Programme Accountant

About Trócaire 

Trócaire is an International NGO. We work with local partners in the world’s most at-risk communities and with people in Ireland to tackle the underlying causes of poverty and injustice and respond to the crises they create. Together we bring about positive and lasting change for a just world. Trócaire works in up to 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. We work towards five goals:  

•          Promote Access to Justice;  

•          Achieve Climate & Environmental Justice;  

•          Ensure Women & Girls’ Protection, Voice & Influence;  

•          Save Lives and Protect Human Dignity and  

•          Mobilise the Public on the island of Ireland to achieve Global Justice. 

Our work is rooted in Catholic Social Teaching and in our values of Solidarity, Courage, Participation, Perseverance and Accountability.

In Sierra Leone, Trócaire works to achieve climate and environmental justice; ensure women and girls’ protection, voice & influence; and save lives and protect human dignity. Trócaire supports work on the prevention of sexual and gender-based violence, women’s political participation and leadership, sustainable livelihoods and economic empowerment, natural resource management and environmental conservation, and humanitarian preparedness and response.

Trócaire works exclusively with local partners and actively supports localised development and humanitarian aid. Supporting local civil society organisations to strengthen their organisational, institutional, financial, technical, and managerial capacities is core to Trócaire’s partnership approach in Sierra Leone. Trócaire’s Sierra Leone country programme also works closely with, contributing to and drawing support from, Trócaire’s global hub on partnership and localisation based in Nairobi, Kenya.

The role will report directly to the Head of Operations and Compliance, with a matrix reporting line to the Lite Salone Programme Lead. The role is based in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Role Summary

The Programme Accountant oversees and ensures effective financial management and accountability in projects implemented through local partners and private sector service providers.

The role involves overseeing financial compliance with organisational policies, donor requirements, and local regulations while building partners’ financial management capacity. The post holder collaborates with programme teams, the Partnership and Localisation Manager, Lite Salone Programme Lead, and partners develop, monitor, and manage budgets, including new funding proposals.

The role also leads on donor financial reporting and ensures funds are utilised efficiently to achieve project objectives. Additionally, the role assesses financial risks, implements mitigation strategies, and upholds transparency and accountability to optimise resource use and strengthen programme impact across Lite Salone, IADEVCLIM, EU, IF Grants, small grants and other donor-funded projects

Key Objectives:

1.       Ensure that implementing partners and private sector service providers adhere to the Trocaire's financial policies, donor requirements, and local regulations by regularly reviewing financial reports, conducting audits, and providing hands on financial capacity-building support.

2.       Collaborate with program teams and implementing partners to prepare, monitor, and manage project budgets, ensuring funds are transferred, allocated efficiently and spent according to project objectives and donor grant expectations.

3.       Identify financial risks related to implementing partners, propose mitigation strategies, and establish robust systems to enhance transparency, accountability, and value for money in project delivery.

4.       Lead donor financial reporting across Lite Salone and other assigned grants, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with donor requirements

Key duties and responsibilities:

Finance and Governance in Partner Organisations with the direction and supervision of Line Manager:

• Lead on reviewing partner financial reports alongside programme team members and ensure that Trócaire and donor requirements are being met.
• Support partners to prepare and review monthly and quarterly financial reports (including BvA), revise forecasts and make adjustments as needed.
• Oversee financial reporting for private sector service providers under Lite Salone, ensuring appropriate simplified monthly and detailed quarterly reporting requirements are met.
• Review Trócaire records ensuring that partner financial reporting is up to date, properly maintained, and saved in Salesforce in accordance with Trócaire and donor requirements.
• Lead an ongoing process to appraise partner organisations financial controls and systems in line with the Trócaire partner governance and finance manual.  This will include field visits, desk audits, annual 18 minimum requirement assessment and other methods as appropriate. Ensure recommendations are implemented in agreement with the partner.
• Provide support to the finance and accounts departments of partner organisations to enable them to produce and submit accurate expenditure reports. Support will include design of accounting and reporting systems, design of spreadsheets, Quick books, training and on-going financial guidance.
• Lead on raising partner payments, ensure the monies are in line with the partner MOUs, partners are paid the correct currency, and the payment liabilities exist on the financial accounting software.
• Work with the wider Trócaire team to provide tailored and phased financial capacity building support to each of the needs of the partner.  
• Participate in all programme team meetings to ensure a full understanding of all programmes work and any financial implications arising.
• Contribute to periodic partner financial capacity assessment reporting as required.
• Participate in delivering training and accompaniment to partners on compliance with donors’ financial requirements.
• In the event of a major issue in relation to financial management at partner level, especially in the management of donor funds, the programme accountant may be required to be deployed to a partner organisation to ensure that financial management and reporting are carried out in accordance with Trócaire and donor requirements.
• With the direction of the Head of Operations and Compliance Vet and assess potential new partner financial systems and processes.

