Job Title: Finance Assistant
Department: Finance and Operations
Job Listing Number:
Line Manager/Supervisor: Finance Manager
Duty Station: Kampala Office
Version: V2
Job Purpose/ Position Summary
The Finance Assistant will support StrongMinds Uganda’s Finance and Operations team with the day-to-day processing of payments, reconciliations, budget monitoring, and statutory and grant compliance. The role ensures that vendor and staff payments are processed accurately and on time, reconciliations are clean and audit-ready, and restricted funds are correctly tracked, safeguarding the organization’s financial integrity in support of its mission.
Working closely with the Finance Officer and Finance Manager, the Finance Assistant helps uphold organizational accountability, supports audit readiness and promotes a culture of compliance among staff. The role requires accuracy, reliability and the ability to meet recurring weekly and monthly deadlines under supervision.
Area of Responsibility Activities Payment Processing & Vendor
Management – Timely, accurate processing of vendor and staff payments through a consistent weekly pay-run cycle.
• Prepare and process weekly vendor, service provider and staff payments, and update the payments and requisitions tracker every Friday.
• Review and process at least 95% of submitted vendor and service provider invoices within 3 working days of receipt.
• Check that every payment request is complete, correctly approved and supported by valid documentation before processing.
• File proofs of payment and supporting documents so that payment records are complete and audit ready.
• Inform the Finance Manager promptly of any pay-run delays and support the monitoring of the organization’s cash position.
• Keep the staff advance tracker up to date and follow up to ensure at least 90% of staff advances are accounted for within the period set in the policy.
• Record all payments accurately in QuickBooks and maintain complete processing logs and audit trails.
Reconciliations & Financial Reporting – Clean, audit-ready reconciliations and accurate, timely monthly financial reports.
• Work with the Finance Officer to reconcile balance sheet accounts (PAYE, NSSF, accounts receivable and accounts payable) every month, ensuring no unexplained balance remains.
• Review balance sheet accounts monthly to identify and resolve mismatches before the reporting cycle, following up so that no reconciling items is older than 30 days.
• Support the preparation of monthly financial reports (bank reconciliations, advance status and journal posting reports) by providing accurate information in time for submission by the 5th of each month.
• Provide the Finance Officer and Finance Manager with accurate, timely information to support decision-
Area of Responsibility Activities making.
Budget Support & Monitoring – Support to budget holders in tracking expenditure and maintaining a healthy monthly burn rate.
• Assist in monthly Budget vs. Actual (BVA) reviews with budget holders and follow up on BVA commentaries for assigned program budgets.
• Monitor monthly burn rates and flag budget lines that are more than 10% over or under the approved budget, supporting budget holders to take corrective action.
• Review budget codes before posting transactions to ensure expenditure is charged to the correct budget lines.
• Provide accurate financial data to the Programs team during the annual budget-setting process.
Statutory Compliance – Timely and accurate filing and payment of all statutory obligations.
• Prepare monthly PAYE, NSSF, WHT, VAT and LST returns and payments in line with statutory deadlines to
avoid penalties.
• Reconcile all statutory deduction accounts monthly against URA and NSSF ledgers to confirm accuracy.
• Review filed statutory returns quarterly against the URA ledger to identify and correct errors early.
Finance Risk Management – Early identification, escalation and tracking of finance-related risks.
• Escalate finance-related risks (such as budget overruns, duplicate payments and cash advance shortfalls) to the Finance Manager as soon as they are identified.
• Maintain and update the finance risk register quarterly for assigned districts and follow up on agreed mitigation
actions.
Grant & Restricted Fund Compliance – Accurate coding and tracking of restricted donor funds in support of full grant compliance.
• Review donor-restricted transactions monthly to confirm correct budget code allocation.
• Maintain and update the restricted fund tracker weekly for assigned grants, monitoring fund utilization against grant timelines.
• Check grant expenditures against donor eligibility criteria before posting in QuickBooks, and flag any risk of miscoding, ineligible costs or budget overrun.
Capacity Building – Promote awareness of sound financial management practices among staff to strengthen compliance.
• Train staff on the StrongMinds payment process, staff advance management and fraud prevention.
• Guide staff on financial policies and procedures, including the timely submission of accountabilities and
payment requisitions.
Educational Qualifications Job-related experience, knowledge, and Behaviors
• Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, Accounting, Business Administration or a related field.
• Enrollment in a professional accounting qualification (CPA
or ACCA, Level I or above) is an added advantage.
• 1–2 years of experience in a finance or accounting role, preferably within an NGO or other reputable
organization.
• Working knowledge of bank reconciliations, accounts payable/receivable, and basic budget monitoring.
• Practical experience processing payment requisitions and vouchers in a structured finance environment.
• Basic proficiency in QuickBooks or a similar accounting system (posting and querying transactions).
• Working understanding of statutory compliance requirements (PAYE, NSSF, VAT, WHT, LST).
• Clear written and spoken communication skills.
• Strong numerical and analytical skills with keen attention to detail.
• Ability to manage recurring deadlines and deliver accurate outputs under supervision.
• Ability to work collaboratively across departments in a multicultural environment.
• Proficiency in Google Workspace and MS Office (especially Excel and Word).
• High level of integrity and discretion in handling confidential financial information.
