Financial Officer

SUMMARY:
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POSITION INFO:
Financial Officer: George We are looking to recruit an experienced Financial Officer based in George. This individual will provide financial management, analysis and reporting to support the delivery of projects in our client’s Transport Practice. ROLE & PURPOSE The purpose of the Financial Officer is to provide financial management, reporting and compliance support to the project. The individual ensures accurate, timely grant and budget reporting, sound expenditure control, compliant procurement, and effective stakeholder engagement across municipal and provincial counterparts. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Include, but are not limited to, the following areas: Financial Management and Budget Management • Prepare monthly and quarterly grant reports. • Compile weekly financial reporting updates to project stakeholders • Update monthly actuals in the OUR CLIENT Finance Model. • Prepare and correct journals; review monthly transaction listings; prepare virements and journals; follow up variances in actual vs projected expenditure. • Provide support to the financial management process as part of each budget cycle: Monitor ongoing expenditure relating to annual project budgets to ensure effective management of funds; • Provide Finance inputs to the OUR CLIENT Management Committee (MANCO) monthly report; update monthly actuals in the OUR CLIENT Finance Model. • Assist with the preparation of budget adjustments, virements and funding motivations; review financial data, spreadsheets, budgets and reports, translating quantitative information into clear, decision-supporting insights. Invoice & Payment Certificate Review • Review payment certificates and invoices for operational contracts related to the project. • Ensure compliance with the MFMA and relevant municipal legislation\/policies. • Engage with service providers to resolve invoice errors and other issues prior to payment. Fare Revenue Reconciliation & Audit • Perform monthly fare revenue reconciliations for kiosks and third-party journals. • Prepare audit requests and respond to audit queries (internal and external). • Facilitate engagements with revenue service providers to correct inconsistencies as part of the fare revenue reconciliation process. Procurement & Contract Support • Lead procurement processes below R200,000. • Support the review of procurement processes for the entire project, irrespective of value. • Operate controls: Review the weekly procurement tracker; review submitted requests and ensure authorisations; track requests to completion. Compensation • Prepare monthly payment memos and payment packs for operator compensation processes • Assist with compensation queries, payslips and IRP5s. • Support compensation processes during major rounds as required. Finance Meeting & Formal Reporting • Record minutes for monthly finance meetings; prepare slide packs and agendas; present relevant sections at Finance Workstream meetings. • Prepare annual grant close‑out reports • Provide finance inputs for annual project reports, as required. • Ad hoc reporting: Provide finance reports for ad hoc submissions Client Engagement & Relationship Management • Cultivate relationships with clients, stakeholders, sub-contractors and service providers to achieve project objectives. • Work collaboratively with clients to support finance-related objectives that are required to support the project. Project and Team Management • Provide ongoing support in the management, accounting, reporting, and updating of project finances and budgets. • Collaborate with project teams to deliver standardised and ad hoc outputs required by the client. • Support knowledge transfer on recurring budget reports; support onboarding to preserve institutional knowledge QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE Required • A qualification in Accounting. • Must have a track record of academic excellence. • Minimum 5 years of finance-related experience, preferably in the public sector environment. • Good understanding of finance-related legislation, regulations and processes in the public sector (e.g. PFMA, MFMA, SCM) as well as the municipal accounting system (MSCOA) • Good exposure to research, analysis, synthesis and problem-solving. • Must demonstrate strong numeracy capabilities, with excellent Excel abilities. • Must be able to think logically and independently. • Must demonstrate ability to work as part of a team. • Must have interdisciplinary interests and skills. • Fluency in English. Ability to converse in Afrikaans will be an advantage. Desired • A postgraduate qualification in Accounting or Finance-Related Function. • Exposure to a broad range of finance-related sub-functions (e.g. project or infrastructure finance, financial structuring, public-sector financing, investment banking, business planning, project financial modelling and accounting), and a demonstrable track record of high performance in these areas.   KEY SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES This role calls for several specific skills and characteristics, including: • Ability to conceptualise problems, and identify the quantitative variables and their complex interrelationships; • A strong ability to translate and capture these variables and interrelationships in MS Excel or other quantitative software; • Numerical excellence and an ability to understand and translate logic into calculation language; • The ability to work backwards from the client’s output expectations through the calculation engine to the necessary input drivers thereto; • Strong financial acumen and the ability to interpret and apply financial information; • Strong work ethic, self-motivated and demonstrable high standards of achievement; • Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work in diverse teams as well as independently; • An energetic problem-solver, who is open-minded with multi-perspective views; • Interest in working towards a desired outcome on complex and ambiguous client problems; • Ability to research and translate findings into products; • Good time management, with the ability to meet task deadlines within stipulated timeframes and budget; • Excellent oral and written communication skills; • Demonstrable ability to clearly break down and explain a complex topic verbally and in writing; • Ability to listen and respond to input and diverse perspectives; and • Ability to adapt and work in a highly pressurised environment. Kindly note that by submitting your application for this career opportunity, you agree that Guardian Recruiting may use your application for the purpose of the recruitment and selection of the said position and this information may be shared with the relevant stakeholders in the business. Please note that only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Should you not have heard back within a two-week period, please assume that your application was unsuccessful. All job postings are in accordance with our Client's BEE requirements. Please only send certificates when requested to do so