Financial Control and Reporting with the direction and supervision of Line Manager:

• Lead in the development of donor reports for Lite Salone and other assigned grants and country office finances. Ensure that donor reporting meets all donor financial reporting requirements.
• Lead in project audit preparations in collaboration with partners and external auditors.
• To ensure that the programme team’s finance activities meet the financial reporting requirements and deadlines as specified by the Head of Operations and Compliance and Lite Salone Programme lead. 
• Guided by the Head of Operations and Compliance, ensure that the relevant Trócaire organisational financial policies and procedures are adhered to and implemented in a standardised manner across all of the country programmes.
• Closely monitor all finance programme activities, keep the country Country Director, Lite Salone Programme lead, Head of Programmes and the Head of Operations and Compliance updated and advised of all situations which have the potential for a negative impact on internal controls or financial management.
• Assist with donor, external and internal control audits as required, and in the implementation of recommendations both internally and with partners.
• Assist with investigations into alleged fraud or irregularities at partner organisations.
• Uploading and saving all partner and donor reports and documentation on the system server, Saleforce and in hard copy form in files.

Budgeting with the direction and supervision of Line Manager:

• Assist the country programme team, Lite Salone Programme lead and other budget holders in conducting the budget process for the assigned portfolio of partners, ensuring that appropriate levels of technical support and guidance is provided to all budget holders during the process of preparing the budget and subsequent reviews and revisions.
• Facilitate and update monthly BvA + Forecast with partner reports for the monthly programme and Finance BvA review meetings. 
• Support in the development of IF Template for IF Grants and ICSP Workbook updates
• Review with all programme budget holders’ monthly reports as available on Agresso/UNIT 4 and facilitate with programme staff follow up of any issues or variances arising.

Internal Systems and Processes:

• Assist and suggest improvement of work processes and increase efficiency within the programme function.
• Assist the Head of Operations and Compliance to create partner Agresso/Unit 4 Yearly Code and Partner Liability booking on UNIT 4.
• Bring to the attention of the Head of Operations and Compliance and Lite Salone Programme lead any issues arising from the programme team use of the global accounting package (Agresso/UNIT4 or Partner Quickbooks).
• Assist in the establishment and maintenance of a donor financial management system in order to ensure efficient & accurate reporting to donors.

Capacity Building and Team Collaboration:

• Provide technical financial advice and expertise to the country programme teams.
• Facilitate and assist the Head of Operations and Compliance in providing basic training and guidance to the country program staff for skills improvement in the areas of budget preparation and monitoring, budget revision, reporting, and internal controls.
• Assist in the induction and orientation of country programme staff.
• Support and provide guidance to Local implementing Partner on monitoring the Partner Procurement follow up tracker.
• Manage all project Partners related to Lite Salone, IADEVCLIM, EU, small grants, and/or other donor Project grants as agreed with the line manager.
• Any other tasks, which may be assigned from time to time by the Head of Operations and Compliance and Lite Salone Programme lead commensurate with the general trust of this job description.

Experience:

• Five years’ experience in accounting/finance in the international development and humanitarian sector.
• Experience in managing budgets for donor funded programmes.
• Prior knowledge of donor rules and regulations including Irish Aid, UN Agencies, EU and other relevant institutional donors and trusts/foundations.
• Experience working with finance systems such as Agresso, SAP and others.
• Working experience with national partners/ local in capacity building, financial reporting and budget management.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in commerce, finance or business management.
• Certification in CPA(K), ACCA or CIMA required.

Technical/Professional skills:

• Advance Excel skills
• Excellent communication and training/ capacity building skills.
• Proven organisation and planning skills
• Demonstrated ability to work with a participative style within teams.
• Ability to work on own initiative.
• A commitment to social justice and the ethos of Trócaire.
• Cross cultural awareness and sensitivity.
• Flexible and adaptable to a changing environment.
• Strong interpersonal and teamwork skills.
• An interest in and an empathy with the work of Trócaire

Trócaire offers a competitive package of salary and benefits on local terms and conditions

Contract Duration: One year fixed term contract, renewable

Closing Date: 8th April 2026