Accountant - (ARIA - Niger) Project

IFDC is a public international organization active in 27 countries in Africa, Asia, and America. IFDC uniquely approaches the global issues of food security and poverty by bridging the gap between research and impact, combining science-based innovations, holistic market systems development, an enabling policy environment, and strategic partnerships to assist farmers and countries to identify and scale sustainable agricultural solutions, including improved nutrient use efficiency. These approaches are needed to boost soil health and crop productivity while reducing the environmental impact of fertilizer use. IFDC translates research into action by using locally driven, environmentally sound, and impact-oriented solutions. With our partners, we seek to close the yield gap, eradicate global hunger, safeguard the soil on which our lives depend, and generate economic resilience for farming households and the countries in which they live.   

 

• Prepare asset, liability, and capital account entries by compiling and analyzing account information;

• Document financial transactions by entering account information;

• Recommend financial actions by analyzing accounting options;

• Summarize current financial status by collecting information; preparing balance sheet, profit and loss statement, and other reports;

• Substantiate financial transactions by auditing documents;

• Maintain accounting controls by preparing and recommending policies and procedures;

• Guide accounting clerical staff by coordinating activities and answering questions;

• Reconcile financial discrepancies by collecting and analyzing account information;

• Secure financial information by completing database backups;

• Verify, allocate, post, and reconcile transactions;

• Produce error-free accounting reports and present their results;

• Analyze financial information and summarize financial status;

• Provide technical support and advice on management;

• Review and recommend modifications to accounting systems and generally accepted accounting procedures;

• Participate in financial standards setting and forecast process;

• Provide input into department's goal-setting process;

• Support month-end and year-end close process;

• Communicate with Manager and/or Director on work status and USAID issues that arise.

 

This is a position that requires highly motivated and self-driven individuals with the following qualifications.

• Hold a Bsc in Accounting or equivalent diploma;

• At least five (5) years' professional experience;

• Good knowledge of computer tools;

• Perfect oral and written command of French and English;

• Knowledge of administration would be an advantage;

• Ability to work independently and take initiative;

• Ability to work as part of a multidisciplinary, international team;

• Rigorous, cheerful, dynamic and welcoming;

• Ability to work under pressure as part of a multidisciplinary team.

 

The accountant oversees all the financial activities of the project. He/she will report to Chief of Party of ARIA – Niger project and National Finance Officer. 

The specialist will work in close collaboration with the IFDC Global support team, IFDC staff members and colleagues from other project consortium members. 

 

This is a national recruitment with a duty station at the IFDC office based in Niamey - Niger. The candidate will be required to travel throughout Niger and the sub-region, depending on job requirements.

 

IFDC's benefits include annual and sick leave, health, and group life insurance coverage, a 13th-month salary, social security, and pension contribution in compliance with local laws and end-of-contract benefits. 

 

The salary grade for this position is BG 7 with a monthly salary range between XOF 788 226 - 985 283.

The determination of new employee salaries considers various factors. These include the salary range linked to the assigned job grade, the candidate's qualifications for the job's responsibilities and prerequisites, internal fairness, the competitive state of the job market, as well as potential organizational and budgetary considerations.

 

IFDC is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion, and offers equal employment opportunities based on ability, performance, and potential. Equal opportunity is integral to the recruitment and selection practices at IFDC. IFDC recognizes the value in recruiting employees with different backgrounds, knowledge, experiences, perspectives, and beliefs. IFDC recognizes and values the contribution of people with a diverse background in capabilities, experience, and perspectives. Diversity encompasses gender, age, experience, education, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and cultural backgrounds as well as other dimensions such as lifestyle and family responsibilities.

 

Niger faces triple challenge of food insecurity, malnutrition, and poverty in a fragile biophysical and socio-economic context, characterized by poor, low-fertility soils, irregular rainfall in time and space, land degradation and low crop productivity.

Fertilizers and seeds are an essential factor in increasing agricultural productivity. Yet in Niger, fertilizer use is low, averaging less than 4 kilograms per hectare (kg/ha). As for improved seeds, the rate of their use is estimated at less than 3%. Studies have shown that water provision through an adequate irrigation system optimizes investment in fertilizers and seeds through improved crop yields. 

In response to the USAID/Niger bilateral mission’s request for a project description of fertilizer, seed and irrigation models as part of a Buy-Ins proposal to the Feed the Future Space To Place project for West Africa, IFDC and its partners in Niger, notably the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, extension services, fertilizer and seed regulatory services, farmers' organizations and development partners present the project description Appui au Renforcement des Investissements Agricole entitled Feed the Future Niger (ARIA - Niger). 

The ARIA - Niger project, with a duration of 3 years (2024-2025), is a continuation of the activities of PARSEN (fertilizer sector) and ISSD Sahel (seed sector). The project is structured to consolidate the achievements of these two (2) projects to meet the major challenges that persist in these two sectors. Added to this are questions of irrigation models adapted to the Niger context. This ARIA - Niger project has therefore been developed based on the results of the capitalization and experience-sharing workshops of the above-mentioned projects. These two workshops, held in Niamey in 2023, brought together various stakeholders in Niger's fertilizer and seed sector. These workshops helped identify the major challenges and draw up a roadmap for improving input availability in Niger, with a view to increasing production in Niger's cropping systems. For the implementation of this project, partnerships involving the public and private sectors, development partners, civil society and farmers’ organizations will be highlighted to boost the development of the fertilizer and seed sector, as well as the use of appropriate irrigation models. 

The main objective of the ARIA - Niger project is to strengthen agricultural investments to increase producer resilience and improve food security. Its strategic objective (SO) is to improve agricultural productivity through the promotion of groundwater management models and the availability and accessibility of quality inputs (fertilizers and seeds) under the leadership of the private sector in Niger. The objectives will be achieved through three intermediate results (IR): 

• IR 1: The strengthening of the private sector has led to increased availability of affordable, quality fertilizers for producers.

• IR 2: Niger’s private seed sector (entrepreneurs) is supported to make quality seed more accessible to producers.

• IR 3: Irrigation technologies enabling better control of groundwater are tested and scaled up with the involvement of the private sector. 

These goals and IR align behind USAID’s strategy in Niger, and with many of Niger’s national priorities, such as the Sustainable Development and Inclusive Growth Strategy (SDDCI) horizon 2035. They are also in line with the rural sector management and food and nutrition security aspects of the rural development strategy. Finally, this project is in line with regional policies and strategies such as the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), the Common Agricultural Development Programme (CADP) and the five-year PDES 2022-2026.