Budget Reporting and Compliance Manager – Kenya National Hire

Position Title: Budget Reporting and Compliance Manager

Reports To: Finance Coordinator

Division : Immigration & Refugee Program+ (IRP+)

Department: Administration

Job Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Grade Level: 8 (N)

FLSA & Union Status: Exempt

Introduction:

Church World Service (CWS) is a not-for-profit, faith-based organization transforming communities around the globe through just and sustainable solutions to hunger, poverty, displacement and disaster. CWS does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, gender identity, genetic information, age, disability or veteran status in employment or in the provision of services.

Primary Purpose:

The Manager – Budgeting, reporting and compliance will support the Finance Coordinator with developing and implementing the financial strategy for the RSC Africa Programme.

The jobholder has overall responsibility of the Budgeting, Reporting and Compliance function with a particular focus on providing excellent financial business partnering services to the program implementation team. They will also be responsible for ensuring best in class financial management at field office level – including leadership in respect to capacity building; implementing efficient & effective processes; improving and ensuring compliance with internal control systems. The position holder will also be strongly involved with RSC Africa financial planning, finance projects ensuring that the financial component of these projects are successfully implemented

Essential Duties:

1. Budgeting:

• Ownership of the budgeting process for the RSC Africa program – ensuring proactive decision making, the efficient and effective allocation of resources, and financial sustainability (zero gap)

• Working with the program implementation team to phase and realign budgets.

Providing high quality project budget vs actual reports monthly and discuss with Project, operation and management teams on monthly basis and put in place sound project budget, financial management and reporting systems across all field offices.

• Follow-up with action points and their implementation Provide variance analysis and justifications monthly in coordination with project program and operation team.

• Work on budget realignments and request donor approval timely.

• Ensure project spending is in line with approved budget. Monitor project spending timely through working closely with operation and program teams to assess that project spending is in line with program implementations and work plan.

• Ensure budget holders understand their responsibilities (e.g., through training and capacity building).

• Provide variance analysis and justifications monthly in coordination with project program and operation team.

2. Planning & Reporting:

• Act as the key strategic Finance Business Partner to the Finance coordinator and Program Implementation team to support key decision making.

• Provide financial expertise to the donor budget proposal process to ensure proposals are: high quality; reflect the needs on the ground; include the necessary shared costs**.**

• Provide value added ad hoc financial analysis to budget holders to inform decision making.

• Address donor requests related to budget, budget management, reporting, realignment and audit.

• Prepare formats for donor and internal reports and ensure correct formatting

• Supervise the preparation and revision of all grant budget proposals.

• Ensure that budget lines codes are created on timely basis, and the budgets are uploaded in the system to include budget phasing

• Ensure each transactions are supported by complete and approved documentation and are reviewed and archived.

• Prepare project cash projection and ensure project has enough liquidity for smooth implementations

• In coordination with program and operation team, develop project budget and monthly spending plan/forecasts

3. Compliance:

• Ensure adherence to CWS Africa and donor budgeting/grant policies and procedures.

• Promptly inform the Finance Coordinator of any areas of concern of potential or suspected violations of policies and procedures.

• Ensure there are no negative audit observations/findings related to budgeting and grant management. If required, corrective actions plans are developed & implemented to address audit findings.

• Enforce donor policies and procedures across all projects.

• Mitigate the risk of donor disallowances by ensuring that awards are proactively managed and closed out effectively from a financial perspective**.**

• Report suspected fraud, misuse of funds, wrong doings related to the project to management as per the policy.

• Identify and effectively manage all key risks, especially financial, related to delivering the project**.**

4. Audits and record keeping:

• Ensure audit planning and execution will be done on time.

• Work on repose of audit observation and findings

• Participate on grant/contract documents verifications

• Keep all updated finance and budget related records and upload on the server/box for access to the team.

5. Training & Outreach:

• Assist in providing training and support for the country office program and operational staff on proposal budgets, revisions and pipeline and spending plan reports.

• Identify training needs in the area of Budgeting and Grant management in each site and sector.

• Lead refresher training programs for Field and Program Coordinators, Program Managers to ensure staff are aware of their roles and responsibilities in the area of budgeting and grant management and are updated with new procedures, CWS AFRICA global initiatives.

• Monitor staff competencies post-training and provide regular feedback and guidance to ensure all gaps in knowledge are addressed and rectified with supervisors as appropriate.

• Assist Finance Coordinator where necessary with Finance Orientation sessions for all new staff.

• Ensure the Budgeting and Planning team maintains cooperative relations with other departments, and interacts with them in a positive manner.

6. Staff Leadership, Mentorship/Development:

• Ensure appropriate staffing and efficient & effective organization design within the Budgeting & Reporting teams.

• Ensure that all staff understand and are empowered to perform their role.

• Manage team; define expectations, provide leadership and technical support as needed, and evaluate direct reports regularly.

• Recruitment, training, and professional development of team as part of the wider staff development strategy.

