Director of Business and Program Operations at Internews Network

DAY-TO-DAY TASKS will include:

Programmatic (75%)

• Provide analytical/financial support to the Regional Director, including detailed financial analysis for project budgets (burn rate analysis) and labor forecasting.
• Directly manage the PMU's Business Management Unit, including regional staff, and support country program offices' Operations teams.
• Oversee operations of all country program offices, including leading (together with appropriate counterparts on the business operations teams) local registration, office opening and closeout, bank account opening/closing, local human resources, inventory tracking and disposition, alternate banking and cash movement options, and local financial management.
• Oversee project start-up/office opening, including recruitment and training of core staff, development of work plan budgets, identifying local legal firms to navigate registration, securing work permits, establishing local employment handbook, supporting subgrant start-up, and facilitating office set-up. This requires frequent travel to country program offices.
• Support Regional Director with PMU strategy, including fundraising, staffing structure, liaising with key Headquarters-based departments to advance requests and addressing training needs across the region.
• Responsible for setting, implementing, and overseeing the operational, financial, and compliance priorities for the PMU portfolio.
• Oversee development and monitoring of Alliance Accounting budgets and Resource Sharing Agreements and advise field teams on Alliance Accounting processes, identifying issues and finding solutions.
• Oversee proposal budget development across the alliance for new projects and modifications and adjustments of current budgets, including cost extensions and no-cost extensions. As part of this duty, oversee the development, review, and approval of subgrantees' budgets.
• Conduct review of Budgets vs. Actuals and JSRs with country program teams and Regional Director on a regular basis.
• Ensure PMU business team is coordinating with Financial Reporting team on expense reports, vouchers, and process payment requests.
• Maintain labor forecasting for PMU management and support teams.
• Oversee bottoms up financial forecast of all projects within the portfolio.
• Review trends to assess accuracy of the financial forecast and work with project teams to remediate issues.
• Serve as budget authority and compliance control for the portfolio. Review and approve monthly field office operating disbursements.
• Oversee regional and country program office subgrants teams, providing guidance on partnership building and management with external partners, local stakeholders, and administrators
• Liaise with Program Managers and business staff within portfolio and other departments as required.
• Significant communication and interaction with program staff and Headquarters Accounting, People and culture, Enterprise Risk and Global Operations, and Grants & Contracts departments.
• Travel to country offices to open, close, problem-solve, onboard new staff, and perform other duties required of this position, sometimes at very short notice, as needed and as requested by the Regional Director.

Corporate (25%)

• Monitor and resolve financial obligation issues with funders.
• Prepare advanced financial analysis and deliver presentations on the performance of the Africa portfolio as required.
• Oversee and monitor cost share obligations. Design cost share plans and oversee their implementation and reporting - this includes staff allocations and subgrantees' financial reporting, among others.
• Responsible for monitoring, understanding, and escalating operational and financial risks to relevant HQ staff. Raise red flags to supervisor, COO, and Chief Programs Officer immediately.
• Design the Africa regional office budget as part of the annual indirect budget design exercise.
• Collaborate with Internews Europe business support teams on identifying and tracking co-financing requirements, staff allocations and alliance accounting agreements.
• Support implementation of policies, procedures, and audit finding responses.
• Serve as PMU escalation contact for business operations departments to resolve transactional business process issues and region-specific support issues or provide clear delegation of specific processes to other team members.
• Support Finance and Audit teams with annual corporate audit documentation.

Values and Flexibility

•  Other duties as assigned.
•  In all duties, an understanding of and demonstrated commitment to upholding Internews' Core Values.

QUALIFICATIONS WE'RE LOOKING FOR

Required

• University degree in a relevant field of study OR equivalent lived/professional experience.
• Minimum 10 years' prior relevant work experience.
• Minimum of seven years of non-profit project and portfolio management experience, as well as experience developing operations management for USG and European-funded programs.
• Demonstrated skills and success in grant proposal and budget development.
• Experience with financial analysis, accounting, bookkeeping, and financial management.
• Experience working in Africa.
• Professional proficiency in French and English (written and spoken); other regional language skills helpful.
• Proficient in MS Office and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platforms.
• Excellent communication skills (speaking, writing, and listening).
• Demonstrated interpersonal skills including diplomacy, tact, and the ability to negotiate, with experience operating effectively in a multicultural and remote work environment.
• Demonstrated skills in managing a diverse team, establishing rapport and cultivating relationships with individuals at all levels of an organization.
• Strong project management skills.
• Proven ability to set priorities and manage time effectively.
• Proven analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Proven ability to work both independently and as an effective team member.
• Proven ability to prioritize and handle multiple ongoing assignments.
• Flexibility to adjust working hours as needed to accommodate periodic shifts in workload and colleagues in different time zones.
• Ability and willingness to travel within and outside the Africa region.