With 75 years of experience, our focus is on helping the most vulnerable children overcome poverty and experience fullness of life. We help children of all backgrounds, even in the most dangerous places, inspired by our Christian faith.

Come join our 33,000+ staff working in nearly 100 countries and share the joy of transforming vulnerable children’s life stories!

Key Responsibilities:

Overall Role Objectives

A successful Financial Accountant manages accounting operations, including month-end financial close, general ledger maintenance, and financial reporting in compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The role involves reconciling accounts, prepare tax filings, support audits, and analyze financial data to support strategic decision-making.

The ideal candidate has 3-5+ years’ experience, strong ERP knowledge, and leadership skills to mentor junior staff. The Financial Accountant reports to Chief Finance Officer and supervises assistant accountants.

Key Performance Indicators / Responsibilities & Expected Results

Accounting

• Ensuring day-to-day transactions such as accounts payable, cash receipts and accounts receivable, and payroll are recorded properly. It includes to verify, allocate, post and reconcile certain entries to the accounting system.
• Ensuring proper revenue and expense recognition.
• Analyze financial information and summarize financial status, spot errors and suggest ways to improve efficiency and spending.
• Support month-end and year-end financial close processes.
• Continually seeking and implementing opportunities to streamline and improve finance and accounting operations.

Reporting and standards

• Provide technical support and advice on accounting treatments.
• Review and recommend modifications to accounting systems and procedures.
• Ensure compliance with fiscal requirements, financial policies and IFRS.
• Liaise with Chief Finance Officer to improve financial procedures.
• Prepare information required for VFI reporting and assist with requests from VFI.

External reporting and compliance

• Prepare annual IFRS-compliant financial statements and answering queries thereon.
• Prepare tax returns and estimations, assist with tax audits and tax returns.
• Direct external audits to ensure compliance and submissions of statutory accounts.

Financial planning and management

• Participate in the budgeting and forecast process.
• Manage the finance officers/ assistant accountants. Plan, assign and review staff’s work. Provide guidance, mentoring, and oversight to direct reports to ensure high performance and compliance.
• Respond to inquiries and provide support during inspections and audits by Internal Auditors, Bank of Tanzania, other regulators, and external auditors.
• Perform any other duties as may be assigned by the Chief Finance Officer from time to time.

Required Specific Knowledge, Skills & Tools

• Proven experience in a related finance role, at least 2 years post CPA experience.
• Thorough knowledge of basic accounting procedures, in-depth understanding of IFRS, awareness of business trends and familiarity with financial accounting statements.
• Experience with general ledger functions and month-end/year-end financial close
• Hands-on experience with accounting software packages. Advanced MS Excel skills including VLOOKUP and pivot tables.
• Accuracy and attention to detail, aptitude for numbers and quantitative skills.
• Bachelors’ degree in Accounting, Finance or relevant field; CPA or equivalent will be preferred.

Behaviors

Entrepreneurship. Must be an opportunity seeker, have the ability to take initiative, can do attitude, adaptable to a fast-paced culture, have a positive outlook.

Service Excellence. Must be the best at what they do and go the extra mile, needs to be flexible, customer focused, feel the need to constantly improve, provide top quality service.

Accountability. Ability to keep their word, deliver results, be committed to their responsibilities, have strong willpower and act as if the business was their own.

Teamwork. Must have Team spirit and be able to work within a Team and empower one another, no personal agenda. We are all in the same boat working to achieve one common goal “We are One”.

Honesty. Must be an open communicator, sincere, trustworthy and transparent. Always ethical and behave and act in the best interest of the company and other employees.

Diversity. Respectful and open to different cultures and opinions, have an eye for all stakeholders. “Think Global, Act Local”.

Key Competencies and Personal Attributes

• High level of integrity, reliability, and attention to detail.
• Aware of Tanzania Tax laws and regulations.
• Ability to interact with IDRAS system and facilitate tax filling and payments.
• Strong knowledge of financial reporting requirements and deliverables.
• Excellent analytical, problem‑solving, and report‑writing skills.
• Good knowledge of banking accounting requirements.
• Strong communication skills and a high level of accuracy.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
• Ability to work under pressure, prioritization of tasks and meet strict deadlines.
• Strong teamwork and supervisory capabilities.
• Compliance and Ethics. The position holder is expected to adhere to VisionFund Tanzania’s Code of Conduct, financial policies, donor requirements, and all applicable laws and regulations at all times.

Reporting Lines and Team Management

The Financial Accountant reports to the Chief Finance Officer and supervises reconciliation officers, payment officers and account assistants.

• Ensuring day-to-day transactions such as accounts payable, cash receipts and accounts receivable, and payroll are recorded properly.
• Verify, allocate, post and reconcile certain entries to the accounting system.
• Ensuring proper revenue and expense recognition.
• Analyze financial information and summarize financial status, spot errors and suggest ways to improve efficiency and spending.
• Support month-end and year-end financial close processes.
• Continually seeking and implementing opportunities to streamline and improve finance and accounting operations.
• Provide technical support and advice on accounting treatments.
• Review and recommend modifications to accounting systems and procedures.
• Ensure compliance with fiscal requirements, financial policies and IFRS.
• Liaise with Chief Finance Officer to improve financial procedures.
• Prepare information required for VFI reporting and assist with requests from VFI.
• Prepare annual IFRS-compliant financial statements and answering queries thereon.
• Prepare tax returns and estimations, assist with tax audits and tax returns.
• Direct external audits to ensure compliance and submissions of statutory accounts.
• Participate in the budgeting and forecast process.
• Manage the finance officers/ assistant accountants.
• Plan, assign and review staff’s work.
• Provide guidance, mentoring, and oversight to direct reports to ensure high performance and compliance.
• Respond to inquiries and provide support during inspections and audits by Internal Auditors, Bank of Tanzania, other regulators, and external auditors.
• Perform any other duties as may be assigned by the Chief Finance Officer from time to time.

• Strong ERP knowledge
• Leadership skills
• Basic accounting procedures
• IFRS knowledge
• Awareness of business trends
• Familiarity with financial accounting statements
• General ledger functions
• Month-end/year-end financial close
• Accounting software packages
• Advanced MS Excel skills (VLOOKUP, pivot tables)
• Accuracy and attention to detail
• Aptitude for numbers and quantitative skills
• Tanzania Tax laws and regulations
• Ability to interact with IDRAS system
• Financial reporting requirements and deliverables
• Analytical, problem-solving, and report-writing skills
• Banking accounting requirements
• Strong communication skills
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)
• Ability to work under pressure
• Prioritization of tasks
• Meet strict deadlines
• Strong teamwork and supervisory capabilities

• Proven experience in a related finance role
• At least 2 years post CPA experience
• Bachelors’ degree in Accounting, Finance or relevant field
• CPA or equivalent will be preferred