Senior Manager, Financial Planning & Analysis at World Resources Institute (WRI)

Job Summary

As the Senior Financial Manager, you will focus on sound financial management and financial sustainability of the Africa regional office. In this position, you will work collaboratively with other core functions to ensure strong financial management, forecasting, and information flow. You will takes pride in many strategic, analytical, transactional, and systems contributions, but three areas are most relevant to mission success.

Your key responsibilities are to: Provide overall management and leadership of the finance department Lead finance strategy and share recommendations with the Regional Director and Africa ET; Oversee all approved financial decisions; Control and manage financial records and documentation; Develop and maintain a sustainable financial structure that meets mission needs, goals, and aspirations in WRI office in the Africa region; Ensure sustainable and dynamic business model that finds the necessary revenues and efficiently and effectively manages expenditures over the fiscal years; Ensure sustainable financial function and organizational infrastructure and interconnectivity that will support and contribute to organizational success.

You will also serve as the key point of contact for the finance department and auditors.

Financial Management

Job Responsibilities:

• Head the Finance planning function and cover all aspects including Budgeting, Financial Planning, and Reporting, with oversight over all of WRI Africa’s offices including Kenya, Ethiopia, DRC, and Madagascar, and other locations where work is ongoing or may develop
• Create quarterly, annual and long term budget forecasts & business plans for the Regional office and capture the current ongoing & expected future revenue opportunities
• Working with development and program staff to create budgets, financial proposals for current and emerging program work
• Lead on financial and compliance risk management, ensure adherence to internal control systems, and where necessary, put internal control systems in place
• Serve as an internal consultant to the Regional Director, Operations Director, Program directors, and other key stakeholders on all financial matters, making recommendations and suggesting proactive strategies to plan for and manage finances
• Directly manage WRI Africa’s indirect budget and financials, and provide oversight over all direct project budgets in the region

Coordination

• Analyze and present financial information in an accurate and timely manner to senior management; clearly communicate monthly and annual financial analysis
• Collate and review financials with Regional Director, providing an overview of financial health and risks, as well as update on the revenue pipeline
• Facilitate quantitative decisions with clear, visual, easy to interpret analysis for resource allocation across the region Implement best financial practices within the institute by communicating standard operating procedures, keeping the senior leadership team and staff up-to-date on institute financial status, and by generally serving as a point of reference for all financial needs
• Work closely with other core functions like operations, development, and communications to develop and put in place cross-functional processes to help streamline and strengthen institutional capacity
• Coordinate closely with WRI Global to ensure synchronicity with the institute’s processes, providing reports and updates as necessary and escalating risks and issues in a timely manner

Process And Training

• Identify process gaps and operational issues by working closely with teams and core functions to find and implement solutions that incorporate WRI’s ongoing growth
• Participate in all internal planning regarding institutes proposed program expansion, to ensure alignment of program, outreach and training plans with financial projections
• Provide financial training to new other finance staff within WRI Africa, as well as training to technical staff to provide a basic understanding of how our finances work
• Keep up with new trends in the financial industry by attending conferences, participating in professional development, and sharing this information with the senior leadership team

Job Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in relevant field required
• Minimum of 8 years of full-time financial management experience, preferably in the international development space
• Excellent quantitative, analytical, communication, and presentation skills
• Demonstrated ability to effectively liaise with colleagues across programs, functions, other offices, and time zones
• Prior experience working with teams based in multiple countries
• Effective oral and written communication skills with a strong ability to efficiently communicate financial results
• Proficiency in French is highly desirable
• Sense of humor, sound judgment, integrity, personal sense of accountability and respect for confidentiality; 'can-do" mindset; outstanding problem-solving ability
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite and Excel and familiarity with software like Costpoint, Salesforce, and Sage, and other online accounting systems managed through multiple geographical area
• Must be a citizen or have existing work authorization for the applicable country office