Program Accountant (NGO) - Nairobi

About the role

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is hiring a full-time, on-site Program Accountant in Nairobi. The role manages project finances, tracks budgets and expenditure, processes payments, prepares financial reports and ensures compliance with donor requirements and organisational financial policies.

Key responsibilities

• Maintain accurate accounting records for assigned REAP countries, workstreams, partners and cost categories, and prepare monthly, quarterly and annual program financial reports with budget-versus-actual analysis, commitments, burn rate, forecasts and cash position.
• Support Mastercard Foundation financial reports, fund requests and forecasts, and track donor reporting deadlines through the ERP system (OCS).
• Support preparation, consolidation and revision of program budgets and forecasts, monitor spending against budgets, and guide program staff on budget interpretation and eligible costs.
• Review partner budgets, cash requests and reports, support partner due diligence and risk assessments, and follow up overdue partner reports.
• Prepare cash-flow projections, raise donor invoices, process partner and supplier payments, and reconcile receivables, payables, advances and partner balances.
• Monitor foreign currency transactions and provide information to the Finance & Grants Manager and ILRI Treasury.
• Perform finance compliance checks, identify risks, maintain risk and issue logs, prepare audit schedules and support audits and expenditure verification.
• Maintain program structures, budgets and partner records in Agresso/Unit4, complete month-end and year-end reviews, and support grant close-out.
• Act as the day-to-day finance focal point for assigned program teams, prepare financial updates for review meetings, and cross-train an alternate during peak periods.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in finance or accounting.
• Full professional accounting qualification (CPA (K) or ACCA) and active membership in ICPAK or an equivalent body.
• At least five years of relevant accounting experience, preferably in program or project financial management; experience with Mastercard Foundation projects is an advantage.
• Experience with ERP and financial reporting systems, advanced Microsoft Excel, and dashboards or BI tools are desirable.