Regional Head of Finance and Administration

Cordaid believes in a world without poverty and exclusion. We strive for just and sustainable societies where every person counts. We stand for knowledge and talent sharing between North and South, between farmers and businesses, between activists and policymakers. Where poverty, conflict and exclusion divide societies, we connect people and communities. We stand for professionalism, expertise and solidarity across borders. We aim at maximizing our social impact and contributing to systemic change. We operate where natural disasters strike, where conflicts tear up communities and where lack of opportunities and service delivery keep families in extreme poverty.

Cordaid is an internationally operating value-based emergency relief and development organisation, working in and on fragility.

Cordaid is a member of the international Catholic networks Caritas and CIDSE and we are active in worldwide civil society networks. We work in around 20 countries in Africa, Middle East and Asia.

For the Cordaid Regional Office in East and Southern Africa, Cordaid is looking for a

Regional Head of Finance and Administration

Specification of the job

The RHoF ​provides financial and administration oversight for all aspects of the Cordaid ESA office, country offices in both program finances and accounting in accordance with Cordaid regulations. Responsible for budget forecasting, expenditure tracking, and financial analysis, as well as grant and contract management.

Manages, administers, and directs the control of the budgets and administrative functions. Reviews and approves recommendations for financial planning and control and key administrative decisions, in concertation with the role of the regional management team. Selects, develops, and evaluates financial and administrative management personnel to ensure the efficient and collaborative office and programs support operations.​

Reporting relationships

The Regional Head of Finance and Administration functionally manages all regional financial staff. He/she also directly line manages some finance and procurement staff within the Cordaid Uganda country office.

He/she liaises with the Global Office finance department and reports hierarchically to the Regional Director who is the line manager in charge of the regional team and regional budgets.

Job summary

He/She is responsible for the financial and administrative oversight, control and financial management information of the Regional Office. The Cordaid ESA Regional Office is responsible for Cordaid operations in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe. The Regional Office is located in Kampala, Uganda. Overall financial volume of the ESA operations is around Euro 16 million in 2022.

Duties and Responsibilities

Overall tasks:

• Oversees all finance, IT, procurement, logistics and administrative aspects of the Regional office and country offices, program finances under the region.
• Ensures that program resources are budgeted, disbursed, monitored and reported according to Cordaid and donor guidelines.
• Ensures that the programs, region and countries operate efficiently, using resources effectively and within the budgets of the programs / countries / region.
• Monitors and maintains all financial computer systems and related software
• Carries out budget forecasting, expenditure tracking, and financial analysis, as well as grant and contract management
• Provides regular and timely financial reports
• Provides leadership and technical guidance for compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Procedures (GAAP)
• Any other duties assigned by the Regional Director

Financial management and control

Develops and maintains financial management and control in the Regional Office as per GO and/ or RO needs for efficient and effective delivery, including maintaining and improving digital approval workflows. Has a strong awareness of fraud and integrity risks, and able to respond positively and lead the team to minimise these risks.

With the finance team, develops and assesses budget methodologies with a focus on full cost recovery, and analyses these on financial feasibility and donor compliance. Is responsible for financial and legal compliance at organizational and regional countries level. Is responsible for sound program budgeting and reporting of regional programs in collaboration with the respective program director(s) and finance managers of the said program.

Network

With the team, develops and maintains relationships with stakeholders (donors and funders, local governments, lawyers, partner organizations, external auditors and consultants). Represents the Regional Office as a financially, sustainable and compliant organization in contacts with these stakeholders and engages in financial discussions with donors as part of the program team.

Business administration

Ensures that the financial administration is executed in accordance with the global rules and regulations of Cordaid and adjusts these to the local situation, laws and regulations and donor requirements.

Creates financial structures to improve the management and accountability of programs. Analyses problems in the processing and distribution of financial data. Advises on the application of administrative organizational procedures and guidelines, in a way that create a clear and verifiable audit trail.

Liquidity position

Develops and maintains treasury and liquidity instruments and procedures and acts upon deviations to ensure consistency of the liquidity position.

Management information

Creates conditions and work processes to provide reliable and timely information in the Regional Office. Encourages the exchange of information to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization.

Accountability reports

Develops financial key performance indicators to determine financial results of programs. Monitors the financial progress of programs and operational costs. Reviews accountability reports from Country level Financial staff for donors, the Regional Director and the financial department at global office

Staff performance

Monitors the quality of the work and coaches the development of the department. Identifies problems and takes action to improve the working climate. Performs annual reviews and has frequent meetings and consultation with the team and leads the financial team to perform and deliver effectively and efficiently

Entrepreneurship

Takes initiatives to improve the financial controllability through a proactive attitude: a ‘prevent’ instead of ‘correct’ approach. Has a sharp eye for risks and wants to organize the work in such a way that financial and compliance risks are in control. Keeps oversight and structure in complex situations.

Frame

Works within the financial policy of Cordaid and regional / country legislation.

Key result areas

• Functional management and control
• Networking
• Business administration
• Information management
• Performance management
• Coaching & Mentoring

Qualifications and experience needed

• Minimum 8 years of extensive experience in managing accounting and finance activities relevant to the needs of Donor Funded programs of which 5 years’ operating at a senior management level with direct supervision of professional and support staff including evaluation of performance and deliverables, staff development, succession planning and exit management
• Experience in the implementation of financial controls and compliance to audit requirements.
• Experience in strategic, operational and tactical planning
• Experience in delivering presentations and reports for an executive audience and donor audience
• Process-oriented and possess management skills.
• Ability to take and implement decisions which apply to staff with no direct reporting line.
• Knowledge of Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) and Acquisition Regulations (AR).
• Strong attention to detail and ability to meet deadlines.
• Excellent communication skills so that non-finance staff understand the budget and expenditures and can link the implementation of their technical work to finance and ensure that the project remains within the budget.
• Strong team-player skills and the ability to ensure that policies are carried out across multiple countries
• Ability to translate strategy into implementation plans
• Analytical skills with the ability to articulate the size and context of a problem
• Problem solving with the ability to identify the solution(s) to identified problems
• Knowledge of planning and control, administrative organization, donor regulations and developments in regional financial laws and regulations
• Skills to manage financial professionals at a distance and with cultural differences, to influence and to advise Program Managers/directors and to maintain relationships with stakeholders

Core Competencies

• External awareness
• Result-driven
• Entrepreneurial and commercial thinking
• Excellent communication skills
• Leadership and people skills

Function specific competencies

• Analytic capacity
• Helicopter view
• Management (functional)

Specifics of duty station

The Regional Head of Finance & Administration will be based in the Cordaid office in Kampala, Uganda. Travel to other countries under the Regional Office, project areas, security permitting, will be required for around 30% of the time.

Contract information

The contract period is for 12 months starting as soon as possible, with the intention to extend for a longer period. We offer a Cordaid contract with a competitive salary and a benefit package which includes a comprehensive insurance cover, social security and pension contribution, a holiday allowance, 13th month, hardship allowance and cost of living allowance. This is an expat position.