Fund Accountant

Jubilee Life Insurance Limited is an insurance company that provides life insurance products and services. It is part of the Jubilee Insurance Group, a leading financial services provider in East Africa.

Jubilee Life Insurance Limited is seeking a qualified professional to join its team as a Fund Accountant, reporting to the Senior Manager – Pension Operations at the Head Office in Nairobi. The primary purpose of this role is to ensure the financial integrity of pension scheme funds by maintaining precise and current accounting records. The Fund Accountant will assist with processing, reconciling, and reporting contributions, benefits, transfers, investments, income, and expenses, ensuring adherence to all applicable accounting, regulatory, and scheme requirements. This position requires close collaboration with Pension Administration, Investments, Finance, and other internal stakeholders to maintain accurate financial information, effective controls, and deliver high-quality service to trustees, members, and other parties. The role also involves supporting the implementation of fund accounting objectives aligned with the Pension Administration and business strategy, providing financial insights for scheme administration and investment decisions, and contributing to initiatives that enhance the efficiency, accuracy, timeliness, and control of fund accounting processes.

1. Support the implementation of fund accounting objectives in line with the Pension Administration and business strategy.
2. Provide financial insights to support scheme administration, investment, and fund performance decisions.
3. Support initiatives aimed at improving the efficiency, accuracy, timeliness, and control of fund accounting processes.
4. Maintain accurate accounting records for pension schemes, including contributions, benefits, transfers, investments, income, and expenses.
5. Process and account for scheme contributions, benefit payments, transfers, and investment transactions.
6. Prepare and maintain scheme-level journals, accounting adjustments, and trial balances.
7. Prepare unaudited quarterly management accounts for schemes to support trustees and management in making timely decisions.
8. Monitor scheme assets, liabilities, income, and expenditure.
9. Investigate unusual or unexplained financial movements.
10. Ensure transactions are accurately recorded in accordance with accounting policies, scheme rules, and regulatory requirements.
11. Work closely with Pension Administration to ensure member and scheme transactions are accurately reflected in fund accounts.
12. Validate contribution schedules, receipts, benefit instructions, and other financial transactions.
13. Reconcile member records, administration records, accounting records, and bank transactions.
14. Support the resolution of discrepancies across pension administration and accounting records.
15. Provide financial information to support member, employer, and trustee queries.
16. Prepare periodic scheme financial reports, schedules, and supporting working papers.
17. Analyze financial movements and variances and provide explanations for significant changes.
18. Prepare information relating to contributions, benefits, transfers, investments, and other material scheme transactions.
19. Support the preparation of scheme financial statements, trustee reports, management information, and regulatory submissions.
20. Maintain complete and reliable supporting documentation and audit trails.
21. Perform regular bank, contribution, benefit, transfer, and investment reconciliations.
22. Monitor and resolve suspense balances, unidentified receipts, unallocated contributions, and other outstanding items.
23. Investigate discrepancies between pension administration, accounting, banking, and investment records.
24. Ensure journals, adjustments, and transactions are appropriately supported, reviewed, and authorized.
25. Identify control weaknesses and recommend actions to improve financial integrity and reduce risk.
26. Ensure fund accounting activities comply with applicable laws, Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) requirements, scheme rules, accounting standards, and internal policies.
27. Support internal and external audits by providing accurate schedules, records, and responses to audit queries.
28. Identify and escalate financial, operational, regulatory, and control risks.
29. Support the implementation of corrective actions arising from identified risks and audit findings.
30. Maintain confidentiality and protect member, employer, and scheme financial information.
31. Identify opportunities to automate and improve manual fund accounting and reconciliation processes.
32. Participate in system enhancements, user acceptance testing, and implementation of fund accounting and pension administration systems.
33. Develop and improve reporting tools, templates, and processes to enhance accuracy, data quality, and turnaround times.
34. Support initiatives aimed at improving integration between pension administration, accounting, banking, and investment systems.
35. Actively participate in cross-functional project teams to promote collaboration, innovation, and accountability.
36. Participate in at least two company projects annually, with an 80% success rate, and engage in at least one Group-wide project per year.
37. Maintain full compliance with the annual training plan to support personal and professional development.
38. Embed Jubilee’s values, including innovation, teamwork, and excellence, into project execution and team interactions.
39. Address interpersonal and project-related conflicts constructively.
40. Communicate resource, training, and support needs to supervisors to facilitate individual and team success.

1. Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Commerce, Actuarial Science, Economics, Business Administration, or a relevant field.
2. CPA, ACCA, or an equivalent professional accounting qualification.
3. Relevant qualifications or progression in pensions, investment management, or retirement benefits will be an added advantage.
4. Membership of a relevant professional body, where applicable.
5. Knowledge of the Kenyan retirement benefits regulatory environment and RBA requirements.
6. Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and accounting/ERP systems.
7. Experience with pension administration or fund accounting systems will be an advantage.
8. Demonstrated high level of accuracy when processing, reviewing, and reconciling financial and member-related transactions.
9. Strong analytical thinking skills, including the ability to analyze financial movements, identify variances, and investigate the causes of discrepancies.
10. High sense of accountability, taking ownership of assigned schemes and following financial matters through to resolution.
11. Excellent problem-solving skills, approaching reconciliation breaks, accounting discrepancies, and operational challenges logically.
12. Strong collaboration skills, working effectively with Pension Administration, Investments, Finance, Treasury, and other stakeholders.
13. Customer-oriented approach, understanding the impact of fund accounting activities on members, employers, trustees, and other stakeholders.
14. High integrity and confidentiality, demonstrating ethical standards when handling scheme assets and sensitive financial information.
15. Effective planning and organization skills to manage multiple schemes, reporting deadlines, reconciliations, and competing priorities.
16. Clear communication skills to convey financial information, discrepancies, and technical matters to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
17. Commitment to continuous improvement, identifying opportunities to enhance processes, controls, reporting, and operational efficiency.