HEAD OF FINANCE & OPERATIONS (REF: ACT/HFO/18/2018) (For Nationals Only) 254 views4 applications

Act Change Transform (Act!) is a local Non-Governmental Organization whose mission is to facilitate the empowerment of marginalized people and communities in Kenya and neighboring countries, to become active participants in their development by enabling them to: stand up for their rights; demand good governance in the management of resources; and participate in decision making processes. Act! does this through implementing partners, offering them capacity development, management of grants so that value for money is achieved and providing strategic leadership in national advocacy for the benefit of women, youth, people with disabilities and other marginalized communities.

Job Summary

Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the Head of Finance and Operations 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 Head of Finance and Operations 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

Strategic Leadership and Management:

• Advising the CEO on fiduciary, statutory compliance and risk management matters of the whole organization.
• Lead the review, updating and development of operational strategies and guidelines in line with Act!’s mission, vision and the strategic plan.
• Lead in the development and review of Act!’s Strategic Plan, Risk Management Strategy, and Corporate Sustainability initiatives.
• Provide leadership in enhancing 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 work-plans, budgets, projections and other 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.

Financial Management:

• Provide leadership, vision and supervision roles for finance personnel to ensure attainment of set finance goals.
• Develop 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.
• Lead 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!.
• Lead 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.
• Maintain and strengthen a good working relationship with the Banks and other key stakeholders.
• Ensure overall finance related statutory compliance for Act!.
• Coordinate the external audits.
• 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.

Operations (IT and Administration) Management:

• Provide leadership, vision and supervision roles for Admin and IT personnel to ensure attainment of Act!s strategic goals and standards.
• Lead the development of Admin, procurement and IT function’s short to medium term strategies in line with Act!’s organizational effectiveness strategies.
• Lead the development and implementation of Admin, 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.

Capacity Building Coordination:

• Oversee the development of training materials for staff/grantees on understanding the financial management system and compliance with donor regulations.
• Coordinate various training courses for staff and grantees on financial management, proposal budget development, and other necessary skills.
• Coordinate determination of capacity gaps and key areas of new skills and initiate capacity enhancement responses.
• In liaison with Head of Grants, coordinate, organize and facilitate (as necessary) financial management workshops for partners to provide guidance on good financial management.

Monitoring and Reporting (financial and programmatic):

• 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 Director of Programs to ensure that the grantees projects are implemented as per the proposal and donor specifications.

Qualification, Experience and Skills:

Academic Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, Accounting or related business field. A Master’s degree in the relevant field will be an added advantage.

Professional Qualifications

Certified Public Accountant of Kenya (CPA-K) or ACCA qualifications. Project management and/or business administration qualification desired.

Indicative level of Experience

• At least 10 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 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.