The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) delivers research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people’s lives. The Alliance solutions address the global crises of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation (https://alliancebioversityciat.org/ )
With novel partnerships, the Alliance generates evidence and mainstreams innovations to transform food systems and landscapes so that they sustain the planet, drive prosperity, and nourish people.
The Alliance is a member of the CGIAR Consortium (www.cgiar.org) a global research partnership for a food-secure future.
Position Summary
The main objective of this position is to provide overall administrative support to the Rwanda country office and projects of the Alliance in Kigali, Rwanda. The position will work closely with the regional coordinators based in Nairobi to ensure adherence to policies, procedures, and compliance with Host country requirements. The position will have a dual reporting to the Country coordinator and to the head of Africa Regional Operations.
Support Projects and Office Administration:
- Provide on-site support to researchers in the preparation of proposal budgets and maintain a database of all project activities in Rwanda.
- Manage, review, and respond to the internal and external communication flow drafting correspondence and responding to queries from collaborators and internal clients.
- Lead the procurement process – identifying, evaluating, and recommending potential suppliers/service providers and management of active supplier contracts.
- Oversee Fleet Management and take a lead in office vehicle acquisitions, registration, and disposals.
- Provide oversight over the travel and conferences function by managing relationships with the service providers and ensuring adherence to travel authorization process for project staff and collaborators.
- Coordinate the security function for staff, hosted institutions, premises and assets.
- Coordinate relations with sister research centres and other hosted institutions to ensure sufficient service delivery.
Monitor Host Country Compliance & CIAT Policies & Procedures compliance:
- Manage and monitor agreements pertaining to CIAT and Government of Rwanda institutional relations and prompt the Country Coordinator on expiry of agreements and/or any change of regulations.
- Follow up on renewal and management of hosting and other general partner agreements.
- Oversee Human Resource arrangements and ensure regular dissemination/education on policies and procedures; implement and monitor adherence to CIAT policies and country labor laws.
- Coordinate tax/duty exemption applications from the Government where applicable, ensuring compliance with duty/tax regulations in line with host country agreement.
- Continuously monitor relevant government laws and regulations in the country (labor, tax, levies, hosting, etc.) and keep management updated.
Finance/Accounting and Internal Control Systems Management:
- Ensure sufficient internal control systems are in place, ensuring proper segregation of duties and internal checks.
- Review payments, confirm budget availability before payments are approved, and ensure proper controls in accordance with grant agreements.
- Ensure compliance to the CIAT monthly accounts closing chronogram, timely submission of reconciliations and other accounting reports.
- Ensure timely accounting analysis, reporting and adjustments of staff accounts and supplier accounts.
- Ensure sufficient internal controls are in place for all the project seed stores.
Treasury Management:
- Maintain good working relationships with the CIAT official bank and follow-up regularly to ensure sustainable tariffs.
- Ensure a proper/standard system of petty cash management is applied in the office, with regular reconciliations and cash counts to ensure maintenance of sufficient funds balances to support operations.
- Cross-check approved/signed online payments on the online banking platform and send to bank for processing of payments.
Facilitation of Audit:
- Coordinate station audit processes in liaison with the Finance Manager by continuously monitoring documentation and processes.
- Ensure the implementation of audit recommendations and report to the Finance Manager for any material query that is likely to affect audit opinion.
Payroll management and tax compliance oversight:
- Supervise the monthly payroll process and ensure tax compliance through remittance of statutory deductions.
- Oversee the VAT remittance and claims process.
Staff Safety and Security oversight:
- Update Warden list and warden tree.
- Oversee Safety and security of staff (proper working environment, enrollment to insurance (life & medical insurance).
- Security of office building and assets: vehicle insurance and other assets insurance (coding, access, transfer, recording, physical access).
- Master’s degree in business administration/Accounting/Finance with proven office management skills.
- At least five (5) years of relevant work experience in a closely related field gained in an international organization.
- Excellent knowledge of MS office applications, especially Outlook, Power Point and Excel and the ability to learn new applications quickly.
- Experience in handling financial and technical reports.
- Good knowledge of rules, regulations and procedures of government and related agencies, including understanding interpretation of country labor laws and tax laws.
- Strong ability to co-ordinate, prioritize and organize workload; take initiative and work under pressure.
- Highly effective planning, organizational and multi-tasking skills with a positive attitude and strong administrative service orientation.
- Possess excellent interpersonal and communication skills, good judgment, and a high level of integrity and respect for confidentiality.
This is a nationally recruited position based in Kigali, Rwanda. The contract will be for a period of Two years, subject to a probation period of three (3) months and is renewable depending on performance and availability of resources. The Alliance offers a multicultural, collegial research environment with competitive salary and excellent benefits; we believe that the diversity of our staff contributes to excellence. The Alliance is an equal opportunity employer and strives for staff diversity in gender and nationality.
