve such transactions;
- Implement proper record keeping and custody policies of all assets in accordance with the Operations Manual and/or other guidelines that may apply;
.- Safe guard the integrity of accounting records and financial transactions;
- Oversee the daily financial management including the processing of payment vouchers, entering transactions in the accounting system, preparation of bank reconciliations, updating the asset register and filing accounting documents;
- Forecast Trust's excess liquidity and undertake quarterly reviews of investment options (treasury bills, treasury bonds and fixed deposits) and present the options to the Investment Committee;
- Ensure timely collection of debts, cash and cash flow management;
- As a co-signatory, maintain and supervise all operations of the bank accounts held by the Trust for operations and investments;
- Maintain records of all lines of credit to the Trust and account for deposited funds and investments;
- Prepare periodic reports, as requested, and advise management on financial performance, including but not limited to cash flow forecasts, management accounts, budget vs. actual variance reports etc;
- Prepare timely annual financial statements for external audit;
- Prepare, process and submit documents for tax and other statutory remittances in a timely manner; and
- Oversee the maintenance and on a need basis the customization of computerised accounting software.
Administration
- Ensure the smooth operations of the Trust, including:
- Supervise the development and maintenance of smooth and efficient procurement and inventory management systems, that ensure the efficient and economic use of the Trust's resources; and
- Supervise the management and maintenance of office facilities, filing systems, and office support services such as IT support.
Human Resources
- Support the Trust's regular operations, including:
- Coordinate the human resource activities of the Trust including recruitment and selection, induction and orientation, staff development, performance management and separation;
- Directly supervise the Accounts Assistant and other administrative staff;
- Maintain all Human Resources records;
- Oversee the timely payment of remuneration and statutory dues for the staff;
- Promote the professional development of individual staff under his/her care; and
- Ensure that policies and procedures adhere to Ugandan labour laws and follow best practices for staff appraisal, development, discipline, welfare etc.-

Qualifications and experience:
The ideal candidate should possess the following:
- Graduate degree in business, finance, agribusiness or other relevant discipline;
- A post graduate degree in the relevant field;
- Professional qualification in accounting such as ACCA, CIMA, CA,CFAorCPA;
- Minimum of seven years progressive management experience, most recently as a head or deputy head of a finance and administration function in financial institution, private sector firm or a manager in an audit/financial advisory firm, or similar relevant enterprise;
- Strong and auditable knowledge and skills in:
- Knowledge of International Financial Reporting Standards, Company law and Tax legislation;
- Spoken and written English;
- Quantitative analysis;
- Staff supervision and coaching;
- Effective Communication;
- Use of Microsoft Office packages; and
-Proficiency in financial software applications, with skills in Microsoft Dynamics NAV (Navision), will be considered an added advantage.

The offer:
The successful candidate will be compensated by an attractive package that will include both a base salary and performance-based compensation paid against the overall achievements of negotiated performance targets,
Tenure;

The positions will initially be contracted for two years subjact to a six month probationary period, and shall be available for renewal on satisfactory performance.