Who We Are
Mercy Ships is a global faith-based charity that uses hospital ships to bring life-changing surgeries and transformational medical training to people in some of the most challenging contexts along the African coast. For over 40 years, Mercy Ships has been delivering lasting hope and healing through safe surgical care, while working alongside partners and stakeholders to strengthen local healthcare systems in more than 55 countries. Since the inception of this dream by founders Don and Deyon Stephens in 1978, Mercy Ships has served more than 2.7 million direct beneficiaries without regard for race, gender, or religion.
This opportunity is located in Sierra Leone, onsite and full time staff.
Summary Description
The Country Accountant is responsible for all in country financial aspects and is accountable to the Country Director and ASC Finance Director. The role holder will support the in-country teams with preparation, analysis, reporting and oversight of in country budgets, financial & tax reports, transactions, statutory obligations, and compliance with Mercy Ships Global standards and in country financial standards. The role holder is key to ensuring that financial resources in the country are handled responsibly and in a compliant way.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities (include but not limited to)
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.
- Produce monthly reports on the financial status in the country, through certify.
- Ensure that financial transactions in the country are properly updated and recorded.
- Daily processing and recording of financial transactions eg cheques, local payroll, credit and debit notes.
- Maintain a country office filing system and assist in archiving.
- Maintain Mercy Ships in-country equipment inventory.
- Maintain and reconcile the country accounts balances. Eg cash advance, petty cash handling
- Co-create financial forecasts for future expenses and budget lines.
- Reconciling country banking transactions.
- Creating, sending, and following up on invoices.
- Preparation and submission of monthly returns to relevant government agencies- for example, Tax and pension institutions.
- Review financial transactions for cost reasonableness, allowability and allocability in the country.
- Prepare quarterly and annual final accounts for regulatory authorities in the country.
- Provide financial clerical and accounting support to the in-country team.
- Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Requirements)
The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.
- Supportive of Mercy Ships mission and vision and committed to its core values.
- Understand and apply servant leadership, work collaboratively with integrity and demonstrate accountability.
- Must ascribe to the Mercy Ships Statement of Faith and Code of Conduct
- Able to live in and contribute to community life, requiring stable and healthy interpersonal skills.
- Has a Strong Christian commitment
- Very good understanding of working in multicultural context and able to demonstrate high cultural intelligence during interactions.
- Strong analytical skills and the ability to exercise sound judgment and make decisions based on accurate and timely analyses.
- Written and verbal communication skills, including ability to interact with all levels throughout the organization.
- Excellent time management skills
- Pays keen attention to details.
- Able to retain confidentiality of information.
Education and Experience
The requirements listed below are representative of the education and / or experience required.
- Successful completion of Mercy Ships Entry Training will be required within the first year.
- University Diploma or Degree in Finance or related field
- Minimum 2-3 years of accounting experience (non-profit environment a plus).
- A bilingual with an excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and/or French as is relevant in the country of operation.
How to apply
To apply please send your CV/Resume to Careers ASC careers.asc@mercyships.org
In the subject line please indicate “Sierra Leone Accountant Opportunity”