USAID/Policy LINK Ghana – Finance & Operations Specialist/Manager/Director At DAI Global

Project Background

The Feed the Future Policy LINK project will strengthen the capacity of local actors and institutions to lead and manage the agricultural transformation process and contribute effectively and collectively to improved, broad-based food security policy outcomes.

Specifically, the program aims to strengthen food security policy systems by investing in and reinforcing productive human and social capital and developing strategic partnerships that help bring these innovations and capacity investments to scale in order to achieve a critical mass of local actors with the ability and opportunity to effect positive policy change through collective action.

Policy LINK’s general approach is grounded in facilitative leadership and collaborative governance, which emphasize engaging stakeholders from civil society and public and private sectors in consensus-oriented decision making, collaborative problem solving, and adaptive learning.

Policy LINK in Ghana

USAID/Policy LINK Ghana is a five-year activity with the overall objective of fostering behavior change that strengthens the capacity and ability of Ghanaian stakeholders to participate in a more transparent, inclusive, and evidence-based agriculture and food security policy process that leads to improved food and nutrition outcomes and broad-based economic growth. Specifically, the activity will facilitate the transition towards a policy development paradigm driven by multiple stakeholders.

This approach to policymaking will strengthen the capacities of Ghana’s main agricultural policy system actors and institutions, and support them to engage stakeholders traditionally excluded from decision-making, including academia, financial institutions, the judiciary, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and private sector representatives from the national, regional, and local levels.

This approach is underpinned by Policy LINK’s overarching theory of change focused on increasing human and social capital, engaging policy system actors in collaborative processes, and developing mechanisms for collaborative governance and dynamic learning systems and platforms to sustain collective action.

Position Objectives

The Finance & Operations Specialist/Manager/Director will monitor finance, administrative, procurement, logistics, and human resources functions for Policy LINK’s Ghana office, ensuring smooth and effective operational support for technical activities. S/he will promote strong collaboration between technical and operations staff, as well as with remotely based members of the broader Policy LINK team in Kenya, the United States, and elsewhere.

S/he will continually reinforce Policy LINK’s agreed-upon core purpose and principles, and ensure all decision-making is rooted in those purpose and principles. S/he will contribute to fostering a learning environment in which personal and team growth is supported, with a shared understanding that the “team” always comes before the “individual.”

Responsibilities

The Finance & Operations Specialist/Manager/Director will be responsible for the following:

Quality Assurance and Compliance:

Serve as the Ghana Country Lead’s advisor on finance and administrative issues with USAID and local government officials and service providers.

Ensure that strong relationships are established with service providers in Ghana.

Monitor finance, administrative, procurement, logistics, and HR actions, assessing operational risks and proposing mitigation strategies.

Ensure that DAI is in compliance with local laws at all times

Ensure that appropriate checks and balances (separation of duties) are maintained, and that staff carry out responsibilities in line with the latest Project Schedule of Authorities

Ensure that financial transactions, including payroll and remittances to local authorities, are carried out and documented in compliance with DAI policies and procedures

Review all biweekly field finance reports prepared by the Accountant before they are submitted to the home office for approval

Ensure that procurement of goods and services is carried out and documented in compliance with DAI policies and procedures

Communicate regularly with operations colleagues in other Policy LINK offices to highlight challenges and propose solutions.

Tools and Systems:

Establish strong operating systems to guide Policy LINK operations in Ghana, and ensure they are adapted and maintained throughout the program period of performance.

Highlight the need for any adjustments to the Ghana Field Operations Manual, TAMIS workflows, and other guidance documents

Ensure that staff in the Ghana office follow best practices for file management across the areas of finance, administration, procurement, and HR

Supervise the Accountant to prepare monthly accruals, commitments, and projections for the Ghana office, to be integrated with project-wide budgeting exercises.

Assist the Ghana team with budget and activity planning

Personnel Management and Cross-team Coordination:

If hired at Manager/Director level, directly supervise the Program, Administrative & Logistics Assistant/Officer/Coordinator, Accountant/Finance Specialist, proactively addressing any concerns and supporting their professional growth.

Ensure strong relationships are maintained between staff in the Ghana office.

Monitor HR issues such as poor performance, employee dissatisfaction, or staff learning and professional development needs, escalating issues and suggesting solutions.

Serve as a member of activity teams as needed and serve as a member of other temporary cross-project teams such as during startup and closedown.

Contribute finance and operational inputs during activity workplanning exercises

Communicate regularly with the home office Project Manager and Project Associate, Global Finance and Operations Manager, and other Policy LINK operations colleagues to promote smooth, effective project operations.

S/he will also contribute actively to recruitment efforts throughout the contracted period of performance by serving on agreed-upon interview panels, according to Policy LINK’s recruitment policy and process. Responsibilities of interview panel members may include, but not be limited to:

Contributing to position shortlists

Developing or editing interview questions

Serving as a “panel lead” for certain recruitment efforts

Conducting oral reference checks

Reporting

The Finance & Operations Specialist/Manager/Director will report to the Ghana Country Lead, with a dotted line of reporting to the Global Finance & Operations Manager. S/he will collaborate closely with other Policy LINK country operations teams.

Supervisory Responsibilities

If hired at a Manager/Director level, the position will supervise the Accountant/Finance Specialist, Program and Administrative & Logistics Assistant/Officer/Coordinator. If hired as a Specialist, supervisory responsibilities may be reduced and will be finalized at the time of contracting.

Qualifications

Local Ghana candidates are highly encouraged to apply for this position. Additional qualifications:

Education

At minimum, a university degree in Business, Management, Finance, Accounting or appropriate field from a program at least three (3) years in length.

Work Experience

For Specialist minimum of 6 years’ of experience in a management role for a multidimensional, multi-functional donor-funded project in a challenging environment; for Manager minimum of 8 years’ management experience; for Director minimum of 10 years’ management experience

Experience in systems development and office administration.

Direct programming and/or operational management experience supporting a USAID contract or cooperative agreement preferred.

Demonstrated experience with financial management tasks such as developing/updating budget projections and using field accounting software.

Demonstrated experience overseeing procurement of goods and services.

Prior experience supervising staff.

Skills

Good understanding of USAID policies and procedures.

Good understanding of standard Microsoft Office programs such as Word, Excel, and Outlook as well as finance/accounting software used to track transactions.

Ability to communicate/collaborate effectively across cultures, including with team members based in other countries.

Critical thinker and self-starter, able to work with minimal supervision and within established deadlines.

Willing to perform assigned and additional duties and work under unpredictable conditions.

Strong systems and strategic thinking skills and ability to set up strong management systems, processes, and tools.

Strong leadership and supervisory skills.

Professional fluency in English and Akan.