SPIR II Finance Director

Number of Position: One

Strengthen PSNP Institutions and Resilience II (SPIR II) is an anticipated 5-year USAID/BHA funded Resilience Food Security Activity (RFSA) led by World Vision and including consortium partners CARE, ORDA and IFPRI. World Vision and its partners will create a strong, shock responsive ecosystem of public, private, and community level actors to support PSNP households to graduate from poverty and sustain income and food security gains in 17 targeted woredas in Amhara and Oromia regions. Building from key formative and research studies during an initial refinement period, SPIR II will use continuous learning to drive program level reflection, analysis, and adaptation.

Purpose of the position:

The SPIR II Finance Director will provide leadership to the SPIR II consortium, including its constituent members, in financial management and accountability and compliance procedures. She/he will bring a systems thinking approach to identifying bottlenecks and improving efficiencies across the program implementation processes and structures. As a strong communicator and collaborator, the SPIR II Finance Director will work closely with their counterparts among the implementing organizations to quickly address identified gaps or challenges and share learning and experiences across partners. Both in routine annual budget and mid-year revision processes, she/he will bring a strong analytical skillset to evaluate activity costs, spending trends, patterns and make insightful recommendations based on this analysis.  The SPIR II Finance Director will also support staff capacity building, structures and processes to ensure compliance with USAID rules, regulations, policies and reporting requirements.

Major Responsibilities:

• Provide leadership and direction for the SPIR II Consortium on all financial matters.
• upport SPIR II implementing partner’s systems and build key staff capacity to ensure financial management that effectively supports programming objectives and meets USAID rules and regulations, and individual organizational policies.
• As a member of the SPIR II Executive Committee, proactively identify and help find timely solutions to issues that arise over the course of program implementation and communicate specific learning and best practices among and across all SPIR II implementing partners.
• Support SPIR II annual budgeting processes with up-to-date analysis on actual activity-level costs, spending trends, and proposals for addressing gaps, improving efficiencies, and mitigating risks.
• Over the course of implementation, collaborate with SPIR II implementing partner’s program and finance teams to analyze spending patterns, update projections and support adaptive management processes to adjust to changes in the context or other unplanned developments or opportunities.
• Lead and coordinate effective financial analysis and reporting processes both for SPIR Consortium leadership and external/USAID reporting requirements.
• Support systems within all SPIR II implementing partners that empower program managers at all levels to have accurate, timely and useful spending information and analysis to improve accountability and enable adaptive management and effective implementation.
• Periodically assess the efficiency and effectiveness of finance procedures in support of timely implementation of program activities at optimum cost.
• Provide coaching and support to key finance staff both at the consortium and implementing partner levels.
• In collaboration with the WVUS Senior Finance Officer, support sub awardee cashflow and advance management processes and quarterly sub awardee financial management review.
• Coordinate and lead the support for any external or internal annual audit processes.

Qualifications:  Education/Knowledge/Technical Skills and Experience

• Excellent leadership skills, with demonstrated ability to understand and successfully navigate the interests of different stakeholders and find practical solutions to challenges during the course of program implementation.
• Minimum of 12 years of experience in financial management of large-scale, complex, donor-funded programs.
• Knowledge of USAID award management, policies, procedures, regulations and reporting requirements strongly preferred.
• Experience applying a systems thinking to organizational improvement and adaptive management.
• Excellent analytical, oral and written communication skills.
• Experience building the capacity of staff in a broad range of areas related to financial management, including capacity building of sub awardee organizations and in financial audits.

Qualification required:

• Advanced degree in finance, management, business administration, or related field.

Preferred Knowledge and Qualifications:

• Demonstrated knowledge and skills in accounting, financial management, human resources, procurement, and other management support functions.
• Advanced knowledge and MS Excel skills, and other business accounting packages.

Working Environment / Conditions:

• Office based with travel to the field

• Travel: 15% Domestic travel is required