From the employer's hiring system · Verified employer
Associate, Grants Accountant
Aga Khan University
Job at a glance
- Employer
- Aga Khan University
- Position
- Associate, Grants Accountant
- Location
- Nairobi, Kenya
- Contract
- Fixed Term
- Experience
- 2-3 years in finance/accounting
- Education
- Degree in Business Admin, Accounting or Finance
- Salary
- Not stated in the advert
- Application deadline
- 15 October 2026
- Posted on VacancyKE
- 1 October 2026
VacancyKE summary
Aga Khan University is hiring an Associate, Grants Accountant in Nairobi. You will monitor financial progress of research grants, prepare budgets and donor reports, and ensure compliance with funding agency guidelines.
What stands out about this opportunity
- Fixed-term contract
- Based in Nairobi
- Focus on research grant compliance
What’s offered
- Fixed-term contract
Key responsibilities
- Prepare grant budgets and internal/external donor reports per agency specifications
- Record transactions accurately against grant agreements and reconcile expenses
- Monitor sub-recipients, reviewing their budgets and reimbursement requests
- Process invoices and payment requests to funding agencies
- Ensure strict adherence to donors' compliance requirements
- Facilitate internal and external grant financial audits
- Review departmental requisitions to ensure spending stays within approved budgets
- Pass journal entries in the ledger related to grants
Who should apply?
Early-career accountants with CPAK or ACCA qualifications seeking specialized experience in grant management within an international university setting.
Key requirements
- CPAK or ACCA qualification
- Degree in Accounting/Finance/Business Admin
- 2-3 years finance experience
- Grant reporting proficiency
- Budget preparation skills
Nice to have
- Prior experience working in a granting agency
- Excellent command of MS Excel and MS PowerPoint
What you should know
- Role is based at Aga Khan University, Nairobi
- Applications are submitted via the AKU Taleo career portal
How to apply
Official source: From the employer's hiring system · aku.taleo.net. VacancyKE never charges job seekers.
Original employer advertisement
Published by Aga Khan University on aku.taleo.net. Shown for reference; the employer’s version is the official one.
The employer’s advert
Associate, Grants Accountant (Fixed Term)
Department
Finance, East Africa
Location
Aga Khan University, Nairobi
Introduction
Founded in 1983 as Pakistan’s first private university and fully chartered in Kenya in 2021, The Aga Khan University (AKU) is a private, autonomous, and self-governing international university, with 13 teaching sites in 6 countries over three continents. An integral part of the Aga Khan Development Network , AKU provides higher education in multiple health science and social science disciplines, carries out research pertinent primarily to low- and middle-income countries.
The University is both a model of academic excellence and an agent of social change. As a leading international institution dedicated to excellence and change, AKU operates on the core principles of quality, relevance, impact, and access.
Job Purpose/Summary
The Grants Accountant will be responsible for monitoring the financial progress of research and programmatic grants by preparing grant budgets and developing grant financial reports according to the guidelines of the granting agency. The successful candidate will work closely with the Grants Manager and the research team to ensure financial compliance during grant implementation, as well as to support audits and financial accounting for grants.
Key Roles and Responsibilities
• Work Closely with the Grants Manager and program staff, to ensure transactions are properly recorded and agree to the grant/contract agreement, while also ensuring sub-recipients/subcontracts costs are correctly captured.
• Preparation of internal grants reports to be shared with the Principal Investigators.
• Prepare donor reports as per their specifications and on a timely and accurate basis.
• Prepare invoices and requests for payments to funding agencies and reconcile grant expenses to funder reports.
• Ensure donors' compliance requirements are met with perfection.
• Monitor sub-recipients. Review budgets and reimbursement requests for appropriateness, and ensure sub-recipients follow established administrative and financial policies, procedures, and sound business practices.
• Working closely with the Grants Manager and Principal investigators to ensure that all project activities are allocated accurate costs and are reflected on the project budget.
• Ensure that the budgets are prepared, taking into consideration the AKU policies and granting agencies' terms and conditions.
