Finance and Operations Manager at Act Change Transform

Job Summary

Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the Finance and Operations Manager will be based in Nairobi and will provide leadership and strategic direction to the operations functions of Act! including Finance, Grants and Administration. S/he will be responsible for ensuring seamless operations in support of Act! and its partner CSOs in achieving rigorous financial reporting and management systems. The Finance and Operations Manager will also work in a peer relationship with the Director of Programs, Heads of Divisions, Human Resources and Resource Mobilization Managers on budgetary, donor compliance as well as statutory requirements with regards to program staffing, financial and grants related activities. The position holder will take overall responsibility for the quality standards of the tools and materials Act!’ uses to deliver effective grants, financial and operational services to our stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

Financial Planning & Management:

• Provides leadership, vision and supervision roles for finance personnel to ensure attainment of set finance goals. Develops finance function’s short to medium term strategies in line with Act!’s corporate strategies.
• Ensure that all financial documentation is maintained according to Act!’s standards and donor requirements to the extent they can be fully audited with limited or no adverse findings.
• Leads the development and implementation of financial policies, rules and procedures that meet industry best practices and ensure full understanding by staff and compliance of the financial management process at all levels within Act!.
• Leads the continuous improvement of internal control systems that minimize financial risks, monitor the performance of Act!s flow of funds and adherence to approved budgets.
• Maintains and strengthen a good working relationship with the Banks and other key stakeholders.
• Ensures overall finance related statutory compliance for Act!.
• Coordinates the external audits (projects & institutional).
• Lead the development of annual organizational financial plan and budget process to ensure reasonableness and donor compliance.
• Oversee the preparation of financial reports for internal management as well as external purposes.
• Review and approval of invoices/ reports to donors for program, directly under him or her or ensure proper systems for approval of invoices/ reports to donors are in place for all programs.
• Review and analysis of monthly management accounts and management reports as required by budget holders.
• Tracking of overall program budgets, follow up of funds disbursement from donors and ensuring financial compliance during program implementation and program close out.
• Monitoring of the overhead budget and unrestricted income.
• Providing guidance on best business practices on Act!’s consultancy assignments and revenues generated from those assignments (offering support to Tenda Advisory Services).
• Monthly review of financial data in the ACCPAC System.
• Development of project budgets (at proposal stage) in liaison with the New Business Development Team.
• Review of Monthly Payroll, Quarterly and Annual Statutory Returns.
• Review of the year-end financial statements and statutory reports in readiness for annual audits.
• Develop and ensure strict adherence to periodic (monthly quarterly & annual) cash flow forecasts for the Organization.

Operations (IT and Administrative) Management:

• Provide leadership, vision and supervision roles for Administration and IT personnel to ensure attainment of Act!s strategic goals and standards.
• Lead the development of Administration, procurement and IT function’s short to medium term plans/strategies in line with Act!’s organizational effectiveness strategies.
• Lead the development and implementation of Administration, Procurement and IT policies, rules and procedures that meet industry best practices and ensure full understanding by staff and compliance of the policies, rules and procedures at all levels within Act!.
• Develop operational systems to ensure efficient and effective running of all office operations at both the main and field office levels.
• Lead the establishment and implementation of an assets management system that safeguards Act!’s assets including insurance underwriting to ensure Act! assets remain fully insured against all risks at all times.
• Ensure annual audits of the assets management system to match the procured verses actual assets available through the purchase records.
• Oversee the development and implementation of a security management system and protocols to support Act!s operations both at the main and field offices.

Strategic Leadership and Management

• Provide inputs and regular advice the CEO on fiduciary, statutory compliance and risk management matters of the whole organization.
• Support development and review of Act!’s Strategic Plan, Risk Management Strategy, and Corporate Sustainability initiatives.
• Support the enhancement of efficiency and effectiveness of Act!’s business model and pathway to institutional sustainability.
• Provide technical support to the CEO in preparation of and adherence to budget, financial projections and other financial reports for the Board and other purposes.
• Lead the implementation of Act!’s Strategic Plan in matters of finance, risk management, funds management and new business development.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of major donors’ rules and regulations and ensure implementation at all times.

Capacity Building & Coordination:

• Oversee the development of training materials for staff/grantees on understanding the financial management system and compliance with donor regulations.
• Coordinate training needs assessments and facilitation of relevant training courses for staff and Act! grantees on financial management, proposal budget development, and other capacity enhancement interventions.
• In liaison with the grants team in charge, coordinate, organize and facilitate (as necessary) financial management mentoring and or workshops for partners to provide guidance on good financial management practices.

Financial Monitoring, Donor and Grantee Reporting:

• Oversee monitoring of grantee advance and liquidation balances closely and ensure timely liquidations.
• Oversee review of cost share reports from partner organizations to ensure compliance against grant commitments.
• Oversee the compilation of data and preparation of monthly, quarterly and annual reports.
• Closely monitor obligations from donors and grant obligations to ensure that Act! never commits more funds than allowable.
• Work with the Head of Programs to ensure that the grantees projects are implemented as per the proposal and donor specifications.

Qualification, Experience and Skills:

Academic Qualifications

A Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, Accounting or a business field, and Master’s degree (in a relevant subject) are a requirement.

Professional Qualifications

Certified Public Accountant of Kenya (CPA-K) or ACCA qualifications is mandatory. Additional certifications in finance are is added advantage.

Indicative level of Experience

• At least 8 years’ work experience managing finance and operations of major donor grants and contracts.
• At least five years’ experience in administering grants and contracts.
• Experience in staff supervision and management of large programme operations.
• Good experience working with financial applications (e.g. ACCPAC) and/or any other large computerized financial system.

Essential Skills and Competencies

• Familiarity with major donors’ auditing requirements and demonstrated ability to exercise basic financial and administrative oversight.
• Ability to train CSOs & Staff on financial management and required reporting preferred.
• Good analytical skills to successfully perform financial reviews and other quantitative analyses.
• Task and results oriented and must possess good follow through skills.
• Ability to independently prioritize and successfully perform assigned tasks.
• Ability to work on short deadlines and prioritize multiple tasks.
• Effective written and oral communications skills.
• Highly organized and able to develop and streamline systems for efficient conduct of day-to-day tasks.
• Ability to say no when professionalism is not being followed by senior and overbearing members of staff.
• Highly proficient in the use of Microsoft office suite products especially spread sheets for budget preparation purposes.