About Corus: Corus International is the parent of a family of world-class organizations working to deliver the holistic, lasting solutions needed to end extreme poverty once and for all. We are a global leader in international development, with 150 years of combined experience across our brands. Our nonprofit and for-profit subsidiaries include IMA World Health and its fundraising brand Corus World Health, Lutheran World Relief, CGA Technologies, Ground Up Investing, and Farmers Market Brands. Our more than 500 employees around the globe are experts in their fields and dedicated to helping the world’s most vulnerable people break the cycle of poverty and lead healthy lives. Further details about the organization can be found at: https://corusinternational.org
About the Job: Lutheran World Relief (LWR), a member of Corus International, is seeking a Director of Finance and Operations to lead the anticipated 5-year USAID-funded Sahel Regional Resilience Activity. The activity, implemented through the Leader with Associate Award (LWA) mechanism, is intended to provide up to $200 million in total funding, inclusive of the initial Leader Award and future Associate Awards.
The Regional Resilience Activity will strengthen individual, household, organization, and formal and informal institutions and networks to deliver improved natural resource management and the adoption of sustainable agriculture practices. The program will achieve increased food security, income generation, improved water sanitation and hygiene, climate adaptive practices, better nutrition, improved conflict mitigation, and enhanced community resilience.
The Director of Finance and Operations will be a member of the Program Management Unit and will oversee the financial and operational aspects of the project. They will manage project finances, supervise procurement, finance, human resources, and administrative staff, and ensure that adequate and appropriate internal controls are in place in compliance with USAID policies and procedures to meet generally recognized accounting standards. They will develop and oversee the implementation of policies, procedures, and systems for administration and financial support services and human resource management. They will manage the financial and administrative aspects of all sub-agreements under the activity, as well as managing all financial aspects of the activity. They will provide technical oversight to training and coaching efforts with local organizations in management and financial systems.
The position will be based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and will report to Chief of Party. Actual hiring is contingent upon signed agreement and USAID approval.
Key Responsibilities:
- Oversee all aspects of program financial management and operations, including financial and accounting systems implementation; bookkeeping; bank accounts; forecasting; budgeting; cash flow; procurement; expenditure tracking; and financial reporting.
- Collaborate with the COP and LWR Headquarters in the development of program financial, accounting, procurement, and HR systems, including policies and procedures, in accordance with USAID rules and regulations and LWR policies.
- Lead the project budgeting process; oversee effective budget planning; develop and implement budgeting and financial reporting processes to meet project financial management, forecasting, and reporting requirements.
- Ensure project expenses are reasonable, allocable, prudent, and spent in accordance with USAID rules and regulations; support annual audit procedure.
- Ensure continual review of internal controls, communications, risk assessments and maintenance of documentation.
- Prepare monthly financial reports. Provide timely and accurate financial reports and quarterly accrual projects to HQ and USAID as required.
- Supervise project financial staff; institute staff development plans for training and capacity development; oversee staff recruitment.
- Work with the projects’ grants team to ensure award compliance, and oversight of the rapid response mechanism grants.
- Ensure that sub-recipients, sub-grants and local consultancy documents and procedures are completed in a timely and correct manner and comply with LWR and USAID policies and regulations.
- Manage the financial and administrative aspects of all sub-agreements under the activity, supporting and monitoring local partners and sub-recipients to ensure sound financial management, operations, and compliance.
- Contribute to capacity building of local partners in administration and financial management; oversee technical training content in management, financial systems and compliance
- Engage with all country programming to ensure that country-specific responses are both effective and cost-effective.
- Serve as the central point for coordination and communication within the project and with USAID for planning, human resources and contracts, and budgets.
- Oversee all program human resources management, policies, and procedures; oversee local staff recruitment processes, including participating in interviews (as needed) and salary negotiations, and in preparing employment contracts.
- When the Chief of Party is traveling or sick, serve as Acting Chief of Party.
Qualifications:
- Minimum of a Master’s degree (or international equivalent) in business administration, finance, accounting, or related field; additional accounting certification preferred, e.g., American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA); Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA); Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), etc.
- Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible administrative and financial management experience on large, complex, donor-funded international development projects, including financial and accounting systems development, financial monitoring, budget development, procurement, operations and logistics, IT, and HR management and administration.
- Minimum of 6 years of leadership/supervisory experience managing finance, accounting, operations, and administrative staff and teams.
- Experience strengthening the organizational capacity of local organizations in management and financial systems.
- Substantial experience in financial management of large consortia.
- Knowledge of and experience with U.S. Government financial management instruments, policies, financial, operational and compliance procedures and requirements.
- Deep understanding of USG federal compliance requirements and evidence of experience in their application.
- Extensive experience in financial management of USAID-funded projects of similar scope and size (cooperative agreements and/or contracts). Experience managing a multi-country activity and/or Leader with Associates Award, as well as humanitarian assistance programs, strongly preferred.
- Experience overseeing project operations, procurement, and logistics; extensive experience in the development and management of large project budgets.
- Deep understanding of the Sahel context and experience working in the Sahel, particularly Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Chad, is required.
- Knowledge of and experience with financial accounting software, including USAID financial dashboards (DATIM, DevResults, etc.) and related financial management software and applications; high degree of proficiency in relevant software packages such as Adobe, MS Word, Excel, virtual communications and presentation software and remote or cloud-based data management software.
- Demonstrated leadership skills, versatility, and integrity; excellent organizational, analytical, interpersonal, and oral and written communications skills; demonstrated supervisory skills and ability to work well as a member of a team.
- Demonstrated experience in women’s empowerment, gender equality, and social inclusion.
- Willingness to travel extensively, including to unstable and non-permissive environments.
- Fluency in French and English is required.