Under the supervision of the Deputy Programme Director - Administrative & Finance Manager, the Project & Finance Assistant will provide administrative, financial, procurement and logistical support to the IYBA-SEED project (“Investing in Young Businesses in Africa – Supporting Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Development”).

The position is part of the central Project Management Unit (PMU), based in Brussels. The Project & Finance Assistant will work closely with the PMU team, including the coordination team and technical component leads, and will also support coordination with Expertise France field teams in the countries of implementation (mainly Deputy Lead Senegal and to a lesser extent the Deputy Lead Benin & the Country Team in Togo).

Supervision is provided by the IYBA-SEED Deputy Programme Director Administrative & Finance Manager in Brussels, who is responsible for training and supporting him/her in his/her mission.

This position offers hands-on experience in the operational management of EU-funded international cooperation projects within a multi-country consortium and requires strong organisational skills, reliability, and the ability to work in a multicultural environment, as well as a good command of both English and French.

The main responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

Financial support

• Monitoring expenses and supplier invoices, including follow-up, reminders and administrative registration;
• Collecting supporting accounting documents and preparing files for payment;
• Supporting the team during audits;
• Updating, cross-checking and reconciling the project’s transaction list;
• Preparing monthly accounting reporting packages;
• Updating the monthly financial report.

Procurement support

• Evaluation of the administrative eligibility of tenderers;
• Conducting conformity checks;
• Supporting the set-up of contracts in the ERP system;
• Drafting procurement award reports and related documentation.

Logistics support

• Organising and managing travel in coordination with a travel service provider, including itinerary checks and cost optimisation;
• Booking air/train tickets, local transport, meeting rooms, hotels and airport-hotel transfers;
• Preparing mission security clearances;
• Supporting visa procedures and other administrative formalities prior to travel;
• Supporting the organisation of project events, missions, seminars and meetings;
• Managing relations with service providers, including processing and negotiation of quotes, subscription management and invoice control;
• Monitoring mission-related budgets to ensure control of travel costs;
• Supporting the day-to-day logistical management of the PMU office, including supplies, consumables and coordination with IT support services.

Administrative support

• Scheduling and coordinating meetings;
• Managing administrative coordination, including mail, document circulation and signatures;
• Indexing, filing and archiving project documents, especially procurement and mission-related documents, on Teams and headquarters servers;
• Providing general administrative support and formatting working documents;
• Updating existing dashboards and monitoring tools;
• Supporting the preparation and organisation of key project events, including Steering Committees and workshops.