School Bursar at Silverleaf Academy Ltd January, 2023

Organization: Silverleaf Academy Ltd, Tanzania

Location: Silverleaf Academy Usa River Campus, Tanzania

Position: School Bursar

Contract Type: Full Time

Contract Duration: 2 years

Line Manager: Head of Campus (dotted line into Head of Finance and Administration)

Organisation

School Bursar at Silverleaf Academy Ltd

Silverleaf Academy is Tanzania’s first chain of affordable private pre-primary and primary schools, educating children aged 3-14. Our mission is to provide lower-middle income urban families with highest quality learning at the most affordable levels. Using the national Tanzanian curriculum, Silverleaf schools deploy an inclusive, tech-supported curriculum inside every classroom, and adopt an innovative team-teaching approach and in-service training program. Our schools are specifically designed to build both student academic competencies and wider life, leadership and learning skills. It is our promise to our students and their parents that Silverleaf students will not leave school without full mastery of the basic skills of writing, reading and math, while also being prepared for a world where critical thinking, team collaboration, and entrepreneurship are paramount. Silverleaf Academy believes that quality education should be accessible to every child.

Silverleaf currently has one fully operational campus in Usa River serving approximately 260 pre-primary to standard 7 students. By the end of 2024, the target is to grow the Usa River campus to 900 daycare up to standard 7 students. In addition, the organisation will set the foundation for acquisition of two new campuses serving a further 500 students by 2025. For this rapid growth and scaling phase, the organisation requires a team of senior managers and experts to develop and codify “The Silverleaf Standard” – a framework for delivery of exceptional teaching and learning across the Silverleaf Academy network in lower-middle income urban and peri-urban contexts in Tanzania. This will initially use the Usa River campus as a flagship school and testing ground from which to launch.

Role

The main purpose of the School Bursar is to protect revenues and profits to achieve full financial control and sustainable growth of the school. It will be the role of the School Bursar to oversee all financial functions of the school including budgeting, procurement, collections, bookkeeping, systems management, forecasting and reporting. The ultimate aim is to ensure that the campus becomes a viable profit center and that Silverleaf Academy Ltd as a company becomes profitable. The School Bursar will be an essential member of the school management team, providing expert support in adherence to responsible and compliant processes.

Deliverables

• Controlling parent registration, fee collections and school expenditure to maintain viability
• Managing all financial planning, tracking, controls, management and reporting of the school
• Strengthening frameworks, processes and tools to define “The Silverleaf Standard”

Responsibilities

• Verification, review and validation of school expenditure using supporting documents to ensure compliance with SLA finance policy
• Robust filing of accounting, procurement, and financial records in a logical and compliant manner
• Preparation of bank reconciliation statement and EFD reconciliation every month end.
• Daily posting of transactions into Quickbooks, fee collection system and fee tracker and managing day-to-day petty cash expenses.
• Ensure adherence to fee collection policy and timely fee reminders to parents with outstanding fees including preparation of students’ invoices and issuing of EFD receipts for students.
• Assist in the preparation and of the annual budget of the school.
• Computation of various tax, preparation, and timely filing of tax returns to avoid penalties.
• Assist in preparation of payroll and Initiating transactions’.
• Management of inventory, consumables and assets through record keeping and physical at the school and maintaining a fixed asset register.
• Timely preparation and submission of financial reports. Assist in auditing, provides information and access to accounting records as required.

School Bursar at Silverleaf Academy Ltd

Skills and Attributes                

• Minimum Bachelor’s Degree in accounting, finance, or related subjects.
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA-T) qualification in place or in progress
• At least five (5) years’ accounting experience
• Experience with recognised bookkeeping software such as Quickbooks or Sage
• Fluency in written and spoken English and Kiswahili
• Computer literacy and adaptability
• Desire to learn, innovate and build robust and impactful systems and processes
• Comfortable with using initiative and meeting targets in a in a fast-paced environment
• Passion for generating exceptional outcomes for young people in Tanzania

Values

An essential part of the Silverleaf model is adherence to the core values of the organisation. These values are ingrained in our approach and extend to staff, students, parents and partners alike. They are used throughout organisational processes and decision-making to guide what we do. For staff, adherence to these values is mandatory and forms the cornerstone of performance reviews.

1. Lead the Way
2. Build for the Future
3. Ask Why and Why Not
4. Speak, Listen, and Learn
5. Unwavering Mission Focus

School Bursar at Silverleaf Academy Ltd

How to Apply:

Please send  your application including Curriculum Vitae ( CV) and Cover Letter to the following email; finance@silverleaf.co.tz.