About West Africa Blue

West Africa contains 14% of the world’s remaining mangroves. Along with the immense carbon sequestration potential, these coastal ecosystems support a diverse amount of terrestrial and marine fauna include IUCN Red List Threatened Species, such as Hawksbill Turtles, Green Turtles, Slender-Snouted Crocodiles, the West African Manatee and The Timneh parrot. Yet these important coastal ecosystems are under increasing threat due to both climate and human activities.

As a result, West Africa Blue (“Blue”) is on a mission to work hand-in-hand with communities and governments to preserve, restore and sustainably manage coastal ecosystems in West Africa through the development of high integrity coastal blue carbon projects. Our team is diverse, innovative, entrepreneurial, and committed. We share a love of nature and a deep, longstanding connection to West Africa. We embody a balance of efficiency and speed of implementation with strong values and a mission-driven approach. Our goal is to set the highest standards for community engagement, transparency, and sustainability in our projects.

The Role

We are looking for an experienced and proactive accounting professional to support Blue’s team in developing blue carbon projects in The Republic of Guinea. You will be joining a team that is passionate, collaborative, and fun. We share a sense of adventure and are united by the challenge of helping overcome one of the world’s biggest challenges.

Responsibilities:

Supporting Blue’s leadership team in driving the execution of day-to-day operations in Guinea. The ideal candidate will work closely with team members to advance project initiatives. It will also mean being ready to respond with enthusiasm to a fast-paced and wide-ranging set of requests and challenges.

Responsibilities include:

• Monitoring and managing project budgets, ensuring that all project expenses are tracked and within budget.
• Preparation and management of accurate and timely financial reporting.
• Ensuring compliance with tax laws and regulations.
• Maintaining accurate financial records in accordance with OHADA and IFRS standards.
• Ensuring adherence to financial policies.
• Management of general financial and accounting processes (e.g., payroll, payables, receivables, etc.)
• Management of and liaison with external auditors to support the audit process and to prepare and review client-side audit materials provided to external auditors.
• Development and analysis of budget and management of annual budget process and variances.
• Effective and use of financial accounting software to log transactions in accordance with designated chart of accounts and client accounting policies and procedures.
• Preparation and submission of tax returns.

Qualifications and Experience:

• An undergraduate degree in Accounting; certified professional qualification or partial qualification (e.g., ACCA, CA, CPA).
• 3 to 5-years’ work experience as a bookkeeper or accountant.
• In-depth knowledge of IFRS and experience preparing financial statements in accordance with IFRS standards.
• Thorough knowledge of fundamental bookkeeping and accounting concepts and procedures.
• Experience with payroll management, general ledger functions, and month-end/year-end close process.
• Experience using a major accounting software platform (e.g., Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, etc.).
• Familiarity with Microsoft Excel and the Office 365 suite.
• Exceptional interpersonal and communications skills with a demonstrated ability to be effective in client service and professional settings.
• Superb attention to detail and diligence.
• Ability to operate effectively in a dynamic entrepreneurial environment with dispersed operations.
• Uncompromising professionalism, integrity, and ethical standards.
• Fluent in both French and English.

Personal Attributes:

• Interest in nature-based solutions, conservation, the environment, and international development.
• Self-starter with a thirst for learning and excited by a rapidly changing environment.
• Energetic and proactive engagement with colleagues.
• Empathetic in interactions with people of different backgrounds.

The accounting role will be based in Conakry, Guinea.

Application Procedure:

If you are an experienced accountant who is passionate about communities and the environment, we encourage you to apply for this exciting opportunity.