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Finance Director

POSITION SUMMARY

The Finance Director is an experienced financial leader and manager of budgeting, forecasting, compliance and treasury management. The Finance Director oversees accounting systems and processes, risk, reporting and audit activities; leads the annual budgeting process; and develops and refines the organization’s financial systems and processes. The Finance Director assists the Vice President, Operations in assessing and identifying operational strategies, performance metrics and financial challenges and opportunities to meet the ongoing demands of implementing a global, multi-donor portfolio. S/he assures the financial viability of the organization by strengthening and overseeing the fiscal management systems needed to support current and future growth while maintaining the organization’s internal control structure. Critical to success in the role, the Finance Director must effectively balance compliance requirements and program needs, providing effective and compliant solutions to project implementation challenges in the financial area.

The Finance Director reports to the  Vice President, Operations, currently supervises two staff, and provides subject-matter support and oversight to finance staff in overseas offices.

The Finance Director works closely with the Program Leadership Team and country program staff not only to support them in managing budgets and applying finance and accounting policies and procedures, but also to explore how the finance function can support country program operations. With the VP, Operations,  the Finance Director will develop and oversee a strong and sustainable business model that proves attractive to a wide range of cost-conscious donors. The Finance Director creates platforms and delivers financial performance that support and enable the delivery of high-impact programming.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

Financial Leadership
• Advise and support the CEO, VP, Operations and leadership team on all financial planning and decision-making.
• Create models, reports and other tools that enable staff and executive leadership to make sound, data-driven financial decisions.
• Develop and refine financial systems and processes that will help teams across the organization to work together collaboratively and effectively; develop and publish P&L models for senior leaders’ awareness and decision-making; optimize the use of grant funds and the recouping of overhead costs.
• Lead the optimization of systems and procedures to ensure that reliable finance data, information, and knowledge are accessible in as close-to-real-time as possible to key decision-makers throughout the organization.
• Support grant, annual and multi-year budget processes, ensuring that activities are forecasted and reported appropriately, and that variances are tracked, explained, and reported throughout the year. Maintain effective and coordinated budget monitoring processes.
• Analyze financial data to seek cost improvements.
• Oversee an accurate, efficient and timely monthly close.
• Support the business development function by reviewing cliff-funding analysis, pipeline, start-up costs, and other key performance indicators.
• Prepare and present timely and accurate financial reports and deep analyses for senior management, Board of Directors, including the Finance and Audit Committees.
• Lead audit preparations and manage the ongoing relationship with external auditors to ensure compliance with all regulatory requirements.
• Liaise with the Development team to ensure timely receipt of all pledge payments and ensure donor restrictions are adhered to and correctly reflected in financial statements.

 Ensure Strong Financial Systems and Controls
• Ensure effective day-to-day accounting for grants, general accounting matters, payroll, and financial operations.
• Monitor financial laws and regulations impacting non-profit organizations operating internationally, maintain fiscal compliance and internal controls across all areas of responsibility, and recommend processes and strategies to meet legal and policy requirements.
• Provide effective policies, practices and tools to improve financial operations, including effective budgeting processes to better align resources with strategy, and enable visibility into and effective management of revenue and spending.
• Maintain oversight and compliance of all external financial reporting and ensure that internal reporting metrics and processes are tied to the strategy and operations of the organization.
• Ensure that effective internal controls are in place and functioning as intended to ensure compliance with GAAP and applicable federal, state and local regulatory laws and rules for financial and tax reporting.

Support Overall Stewardship of Assets
• Provide strategic fiscal planning to offer a basis for future decision-making in the organization, including future expansion.
• Work alongside all departments to support financial literacy and budget decision-making.
• Manage the organization’s banking and fiduciary relationships.
• Serve as staff to the Finance and Audit Committees; participate in all Board meetings; and provide timely, useful and accurate financial and management reporting to support effective Board governance and decision-making.
• Support the Board and leadership team in forecasting, analyzing, and understanding financial trends and impacts stemming from the organization’s operating model, strategic plan, and ongoing execution.

Develop and Nurture a Strong, Collaborative Finance Team
• Model and uphold an environment within the Finance team that is collaborative, with a problem-solving and service-oriented mindset, supporting partnerships across the organization and enhancing the skills of the existing team.
• Manage, mentor, and develop a strong, integrated finance team, managing work allocation, training, problem resolution, performance evaluation, and team dynamics.
• Ensure team members are well positioned to be effective business partners and recognized by colleagues, management, and Board as trusted, reliable, and active partners in achieving strategic goals and objectives.
• Execute consistent performance management, providing specific actionable feedback about job task proficiency, responsibilities and professional behaviors; identify performance that doesn’t meet standards and support performance improvement; support professional development of finance team members.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
• Required knowledge, skills, abilities and experience include:
• 12+ years in progressively expansive financial leadership roles in a global enterprise, with strong understanding of non-profit accounting.
• B.S. in accounting or finance required; C.P.A required.
• Demonstrated ability to oversee the detailed preparation of budgets/financial accounts and to understand and analyze financial data, both at an overall organizational level as well as the detailed project/program levels.
• Demonstrated ability to pivot from day-to-day accounting to high level financial strategy work is essential.
• A proven track record of successfully driving organization-wide accounting and finance process and systems changes, bringing greater efficiency and effectiveness to an evolving organization, leveraging technology as appropriate.
• Flexible but influential, in order to obtain buy-in and drive change – can act as both a creative business partner to management and a hard worker who gets things done.
• Exceptional interpersonal and communications skills, and the ability to develop positive and productive relationships with a dispersed team to build buy-in across the organization.
• Strong change management skills to promote collaboration and productivity, particularly during times of change.
• Advanced knowledge of accounting and reporting software. Specific knowledge of Salesforce, FundEZ and Adaptive a plus.
• Working knowledge of, and direct experience working with, U.S. and other government donor funding, contracting and reporting requirements, and compliance and auditing activities.
• Strong problem-solving and creative skills with the ability to exercise sound judgment and make data-driven decisions based on accurate and timely analyses
• Extensive experience with long-range financial planning and budgeting with a diversified donor base.
• Cultural awareness and sensitivity – demonstrated ability to work successfully across borders.
• Commitment to diversity and inclusion, ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.
• Demonstrated success as an effective coach and mentor to staff.
• Ability to work flexible hours or across time zones, as needed.
• Ability and willingness to travel internationally, as needed.
• Multi-lingual capabilities a plus.

HOW TO APPLY
Please email a resume, cover letter with salary expectations to [email protected].