British Council Finance Internship Programme 2018 for Young Africans

Would you like to be part of a forward moving team charged with embedding financial control, risk assurance and integrity of the financial function across the great work we do at the British Council?

Through a hands-on learning programme, we offer you the opportunity to obtain practical insights into the financial function of a global organisation that creates people impact across 110 countries. The Finance function offers a unique and independent outlook used in driving decision making and strategy across our operations. We pride ourselves on delivering excellence, being trusted business partners and driving continuous improvement and innovation.

You will work within the Financial Control function and your role will see you supporting the end-to-end accounting process – including month and year end close, ensuring consistent, accurate and robust financial accounting processes and being a part of our “three lines of defense”. What are the three lines of defense? The three lines of defense are Commercial Finance, Risk & Compliance and Financial Planning & Analysis.

During this programme, you may be required to support the finance change programme, process improvement initiatives and engage with stakeholders. This will give you a broader understanding of our work and how it supports the delivery of our corporate vision and strategy. The experience and exposure gained at the British Council will give you a solid foundation for your career in Finance.

Requirements:

Recent graduate (within the last 2 years) with a minimum of a 2:1 degree in a finance-related field
Interest in finance
Self-motivated, proactive and a good team player
Drive to succeed, with the ability to think both creatively and strategically
Questioning, analytical mind
Good interpersonal & communication skills: verbal and written
Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office Packages, especially Excel and adaptable to learning ERP software
Ability to work with tight deadlines and maintain quality of output
Ability to build strong relationships with stakeholders
Work experience in a Finance capacity would be beneficial (but not essential)

Duration of the internship

12 months in Zambia, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Botswana, Uganda & Sierra Leone
6 months in Senegal

Responsibilities

Support the income recognition process by extracting relevant reports and working with customer service and exams departments
Provide support as required with manual journals, accounting adjustments and off-system payment requests ensuring accuracy and compliance with relevant policies
Support reconciliation of all relevant accounts and ensure that this is completed to corporate standards
Support review of open purchase orders to ensure they are cleared on time
Parking of accounting journals
Maintain and file financial records as per corporate policy
Complete Travel & Expense audits as per policy
Complete monthly cash journal reconciliations
Submit relevant documents to local bank as requested
Support the preparation of local Tax submissions and other statutory returns
Assist with provision of information to internal / external auditors
Review and scan invoices for payment post due diligence by Accountants/Senior Accountants

Teams you will work with – Key interfaces include: