Project Admin Assistant – CARE Ethiopia

Admin, Secretarial and Clerical

CARE Ethiopia

CARE Ethiopia

CARE started working in Ethiopia in 1984 in response to severe drought and famine that devastated the population and claimed the lives of nearly one million people. Since then, the organization’s activities have expanded to address the root causes of poverty and vulnerability.

In 2008, CARE Ethiopia’s office moved from a project-based approach to a more focused and strategic program-based approach. Over the eight years since that transition, CARE Ethiopia has implemented a series of programs with successful outcomes, while simultaneously impacting the policies and practices of government, serving as a thought leader amongst NGOs, and bringing transformative change to rural communities. These broader and deeper impacts go beyond the direct impacts of its programs and are a result of CARE Ethiopia’s overall country strategy, which enables CARE to design for scale.

CARE Ethiopia works in various sectors but has particularly targeted the following:

·         Food Security and Resilience

·         WASH         

·         Nutrition

·         Sexual and Reproductive Health and

·         Emergency Response as cross-cutting (focusing on the above sectors).

• The purpose of the Program Administrative Assistant position is to compile all relevant program and program support documents and preparation of payment request for the purchase of all goods and services including preparation of travel and procurement plans, and cash forecast every month. Also keep proper filing of financial, procurement and transport documents and prepare/update status reports to the project team at the head office and field-based staffs.
• The assistant will be responsible for checking requested form the filed based staffs and tracking progress of requests made once submitted to relevant units. S/He will be responsible to assist field-based staffs get the support required for the project from the head office program support units including procurement, finance and transport as necessary. 

II RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS

Responsibility #1 Payment Request Processing

• The program admin assistant will be responsible to verify proper documents are attached with payment requests and the right request formats are used, arithmetic accuracies are maintained before submission of requests.
• Once requests and purchase orders are submitted to responsible units, follow up with the progress and update the information to the requestor based at the field/project sites.
• Properly document all relevant documents and copies of request to be used for following up and progress reporting.
• Report to and work with the project officer to manage any challenges encountered in processing the support for project site staffs in areas of financial requests and settlements.
• Communicate and work with relevant units to check and review status of requests, trouble shoot for any challenges in the process and ensure delivery of requests on time manner.
• Receive goods/service receiving note and financial documents from storekeeper/service provider as well as support the dispatch of goods and services to project sites.
• Prepare payment request for vendors based on the issued purchase order, invoice and goods/service receiving note for approval by the relevant personnel.
• Liason field staffs with finance and admin units for any financial and administrative issues.

% Of Time: 30%

Responsibility #2: Budget and Financial management

• File all financial documents from the field and at the field level for any reference and tracking of expenses,
• Monitors burn-rates and expenditures against approved budgets using simple excel formats and advise the program team of any issues requiring attention or follow-up. Register financial expenses of field staffs according to the budget line item, review and prepare financial tracking report and communicate to head office staffs.
• Ensure the documentation of receipts and other notes are completed and appropriate.
• Support field staffs in preparation of advance requests and work with finance unit for follow up and payment effect.
• Ensure the projects’ procurement process is underway as per the new financial system.
• Engage in supporting financial planning and budgeting (operations) process for project office.

% of Time: 25%

Responsibility #3: Administrative Support

• Support field staffs on HR requirements like PARs submission, staffs time management, leave requests, and other HR related activities. Provide guidance to field staffs on PAR’s and other HR related policies adherence.
• Support field staffs in logistic management and monitor field level management.
• Monitor and follow up transport requests and vehicle rental process of the field staffs. Compile monthly vehicle request plan of the project and communicate to transport section.
• Support and closely monitoring vehicle administration of field staffs. Support field staffs in motorbike maintenance, fuel utilization and registration, etc.

% Of Time: 20%

Job Responsibility #4:  Records Management:

• Keeps records of financial and procurement processes and status.
• Keep records of field operational expenditures like fuel expenses, office supplies, etc. and make sure Woreda based budget planning is strictly followed with acceptable burn rates.
• Work closely with the project officer to track proper financial utilization by each woreda and communicate to Woreda coordinators for any deviation form the plan,
• Keep copies of relevant records including signed time sheets, log sheets for motorbikes and others as relevant through communication with filed based staffs

% Of Time:  15%

Job Responsibility #5: Logistic and Procurement support  

• Facilitate and support field-based staffs for any logistical and procurement support. Work closely with procurement unit for procurement requests facilitation.
• Advise and provide technical support to field staff on procurement related policies.
• Facilitate for training or workshop related request in consultation with project officer and relevant units making sure services are being procured based on organizational policies.  
• Make sure that every communication for all staffs or Metu based staffs reaches HO staffs.
• Coordinate between program team and Grant Specialist for requests that do not have procurement plan.
• Collect the right charging code information from procurement plan, technical advisors, grant specialists and enter the data correctly.
• Review and ensure all the necessary information for purchase and payment requests are provided from initiators,
• Accept no defects and transfer no defects.

% Of Time:  10%

Responsibility #6: Performs any other duties as assigned.

% of Time: 5%

III. PROBLEM SOLVING (Thinking Environment)

The level of problem solving this position will face is level one. What has to be done and how to do it are clearly defined in the Administration Manual.

EDUCATION/TRAINING

Required:

• College/university degree in Accounting, Management or related fields.

B. EXPERIENCE:

Required: 

• 2 years of relevant work experience for diploma holders and 1 year relevant work experience for first degree holders as program admin assistant, procurement, financial management or related
• Minimum of 6 months Care internship service

C.TECHNICAL SKILLS:

• Budget tracking and planning.
• Experience related with geographically widely spread staffs.
• Compute skills especially excel or any spread sheet.
• Supervision skills.
• Believe in teamwork and diversity.
• Good communication skill in written and spoken English.
• Well organized and ability to act in a professional and ethical manner.
• Good skills in computer applications; specially in word excel
• Firm belief in gender equality, sensitivity to HIV/AIDS, participatory approach and sustainable development.

D. COMPETENCIES

• Respect, accountability, courage, excellence, integrity, adaptability, communicating with impart, contributing to team success, planning and organizing, proactive problem solving, technical and professional knowledge, firm belief in gender equality.

V. CONTACTS/KEY RELATIONSHIPS

• The program administrative assistant will have working relationship with the Procurement Manager, General supplies officer, procurements officers, finance department staff, program units and field offices. She/he is also expected to establish and maintain working relations with vendors & service providing organizations.

VI. WORKING CONDITIONS AND LEVEL OF TRAVEL REQUIRED. 

The incumbent is based in Addis Ababa but expected to travel 12 project sites on need based (about 5%).

CARE Ethiopia reserves the right to seek information from job applicants’ current and/or previous employers about incidents of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment the applicant may have been found guilty to have committed or about which an investigation was in the process of being carried out at the time of the termination of the applicant’s employment with that employer.

By submitting the application, the job applicant confirms that s/he has no objection to CARE Ethiopia requesting the information specified above. All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks.

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