Senior Advisor, Finance

Job Title: Senior Advisor, Finance

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Duration of contract: 2-year contract, with the possibility of renewal

Starting date: As soon as possible

Reporting to the CFO the Senior Advisor, Finance facilitates the continued growth and productivity of the company through the provision of best-practice accounting, internal controls, and financial management. The Senior Advisor, Finance is more than a technician—s/he is a key advisor across finance who is expected to implement positive change through innovative solutions to fund, staff, and streamline the organization’s financial processes and procedures.

The Senior Advisor, Finance (SAF) will assist the CFO in driving continuous improvements in operational performance.

Key Duties & Responsibilities:

Leadership

• Review the Finance Team structure and propose changes to maximize effectiveness and efficiency
• Ensure tasks are delegated to the lowest level possible
• Establish a high level of credibility and manage strong working relationships with both executive level and line staff internal and with external stakeholders.
• Oversee the establishment and adoption of robust checklists for the organization’s financial processes and procedures that help the Finance Team manage the complexity of working in 13+ countries
• Develop a culture of accountability and customer orientation

SYSTEMS IMPLMENTATION

• Drive accounting system (NetSuite) implementation to completion and “go live”
• Assist the Human Resources team to ensure that payroll integration in the Human Resources Information System (HRIS) and outsourced payroll is implemented.
• Ensure that the time and attendance and modules of the HRIS are functional and provide the coding necessary to integrate the required data into the accounting system
• Ensure that accounting team members participate in accounting system implementation meetings and are prepared with questions and examples to test
• In concert with the Director of Finance, recommend roles and functionality to be assigned to specific accounting team members
• Document key monthly financial closing processes and update the accounting manual accordingly
• Document treasury and cash management procedures and make recommendations for improvements
• Drive implementation of recommendations from the organization’s internal and statutory auditors

Financial and Budget Management

• Design, improve and implement the internal controls of the organization to reduce the risk of fraud, errors, and misreporting. Ensure that the internal control structure, processes, and procedures are documented and that the Accounting Policies Manual is updated, accordingly.
• Ensure that monthly and periodic financial reports are prepared and disseminated by the Finance team on a regular predictable, timeline and those regular review meetings with budget holders are held to review and address variances in budgets
• Maintain regular cash flow forecasts
• Propose corrective actions in response to both budget challenges and opportunities as they arise.
• Analyze finance departmental performance and recommend ways by which to eliminate waste, drive efficiency and make strategic investments.

Grant Management

• Review grant proposals and budget management processes and checklists to ensure that organization`s costs are covered in proposals submitted to donors/funders. Make recommendations for improvements to the process to ensure that key steps are not missed.
• In concert with Program Design, Philanthropy, and program leads, create a methodology to ensure cost-matching obligations throughout the organization are met in a manner that minimizes the use of unrestricted net assets. Train Finance staff and other stakeholders to apply the methodology consistently.
• Ensure all relevant staff are informed with regard to compliance, delivery obligations, and reporting deadlines

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, accounting, or a related field, CPA/ ACC certification will be considered a big plus.
• At least 15 years of relevant working experience in the private and nonprofit financial sectors.
• At least 5 years within a donor-funded nonprofit organization or 5 years in public accounting with exposure to not-for-profit accounting and grant/fund accounting.
• Demonstrated experience organizing the work and files of an accounting department, and managing a monthly closing process.
• Experience in European countries and/or the US are preferred.
• Experience communicating complex financial information to a non-financial audience.
• Solid knowledge of accounting standards governing not-for-profit accounting, financial reporting, and audits.
• Ability to organize and synthesize large amounts of data, and present issues in a clear, concise, and logical manner. Very strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Very strong technical skills, including MS Excel, report writer tools, accounting systems, and other databases. Could you please give some examples of these systems?
• Ability to manage competing priorities, exercise good judgment, and quickly identify and resolve problems with minimum supervision.
• Must exhibit a high degree of integrity.
• Must be flexible, culturally sensitive, and exude a “team” attitude.
• Must have excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to interact professionally with staff, partners, and donors.
• As this position is heavily anchored in the company’s conservation programs, the successful candidate must have a strong interest in and understanding of conservation.
• Knowledge of USAID and EU rules and regulations, and OMB A-133 circular requirements is preferred.
• Strong technical skills in the use of Serenic Navigator and Jet Reports are desired but not required. Knowledge of NetSuite preferred.
• French language skills are a plus.