Director of Finance & Operations -Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Splash is an international development organization founded in 2007 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, USA. In 15 years, we have reached over 800,000 children in cities around the world. In 2019, we embarked on an exciting, five-year initiative, Project WISE (WASH in Schools for Everyone), focused on reaching over 800,000 children in three major growth cities – Addis Ababa and Bahir Dar, Ethiopia and Kolkata, India – with improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure, WASH behavior change programs, and strengthened school-based menstrual health programs. Looking ahead, we aim to expand our impact to new cities across five countries in Asia and Africa.

Splash supports local leaders, institutions, and partners to drive lasting change on the ground. We believe that local capacity to solve problems at scale exists, and our job is to strategically support and magnify the impact of local governments, and nonprofit and for-profit actors for the good of children and families across the cities in which we work.

Our core values guide everything we do, including every hiring decision we make. They are:

• People – People first. People second. People third.
• Quality – Beautiful products that function and last.
• Honesty – No drama, no surprises, no BS.
• Joy – Kids at heart, seeing potential everywhere.
• Mistakes – Make them, don’t repeat them.

Splash values the unique skills and experiences everyone brings to the organization, and we are committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and accessible environment for everyone. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants for employment. To learn more, please visit www.splash.org.

This is a full-time position based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Director of Finance and Operations (DFO) will be responsible for the overall leadership of operations, finance, and coordination of support to programs to ensure efficiency and effectiveness across the country’s operations. The day-to-day portfolio will include direct supervision of the finance and operations teams including Accounting, IT and Supply Chain. The DFO will be responsible for strategic and operational development, management and planning of the People and Culture function and governance portfolio. The DFO will conduct continual analysis of Splash and partner spending and reporting to ensure the financial health of the organization.

The successful candidate will have familiarity with USAID rules and regulations, will have experience overseeing finance and operations functions within complex projects, and will have demonstrated ability in managing staff and partner relationships. The DFO will ensure that Splash has the financial and operational systems and procedures in place to support the organization’s growth into multiple new cities over the next few years.

As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, the DFO will ensure Splash’s work in Ethiopia exceeds Splash’s rigorous standards and audacious goals while also helping to chart a course toward the future. This includes creating a positive atmosphere and a culture of equity and inclusion for employees across all country offices and at all levels within the organization.

This full-time position is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and reports to the Country Director.

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Finance

Accounting Data Accuracy and Efficiency and Financial Management

• Oversee all accounts, ledgers, and accounting allocations and methodologies to ensure compliance with appropriate field offices’ accounting standards and USG rules and regulations. Review and improve processes routinely to ensure efficiency and accuracy.
• Manage field office accounting teams.
• Coordinate with headquarter finance team and manage the efficiency and accuracy of monthly financial close process.
• Coordinate with auditors to manage all audit activities, including grant audits, country office audits, and various entity audits.
• Oversee the field offices’ annual budget preparation, and other financial activity analysis/forecasts in collaboration with field offices’ units and Headquarters’ team.
• Provide monthly financial reports including cash analysis to Senior Management Team and coordinate with all units closely on managing budget to actual expenditures.
• Ensure financial compliance with local laws and statutes and regulations.
• Ensure accurate and timely submission of financial and tax reports, and any other compliance reporting according to local laws and regulations
• Ensure financial compliance with donor requirements and restrictions in collaboration with the Headquarters’ team

Financial Process and System Management

• Oversee all financial processes including accounts payable, payroll, procurement, etc. Work with headquarter finance office to ensure consistent processes in both US and country offices.
• Oversee and maintain consistent financial internal control in all field offices, create safeguards to mitigate financial risks in all financial processes
• Review, recommend and implement accounting system/tools as needed to improve accounting processes and accountability.
• Provide on-going financial knowledge training to non-finance units, and advance accounting training to field office finance teams to strengthen accounting knowledge to ensure financial compliance.
• Work in collaboration with Headquarters to ensure that the appropriate financial controls, tools, and systems are in place in each country office and are compliant with local and US laws, donors’ requirements.
• Support the financial and accounting management of each country’s field offices to ensure accounting data accuracy and timely reporting, and budget control.
• Set up the financial infrastructure of newly opened country field offices.
• Train each finance team’s country field offices in local and US laws and regulations.

Procurement

• Act as the primary point of contact between vendors and field office, identify vendors based on project requirements, and negotiate favorable contracts, payment terms, and deadlines on behalf of the field offices.
• Monitor and update relevant departments regarding price fluctuations of goods and vendor pricing.
• Strategizing to find cost-effective deals and suppliers, track and report key functional metrics to reduce expenses and improve effectiveness.
• Working closely with Programs staff, oversee inventory projection of warehouse and goods.
• Create procurement and inventory policies, examine and test existing contracts to ensure compliance with local country procurement law.
• Work with various stakeholders to manage construction procurement and payment process to ensure construction and inventory are aligned with program deliverables and payments are booked accurately per accounting rules and regulations.

Operations

Safety, Security, and Risk Management

• Provide strategic leadership for protecting staff across all aspects of safety and security (including physical and digital)
• Serve as the primary holder of safety policy and reporting projects, such as safeguarding policies and organizational risk registers, and liaise with funders to ensure we meet funding and reporting requirements.
• Hold security, data protection, and data governance policies for the organization; support teams to ensure they have strong policies and procedures in place that are legally compliant and a reflection of ethical data standards.
• Verify that information technology policies and procedures are documented, disseminated, and consistently applied across the country program.
• Ensure that all staff have met the full IT compliance and ensure continuous monitoring of risks with Global Tech Manager to effectively take mitigation measures.

People & Culture

• Oversee best-in-class HR management, including policy, process, benefits, recruitment, and employee relations management, with support from the P&C team and Chief Operating Officer.
• Oversee HR-related administrative duties and ensure compliance with existing legal and governmental reporting requirements. Ensuring all legal obligations are fulfilled.
• Actively participate in proposal design and grants opening and review meetings specifically advising on organizational structure, position scoping, demographic/staffing analysis and other inputs critical to ensure a strong HR foundation to support program quality.

About You

QUALIFICATIONS

• An Accounting license is preferred, Bachelor’s and/or Master’s Degree in Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, or Business is required
• Extensive knowledge of international financial reporting standards, International Public Sector Accounting Standards, and Ethiopian labor and tax laws
• 15+ years of experience in international non-for-profit grant accounting, with extensive knowledge of USG OMB Circular A-122 rules and regulations, and skills in grant management and budget management
• Experience managing staff and grants for USAID-funded programs of a similar size
• Progressively responsible experience supervising project operations and sub-contracts or sub-awards
• 15+ years of experience in international accounting that work directly with program teams and country teams on financial management and grant management
• Ability and desire to translate complex financial concepts to individuals at all levels including finance and non-finance managers
• Extensive experience in procurement and inventory management

IDEAL CANDIDATE

• You are self-motivated, flexible, and nimble. You are comfortable working in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• You demonstrate trustworthiness and integrity by promoting and maintaining a culture of compliance and ethics.
• You are committed to safeguarding and protecting populations with whom we work, especially vulnerable children and adults.
• You are strategic and detail oriented.
• You are curious and humble, knowing how and when to ask for help.
• You are committed to Splash’s mission and values.

How to Apply

https://splash.org/about-us/careers/director-of-finance-operations