Finance Specialist – Budgeting & Reporting at GOAL Uganda, Kampala

Job Title: Finance Specialist – Budgeting & Reporting
Location: Hoima with travel within districts of operation
Reports to: Financial Controller

Application Deadline: 8th March 2026

Program Background

The Agrifood System Transformation for Youth Employment (ASTYE) Uganda program

ASTYE is a 5-year transformative initiative designed to enable dignified and fulfilling work opportunities primarily for financially disadvantaged young women, refugees, and vulnerable groups by addressing structural barriers in Uganda’s Agrifood system. Aligned with Uganda’s Vision 2040, the National Development Plan and Government of Uganda Agriculture Value Chain Development Strategy, the program will contribute to national efforts toward poverty alleviation, economic growth, as well food and nutrition security. Additionally, ASTYE is part of the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy in Uganda, which aims to empower 4.3 million young Ugandans, particularly young women, by addressing structural barriers to employment and providing them with the skills and resources to succeed.

Specifically, GOAL will implement component one to reach 500,000 financially disadvantaged young people, with 456,000 transiting into work and 336,000 securing dignified and fulfilling work. As the program is young women-centric, 80% of the total outreach target will be young women within Uganda’s agrifood ecosystem. Furthermore, 5% of the total youth in work target will be refugees, and another 5% will be people with disabilities.

Job summary

Reporting directly to the Financial Controller, the Finance Specialist; budgeting and reporting will work closely with Grants and partnership team, project technical coordinators, monitoring, and evaluation (M&E), and finance operations teams. He/she will support with donor reporting, monthly and quarterly spend analysis, budget proposal development, budget realignment including the annual master budget. He/she will collaborate with various departments to ensure accurate financial tracking, reporting, and compliance with both organizational and donor requirements.

Job Functions

Proposal Budget Development, Grant Management.

• Support the Financial Controller and program staff in preparing grant budgets for new proposals.
• 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 variances in spending.
• 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.

Finance Systems

• Prepare and post adjustment entries in compliance with donor requirements, ensuring all supporting documentation is attached and recorded in SAGE.
• Support the Financial Controller in updating the Chart of Accounts (COA) and creating/amending account codes for new projects.
• Verify that donor and country office budgets are correctly uploaded into SAGE and share details (codes, activity IDs) with program and grants teams to ensure accurate expense coding.
• Reconcile HQ intercompany recharges and ensure postings are accurate.

Budget Monitoring, Spend planning and Rolling budgets 

• Review 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).

Management & Donor Reporting

• Prepare donor financial reports for review by the Financial Controller, ensuring compliance with donor requirements and timely submission.
• Perform project reconciliations alongside financial reporting, posting adjustment journals as needed.
• Review grant trial balances and ensure all grant-related balance sheet accounts are reconciled.
• Monitor grant inventory status and take necessary action during donor reporting.
• Support statutory and project-specific audits.
• Prepare periodic financial reports for donors, HQ, and senior management team (SMT) members as required.

Other Tasks

• 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 Financial Controller during Internal and external audit. Ensuring that all documentation and required Schedules are made available for the Auditor in good time.
• Support the procurement department in ensuring that tendering and bidding process is fair, compliant, competitive, and finance focal person in the procurement committee.

Any additional duties may be reasonably required by the line manager within the scope of the above

The document is not an exhaustive list of core elements of the role; it may be amended from time to time by mutual agreement.

Job Level Specifications

Essential Criteria

• Post graduate diploma in Financial Management, Accounting & Finance
• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration with Accounting option
• Minimum of Five (5) years’ relevant working experience with an international NGO in a similar role
• Working experience on budget preparation, budget management and financial reports
• Excellent computer skills – advanced Microsoft Excel
• Experience in preparation of donor Budgets and reports

Desirable Criteria:

• Ability to Manage multiple deadlines and priorities with minimal technical support
• Excellent analytical Skills
• Working knowledge of Sage

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 reference contacts (current or former Line Manager) from the last three employers and daytime contact number by 8th March 2026.