• Ensures that all policies and procedures are in compliance with IRC and FCDO policies, procedures, and requirements.
• Establishes the project’s finance and supporting function policies, systems and procedures, and directs or performs their development, documentation, and implementation.  
• Manages project finance activities and schedules to meet the financial reporting requirements and deadlines specified by HQ and FCDO. Prepares quarterly accrual reports, expenditure reporting, and burn rate projections.
• Provides project management and program staff with monthly actual-to-budget expenditure reports and project fund analysis and facilitates review and discussion.
• Ensures balance sheet reconciliations are completed on a monthly basis and in a timely manner timely basis and reviews final reconciliations and trial balances with the Team Lead. 
• Closely monitors all financial activities and advises the Team Lead of all situations that have the potential to negatively impact internal controls or financial performance.
• Directs the preparation and approval of all FCDO financial reports regarding accounting, legal, and contractual requirements and ensures the review of such reports by the Chief of Party and HQ prior to submission.
• Enforces internal control policies and procedures.
• Maintains current knowledge of local government requirements related to financial matters and ensures compliance with tax regulations and other legal requirements.
• Establishes project finance roles and responsibilities matrix; ensures job descriptions are current; recruits and maintains qualified staff to perform finance functions.
• Develops and implements a training program for the project’s finance staff.
• Ensures constructive performance reviews are completed on a timely basis and facilitates discussion of performance and career options with project finance staff.
• Supervises all project office bank relations and bank account activities including negotiation of fees, interest and currency exchange rates.
• In compliance with IRC policy, establishes policies regarding cash holding limits, cash movements and foreign currency holdings of the project. 
• Oversees the timely preparation, review and approval of all monthly bank accounts and cash reconciliations.  
• Designs, implements, and monitors systems, procedures and reporting necessary to maintain on current basis accurate forecasts of cash requirements for meeting future spending, including commitments entered into and which obligate IRC to future spending.
• Assists with the preparation and revision of project budgets. 
• Prepares the annual and monthly cash budgets based on approved funding.
• Prepares monthly pipeline analysis (spending forecast) on the project in coordination with the technical team.
• Coordinates and reconciles spending forecasts with CoP to reflect realistic data.

Qualifications

• Recruitment for this role is contingent upon the successful award of the project, and the final applicant’s selection is subject to FCDO approval
• A bachelor’s degree from an accredited university in Accounting, Business Administration, Commerce or Finance with a recognized professional certificate in accounting such as CPA, or a master’s degree in accounting. 
• A minimum of 10 years in a similar financial, compliance, or operational role supporting FCDO commercial contracts and other international donor projects in similar contexts.
• Experience with budgeting and financial reporting requirements on multimillion pound, multi-year, FCDO commercial contracts.
• Experience with financial management and reporting on projects with substantial sub-awards.
• Strong knowledge of generally accepted accounting practices, financial reporting standards, financial management processes and procedures.
• Familiarity with FCDO commercial contracts rules and regulations, particularly those related to project expenditure management and forecasting requirements.
• Extensive experience in working with computerized accounting systems, standard spreadsheets and database programmes. 
• Must have a proven track record of proactively identifying and communicating potential problems and proposing solutions.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills and professional patience and be able to interact, partner and thrive in a diverse environment. 
• Experience in management of staff performance gaps and provision of additional training or managing a performance improvement plan.
• Fluency in English required.