Finance & Partnerships Specialist

Job Title: Finance & Partnerships Specialist
Location: Mbale, Uganda
Reports to: Project Coordinator with dotted line to Financial Controller

Application Deadline: 28th October 2026

Direct Reports: N/A

Program Background

GOAL is currently implementing the Green Resilient Enterprise for Empowered NTFP Development (GREEN) and Charity: Water Project in Uganda. The GREEN Project is a 28-month initiative implemented under the ReForEst Uganda Programme with funding from Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and the European Union. The project seeks to enhance livelihoods, jobs and ecological resilience through sustainable Non-Timber Forest Product (NTFP) enterprises while contributing to forest conservation, restoration and climate resilience across 16 districts in Eastern Uganda and Napak District in Karamoja. The project focuses on five priority NTFP value chains: bamboo, honey/apiculture, shea, cashew, and wild mango. Through a Green Entrepreneurship Platform (GEP), incubation services, acceleration support, cottage industry, access to finance and market linkages, the project will strengthen 140 enterprises, 50 producer groups and support 10,000 households along these NTFP value chains.  The Charity: Water Project supports sustainable WASH programming in Mbale and surrounding areas through improved access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene services, community engagement, behavior change, infrastructure monitoring and service sustainability.

Job summary

The Finance & Partnerships Specialist will work closely with project technical coordinator, monitoring, and evaluation (M&E), Grants and partnership team and finance operations teams. He/she will support donor reporting, monthly and quarterly spend analysis, budget proposal development, budget realignment, CSO and PSA due diligence and onboarding processes. He/she will collaborate with various departments to ensure accurate financial tracking, reporting, and compliance with both organizational and donor requirements.

To be successful in this role, you will need:

Essential Criteria

• Qualified accountant with completion of any of the following; CIMA, ACA, ACCA and/or CPA
• Minimum of five (5) years’ professional working experience with an international NGO in a similar role
• Minimum of 3 years' experience in audit or a senior role.
• Working experience on budget preparation, budget management and financial reports
• Experience in preparation of donor Budgets and reports
• Experience in private Sector Sub-grantees
• Strong analytical and conceptual skills, with emphasis on planning, working to tight deadlines, providing training, facilitating capacity building and supervising team activities
• Excellent computer skills - advanced Microsoft Excel

Desirable Criteria

• Ability to Manage multiple donor project, deadlines and priorities with minimal technical support
• Working knowledge of Sage

The key responsibilities of the role will be:

Proposal Budget Development, Grant Management.
•    Support the Financial Controller and program staff in preparing grant budgets 
•    Assist in revising and amending existing grant budgets, ensuring all costs are accurately covered, budgets are balanced, and donor/GOAL formats are correctly applied.
•    Provide monthly grant-level financial analysis and advise budget holders on Spend variances 
•    Represent Finance in project management cycle meetings.
•    Review downstream partner financial proposals and budgets for compliance with donor guidelines, grant agreements, and GOAL budgeting rules.

Budget Monitoring, Spend planning and Rolling budgets  
•    Review project forecasts to ensure compliance with GOAL and donor regulations prior to approval.
•    Support the Financial Controller in setting up budgets and forecasts in line with donor reporting formats.
•    Track support cost spending and provide quarterly analysis to inform budget amendments or new proposals.
•    Review and consolidate program team spending plans before submission to donors.
•    Provide guidance to operations, program coordinators, managers, and budget holders on the use of Budget Monitoring Tools (BMTs).

Partner Financial Management
•    Generate and submit monthly BMTs to the team and update forecasts accordingly.
•    Ensure payments to project partners and/or sub-grantees are computed correctly and according to the signed partnership agreements.
•    Ensure periodic partner management accounts are reviewed, and partner spend is in line with agreed activities and in adherence with GOAL and donor requirements. 
•    Ensure timely, accurate and high-quality financial reporting on project activities including Partners.
•    Ensure that Partners effectively manage donor funds in pursuit of agreed objectives.
•    Participate in potential partner due-diligence assessment, partner capacity assessment, partners project kick-off and close-out meeting
•    Review sub-grant agreement for donor’s audit requirement, instalments, reporting, etc.

Other Tasks
•    Lead the expenditure verifications and audit as per donor rules 
•    Conduct regular training sessions for new staff and GOAL’s field offices on Budget Management and donor regulations for Program, Operations and Finance staff in close coordination with Grants team.
•    Support the procurement department in ensuring that tendering and bidding process is fair, compliant, competitive, and finance focal person in the procurement committee.

General Terms and Conditions

At GOAL we welcome people of all abilities and want to ensure that our hiring and interview process meets the needs of all applicants. If you require a reasonable accommodation to make your application or interview experience a great one, please just contact our Recruitment Team at recruitment@ug.goal.ie

GOAL Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion:
GOAL is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to building an inclusive environment for all employees. We foster an inclusive culture where all voices are heard and valued. We know that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.

All employees share in the responsibility for fulfilling GOAL’s commitment to equal employment opportunity and equal treatment. GOAL does not discriminate against any employee on the basis of sex, race, color, ethnic background, tribe, birth, creed or religion or social or economic standing, political opinion, disability.

Code of Conduct and Accountability within GOAL

GOAL is an equal opportunities employer and has values and behaviours framework which defines our code of conduct. Any candidate offered a job with GOAL will be expected to adhere to the following key areas of accountability.

• Comply with GOAL’s policies and procedures with respect to safeguarding, Code of Conduct, health and safety, data protection and confidentiality, do no harm principles and unacceptable behaviour protocols.
• Report any concerns about the welfare of a child or vulnerable adult or any wrongdoings within our programming area.
• Report any concerns about inappropriate behaviour of a GOAL staff or partner.

Safeguarding

Children and vulnerable adults a must be safeguarded to the maximum extent from deliberate or inadvertent actions and failings that place them at risk of abuse, sexual exploitation, injury, and any other harm. One of the ways that GOAL shows this on-going commitment to safeguarding is to include rigorous background and reference checks in the selection process for all candidates.

GOAL 

Established in 1977, GOAL is an international humanitarian agency and works with the most vulnerable communities to help them respond to and overcome humanitarian crises, and to assist those facing poverty and exclusion achieve greater resilience and well-being. GOAL envisions a world beyond humanitarian crises where poverty no longer exists, where vulnerable communities exposed to shocks and stresses are resilient, where barriers to well-being are removed and where everyone has equal rights and opportunities. 

General Description of the Country Programme 

First operational in Uganda in 1979, the current GOAL Uganda country programme focuses on Health, (including WASH, Health Accountability and Nutrition); and a market-based systems approach to improving agricultural livelihoods and WASH. GOAL Uganda mainstreams gender, child protection, social behavior changes and resilience strategies across all programming. GOAL uses a mixture of direct implementation and partnerships with national and international civil society organizations, local government, the private sector and communities to give effect to our mission.  

GOAL Uganda has a skilled team of over 110 personnel and has a head office in Kampala and field offices in 7 locations across Northern, Southwestern and Eastern regions of Uganda.  GOAL Uganda’s donors include the Mastercard Foundation, charity: water, Irish Aid, The Kingdom of Netherland Embassy in Uganda (EKN) and other private donors.  

Interested applicants who meet the requirements should apply through the link with at least 3 professional referees (current or former Line Manager) from the last three employers and daytime contact number by 28th October 2026.