• Exercise judgement to ensure that all decisions relating to research grant management are made in accordance with relevant rules, legislation, and policies and to check that the university’s best interests are served by the decisions.
• Building Effective communication strategies with a variety of stakeholders and colleagues to ensure that information exchanges are timely, accurate and useful.
• Facilitate Internal and external grant financial audit.
• Provide support documentation and explanations required by Internal and external auditors for grants.
• Review requisitions raised by the different departments to ensure spending is within the approved budgets.
• Ensure all requisitions are adequately supported and approved by the department heads.
• Ensure requisitions are done in a timely manner and charged correctly.
• Pass Journal Entries in Ledger related to grants.
• Review Trial Balance of Grants and prepare reports accordingly.
• Maintain efficient electronic and paper filing systems for financial records and submit required documents to relevant donors.
• Any other task assigned by management.
Relevant Experience and Qualifications
• Undergraduate degree in Business Administration /Accounting or Finance
• CPAK/ ACCA qualifications
• 2-3 years of professional experience in finance and accounting.
• Prior experience in a granting agency will be an added advantage.
• Excellent command of MS Excel and MS PowerPoint will be an added advantage.
Department
Finance, East Africa
Location
Aga Khan University, Nairobi
Introduction
Founded in 1983 as Pakistan’s first private university and fully chartered in Kenya in 2021, The Aga Khan University (AKU) is a private, autonomous, and self-governing international university, with 13 teaching sites in 6 countries over three continents. An integral part of the Aga Khan Development Network , AKU provides higher education in multiple health science and social science disciplines, carries out research pertinent primarily to low- and middle-income countries.
The University is both a model of academic excellence and an agent of social change. As a leading international institution dedicated to excellence and change, AKU operates on the core principles of quality, relevance, impact, and access.
Job Purpose/Summary
The Grants Accountant will be responsible for monitoring the financial progress of research and programmatic grants by preparing grant budgets and developing grant financial reports according to the guidelines of the granting agency. The successful candidate will work closely with the Grants Manager and the research team to ensure financial compliance during grant implementation, as well as to support audits and financial accounting for grants.
Key Roles and Responsibilities
• Work Closely with the Grants Manager and program staff, to ensure transactions are properly recorded and agree to the grant/contract agreement, while also ensuring sub-recipients/subcontracts costs are correctly captured.
• Preparation of internal grants reports to be shared with the Principal Investigators.
• Prepare donor reports as per their specifications and on a timely and accurate basis.
• Prepare invoices and requests for payments to funding agencies and reconcile grant expenses to funder reports.
• Ensure donors' compliance requirements are met with perfection.
• Monitor sub-recipients. Review budgets and reimbursement requests for appropriateness, and ensure sub-recipients follow established administrative and financial policies, procedures, and sound business practices.
• Working closely with the Grants Manager and Principal investigators to ensure that all project activities are allocated accurate costs and are reflected on the project budget.
• Ensure that the budgets are prepared, taking into consideration the AKU policies and granting agencies' terms and conditions.
• Exercise judgement to ensure that all decisions relating to research grant management are made in accordance with relevant rules, legislation, and policies and to check that the university’s best interests are served by the decisions.
• Building Effective communication strategies with a variety of stakeholders and colleagues to ensure that information exchanges are timely, accurate and useful.
• Facilitate Internal and external grant financial audit.
• Provide support documentation and explanations required by Internal and external auditors for grants.
• Review requisitions raised by the different departments to ensure spending is within the approved budgets.
• Ensure all requisitions are adequately supported and approved by the department heads.
• Ensure requisitions are done in a timely manner and charged correctly.
• Pass Journal Entries in Ledger related to grants.
• Review Trial Balance of Grants and prepare reports accordingly.
• Maintain efficient electronic and paper filing systems for financial records and submit required documents to relevant donors.
• Any other task assigned by management.
Relevant Experience and Qualifications
• Undergraduate degree in Business Administration /Accounting or Finance
• CPAK/ ACCA qualifications
• 2-3 years of professional experience in finance and accounting.
• Prior experience in a granting agency will be an added advantage.
• Excellent command of MS Excel and MS PowerPoint will be an added advantage.