7. Performance Management:

1. Effective use of the Performance Management System including the establishment of clear, measureable objectives; ongoing feedback; periodic reviews; and fair and unbiased evaluations;

2. Coaching, mentoring and other developmental opportunities;

3. Recognition and rewards for outstanding performance;

4. Documentation of performance that is less than satisfactory, with appropriate performance improvements/ work plans

8. Other duties/responsibilities:

• Ensure the completeness of the grants financial documentation of the centralized grant filing system.

• Assist the Finance Coordinator with internal and external audits when required.

• Assist the team in month end and year end closing.

• Perform other duties, as appropriate or requested by Finance Coordinator.

Qualifications

Education & Certifications:

• BA Degree in Finance and Accounting, Business Administration, or other relevant discipline.

• Chartered Accountant (CPA, ACMA, ACA, ACCA) strongly recommended.

Experience:

• Minimum of 5 year’s management experience in an NGO environment, of which three at a management level within a finance department

• 4 years within the INGO / charities sector

• Experience in budgeting, reporting and compliance will be an added advantage.

• Experience of working on US government funding will be an added advantage.

• Self-starter who is willing to go the extra mile to get the job done

• A full appreciation of the value of co-operation, both internationally and within a team environment.

• Understanding of organization vision and mission and a commitment to its objectives and values.

Skills:

• Understanding of major donor compliance regulations (USAID, USDA, BPRM etc

• Strategic mind-set with the ability to lead, inspire and achieve results in a challenging context.

• Strong team player

• Excellent inter-personal skills and able to communicate with diverse set of stakeholders

• Strong analytical, decision making and strategic planning skills with the ability articulate complex information in an easy to understand manner

• Solutions focused with ability to identify weaknesses and drive continuous improvement • Excellent understanding of business and financial planning including strategic modelling.

• Excellent understanding of budgeting and budget management.

• Excellent understanding of financial systems and procedures.

• Excellent understanding of computerized accounts packages, Excel, PowerPoint and Word

• Written and verbal fluency in English

Abilities:

• Ability to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of accounts and budget information.

• Ability to exercise good judgment and seek guidance as appropriate when confronted with unanticipated problems.

• Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.

• Ability to prioritize, plan ahead, and manage a complex and diverse workload with tight deadlines

• Ability to coach, mentor, delegate appropriately and provide developmental guidance to supervised staff.

• Ability to follow instructions from the Supervisor with a positive and receptive attitude.

• Ability to deal effectively and courteously with a large number of associates, outside agencies, refugees and members of the general public.

• Ability to conduct oneself in a professional and courteous manner to represent the best interests of RSC Africa and CWS/IRP.

• Ability to maintain a high-performance standard with attention to detail.

• Ability to carry out all of the duties of the position efficiently and effectively with minimal supervision;

• Ability to work independently and contribute to overall operations of RSC Africa.

• Ability to take the initiative in the development and completion of projects.

• Ability to lead others and address issues as they arise.

• Ability to maintain strict confidentiality with RSC Africa administrative and operational information.

• Ability to manage a large and diverse workload under pressure with competing priorities.

• Ability to analyze and solve complex problems and make sound decisions.

• Ability to work well as a team in a multi-cultural environment while maintaining a high level of motivation.

• Ability to effectively manage RSC Africa’s resources.

• Ability to actively participate in the implementation of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP).

• Work and make decisions independently and contribute to overall operations at management levels

• Exercise good judgment and seek guidance as appropriate when confronted with unanticipated problems in the field;

• Maintain a high performance standard with attention to detail, completing tasks within set timeframes;

• Maintain the integrity of official records;

• Be flexible with changing of daily duties as needed.

• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and willingness to support CWS’ Platform on Racial Justice as a CWS employee required.

Special Requirements:

• COVID Vaccination is strongly recommended for all successful candidates

• The candidate should be of good health, willing and able to travel extensively in often difficult conditions, and have a high degree of flexibility. Must have proof of Yellow Fever vaccination before traveling for RSC Africa

• This position is based in (Nairobi, Kenya)

• This position requires use of laptops at all time, competence in Microsoft office packages is required.

• This position may require travel in sub-Saharan Africa on short notice and under sometimes difficult conditions to meet demands of a dynamic operational program

• Background check which includes references and an educational and criminal check is required before the start of employment.

• A valid passport and the ability to maintain a valid passport throughout the entire appointment is required, which includes having enough passport pages for travel.

• Physical: This position requires bending, squatting, crawling, climbing, kneeling, sitting, standing, walking, pushing/pulling, handling objects (manual dexterity), reaching above shoulder level, using fine finger movements and lifting/carrying heavy loads.

• Environmental: Incumbents in this position will be exposed to excessive noise, marked changes in temperature and/or humidity, dust and infectious diseases, harsh weather climates, long work hours, bumpy roads, extended travel, excessive sun exposure, and non-ventilated spaces.

• Full time: All employees should be prepared to work from the CWS office within their location of hire. Remote work arrangements may vary depending on location and the governing rulings regarding the COVID-19 pandemic