Finance and Accounting Manager at Busara Center for Behavioral Economics

The Manager will take on a driving role with respect to Busara’s financial policies, keeping up with relevant regulatory changes. They are looking for a high-capacity, action-oriented individual who has finance experience, has deep experience with accounting practices, is hands-on, invests in team development, and is keen to capitalize on his/her experience to help Busara continue to build and grow a high-performing organization.

Scope of work:

The Finance and Accounting Manager oversees Busara’s financial and management accounting, including regulatory reporting and global financial projections and analysis. Based in their main office in Nairobi, the Manager will set and oversee the strategic direction and daily activities of the Finance and Accounting team, which involves managing the Finance and Accounting office in Nairobi, as well as overseeing finance and accounting in their regional offices.

A detailed Job description for the position is as follows;

• Manage the Accounting team to oversee day to day accounting, invoicing, cash management, financial reporting, and all other necessary donor reporting requirements
• Prepare regular financial reports for Busara senior management
• Contribute to building and monitoring the annual organizational and Operations budget via reporting of performance versus actual
• Ensure strict financial accounting controls and the smooth flow of funds for Busara’s many projects in the field in Kenya, Uganda, and in other African countries where Busara works
• Coordinate the work of the Accounting team to ensure timely and accurate reporting to management and project teams
• Continually review financial and accounting practices and procedures for better efficiency and risk
• Reduction identify and proactively raise potential issues or opportunities for improvement in accounting practices, financial processes, and controls, working with Busara senior management to address or implement solutions
• Responsible for ensuring compliance with relevant statutory requirements and standards in Kenya and other African markets where Busara works
• Produce reports and provide actionable budget guidance and financial planning advice to project teams, starting from the proposal stage, and including budget monitoring and project closeout
• Oversee the design and implementation of accessible, actionable training to project staff on relevant Accounting policies
• Update and oversee Busara’s Accounts Receivable process and policies
• When Busara opens an office in a new country, train Operations staff there on Accounting, continually monitoring compliance with our policies and practices
• Develop and document business processes and accounting policies to maintain and strengthen internal controls
• Proactively develop Busara’s financial forecast analysis to assist in areas such as management of currency risk, cost allocation rates, etc.

Desired Candidate Profile

The right applicant would have the following skillset:

• 5+ years of experience in accounting and/or auditing
• An advanced degree in business, economics, finance, or a related field (MBA and/or CPA qualification)
• Deep knowledge of standard accounting principles (GAAP, IFRS, etc.)
• Prior professional experience in Africa preferable
• Experience managing a small team
• Advanced working knowledge of NetSuite accounting software (or extensive experience with a similar system)
• Financial modelling experience
• Ability to effectively communicate and project financial policies to other staff
• Ability to aggressively anticipate workload and issues, in order to prioritize team workflow and deliverables
• Ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality and integrity of accounting information
• Strong experience in financial analysis and building projections, with advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel (with the ability to work with lookups and pivot tables)