TERMS OF REFERENCE

ACCOUNTANT

1. BACKGROUND

Initiatives for Peace and Human Rights (iPeace) is a non-profit organization that works for sustainable peace in the Great Lakes region through human rights and good governance education. iPeace is legally registered and operational in Rwanda, DRC, and Burundi with a mission to equip communities and individuals with knowledge and skills to build a global culture of peace. The organization’s vision is to see the Great Lakes Region become a place where community members and leaders work together by holding each other accountable in upholding human rights values and principles of good governance.

With financial support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, iPeace in partnership with International Alert and Pole Institute will implement the “UHAKI BILA MIPAKA” project. This project aims to contribute to strengthening access to justice for people in the cities across the border between the DRC and Rwanda.

To achieve this objective, iPeace will implement several activities including the provision of free legal aid to cross-border populations, the capacity building of judicial actors, as well as the training of young academics in international humanitarian law and human rights. This project will be carried out in the Western Province, especially in Rubavu, Rusizi and Bugarama.

It is in this context that iPeace is looking for a qualified and experienced accountant to offer our team technical support in accounting during the implementation of the project activities.

2. SCOPE OF WORK

iPeace-Rwanda is looking for a qualified and experienced accountant to manage financial transactions such as receivables and payables management, manage assigned expenses and incomes, bank transactions and other assigned current assets subjects.

The responsibilities include also assisting in the preparation of annual financial audit, by preparing and availing the requested supporting documents; assisting other departments when it’s needed; to perform the bank reconciliation and tax declaration and payments.

To be successful in this role, a candidate should have previous experience with bookkeeping and a flair for spotting numerical mistakes.

Ultimately, he/she will provide us with accurate quantitative information on financial position, liquidity and cash flows of our business, while ensuring we are compliant with all tax regulations.

The accountant will report directly to the finance officer and organization management with regular interactions with the iPeace’s project partners. He/she will be responsible for ensuring that project’s finances are managed in accordance with iPeace’s and donor’s regulations and policies.

3. RESPONSIBILITIES

The responsibilities of the accountant will include the following:

• Assigning accounting transactions in our system and ensure the correctness of computation.
• Preparing payments after verifying all the required documentation and requesting approval for disbursements.
• Performing periodical accounting closing
• Following the accounting procedures and rules of the Republic of Rwanda, in order to ensure that the information presented in the financial reports is correct
• Ensuring bank accounts, cash flows & balances for the organization are well managed and analyze the treasury position
• Verifying compliance of invoices and salaries according to the procedures, and ensure their timely payment
• Carrying out accurate reconciliation of bank journals with bank statements
• Ensuring the daily management of banking relations;
• Ensuring a quarterly update of asset inventory;
• Supporting internal and external audits
• Preparing monthly projections and handling the monthly closure independently, under the general supervision of the Finance officer
• May carry out some administrative and logistics task (Transport, small procurement, bookings)

4. QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS REQUIRED

Qualifications and experience below are required from any candidate:

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance or Business Administration
• Minimum 3-5 years of relevant working experience in similar position in accounting.
• Excellent command of written and spoken English with very good proficiency in French (reports and meetings will sometimes be held in French). Proficiency in Kinyarwanda is an asset.
• Possess proven experience with accounting software such as QuickBooks and SAGE.
• Knowledge of income tax, and other regulations related to the accounting of NGOs in Rwanda.
• Computer literacy with proficient knowledge of MS Word, Excel and Power Point
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to be flexible and adaptable.
• The ability to work well under pressure and to communicate appropriately and effectively within a multicultural setting;
• Be of proven moral integrity.
• Possess strong analytical and assessment skills
• Show a sense of responsibility and initiative (proactive).