Regional Finance Director -West Africa

Position Title:	Regional Finance Director -West Africa	Application Deadline Date:	24 Jan 2014
Position Location:	WARO- Dakar	Position Start Date	01 Jun 2014
Region:	Africa\West Africa	Position End Date:	31 May 2016
Requisition Category:	International	Recruitment Priority:	Need Immediately
Country Name:	Senegal	Program/Office Name:	WAR
City/Province:	WARO- Dakar	Employee Type:	Contract
Job Grade Level:	19	Recruitment Status:	Advertising in Progress
Is this a family post?	Family - Spouse with Children
		Requisition Num:	2014AFWMOLR-9F4HTL

PURPOSE OF POSITION:

Provide finance leadership for the region to ensure standards of excellence through financial management, accountability and integrity. To guide and enable the National Offices/Regional Office, with a focus on ensuring accountability, capacity building of finance staff, coordination of budget and planning processes and review of financial strategies for the region that best serve strategic and program objectives. Promote an environment of innovation, empowerment and responsible stewardship throughout the region.


KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategic Financial Planning and Management:

• Lead the region’s financial planning and budgeting process:
• Support Strategic Investment through the Virtual Investment Review process in collaboration with ROSM, including multi-year planning.
• Issue specific annual budget guidelines for the region.
• Review, consolidate National Office’s budgets and recommend them for approval to the Regional Leader (RL).
• Work with the RL and regional team on the regional budget and financial reporting.
• Cash Management:
• Work with Global Treasury and National Offices on cash-flow, hedging and establishing budget rates.
• Review and approve monthly funding requests from National Offices and ensure that they are in compliance with WVI cash management policies and within committed budget.
• Guide national offices in their banking, cash management, investments, and safety of assets.
• Explore ways to reduce overhead costs at the national and regional level without compromising ministry quality, by monitoring efficiency ratio and benchmark.
  
  Promotion of Financial Accounting and Reporting:
• Ensure appropriate financial, monitoring frameworks and internal controls are in place in each National Office to support WV’s ministry in the region.
• Ensure National Offices are monitoring their spending against budget commitments to assure that spending occurs only where there are commitments and to minimise under-and overspending.
• Ensure National Offices comply with year-end closing processes (including accrual accounting, carry-forward examination, pre-funding mechanism, etc.).
• Oversee and evaluate National Offices’ financial performance and efficiency through – but not limited to - :
• the quarterly financial scorecard issued by the FRSC.
• conducting periodic reviews of National Offices.

Financial Systems and Processes:

• Ensure National Offices comply with LEAP3 budgeting and reporting guidelines.
• Ensure National Offices align with any new initiative related to systems and processes (e.g. SunSystems 6, shared services & CAL).
• WVI Finance Manual:
• support National Offices to comply with the WVI FFM.
• support National Offices to ensure local policies and procedures are consistent with the WVI Finance Manual.
• raise with Global Center (GC) any field issue that needs to be updated in the WVI Finance Manual.
• raise with GC any field issues that need to be formalised into WVI Finance policy or procedures.
• Ensure NOs complete the FFM training modules designed annually by Global Finance.

Capacity Building:

• Conduct capacity assessment of National Office (NO) finance department Ensure the NO finance department is strategically positioned to effectively deliver and support Ministry.
• Mentor/support the NO Finance Directors to understand and meet the service requirements of their roles.
• In conjunction with P&C, ensure succession planning for NO Finance Directors.
• Ensure financial capacity is built at National Office:
• provide opportunities for regional financial training of finance staff, such as SunSystems/Vision, G2G, MyPBAS, secondment, rotation.
• support the NO Finance Director (NFD) in providing financial management training for non-finance staff.
•  
• In conjunction with P&c, provide appropriate finance orientation to new National Directors, Finance Directors, and other Functional Directors.
• Support and advice National Directors and teams on financial issues.
  
  Risk Management:
• Promote improved Partnership internal audit results through:
• following up implementation of audit recommendations by NO Leadership.
• addressing common audit findings.
• Enhance and oversee risk management processes by:
• ensuring that audit and risk assessments are conducted periodically.
• assuming appropriate role in the Integrity and Risk Reporting Team (IRR) in the region.
• ensuring that the IRR/whistle-blower team follows up all the process properly, investigates and reports to the appropriate authorities.
• Assess the Internal control environment of a National Office. Involves assisting National Offices designing and improving internal control systems and project accounting systems.
• Alert leadership about risk in the National Offices
  
  Strategic Networking:
• As appropriate, participate in regional Board/Advisory Council and SMT meetings on specific finance sessions (such as budget presentation, risk issues, sharing the quarterly financial management scorecard and presenting key issues to the board) and orientation of the board on financial management.
• Collaborate with the Regional Associate Audit Director as per the Responsibility Audit Matrix.
• Develop and maintain good professional networks with key Regional, Support and Global Center staff and donors.
• Identify and ensure that conflicts are resolved between various entities – critical issues affecting either SO or NO.
  
  Leadership:
• Active member of the Global Field Finance Team (GFFT).
• Member of the Regional Senior Leadership Team.
• Lead and manage the Regional Finance Team.
• Provide advice and support to the Regional Leader and other Functional Directors on financial implication of decision, presenting options to recurring problems as they arise.
• Provide Spiritual Nurture to the NO and RO Finance Teams.
• Attend and participate in devotional meetings (per office practice).
  
  Regional Office Management:
• Lead and manage the West Africa Regional Office (WARO) Administrative team.
• Ensure the Administrative team provides adequate services to all relevant clients (includes procurement, logistics, travel, etc).
• Ensure that WARO annual budget is adequately managed and accurate/timely financial reports are submitted according to WV standards.
• Keep in place an adequate internal control system for WARO in order to minimise risks and to ensure acceptable audit results.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES:

Required:

• Educational level required: Degree in Finance, Business Admin, or Accounting. MBA or equivalent preferred.
• Solid knowledge of accounting principles, financial systems, budget/cash-flow monitoring and internal accounting controls.
• Knowledge of and experience with government grant regulations and financial reporting requirements preferred.
• Experience in establishing and enforcing common protocols and standards throughout a large organization.
• Senior leadership experience in strategic financial management.
• Track record of successfully training, developing/mentoring and supervising finance staff.
• Working knowledge of the WV Partnership preferred and ability to interface sensitively with people from various departments in both field and support offices.
  
  Preferred:
• Strong inter-personal skills and proven team-player.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Proven ability to manage competing priorities.
• Able to solve complex problems and to exercise independent judgment.
• Able to work in a cross-cultural environment with a multi-national staff.
• Must be a committed Christian, able to stand above denominational diversities.
• Attend and able to lead in devotions and Chapel services.
• Perform other duties as required.
• Work environment: Office-based with frequent travel to the field.
• Travel: 25% International travel is required.

RegionalFinanceDirec.pdf

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