Director of Finance - Afrikids Ghana

AfriKids believes in the rights of all children, everywhere, and that they should be valued, protected and met by all. We exist to make this the reality for children in northern Ghana where more than half of all families live in poverty and 1 in 16 children die before their 5th birthday.

Our health, child protection and education projects are designed and run by local people, providing sustainable solutions to keep vulnerable children healthy, safe and in school, now and in the future

Job Description

A life-changing opportunity: Director of Finance, Ghana

• Department: Charity, Ghana
• Reports to: AfriKids Ghana Country Director, works closely with UK Finance Director
• Position type: Full time
• Location: Bolgatanga, Upper East Region, Ghana. Flexible working options available.
• Tenure: Five year fixed term contract, renewable; Shorter term contracts will be considered.
• Eligibility: Right to work in Ghana 
• Compensation: Competitive, local terms and conditions apply.

Overview of the role

As Director of Finance, you will spearhead our principle of transparency and accountability and optimise our use of resources in Ghana to help achieve our strategic goals. You will provide leadership and direction to the finance team and see that robust policies, systems and processes are in place to ensure AfriKids Ghana follows best practice in financial planning and control. You will work closely with the Ghana Country Director and be a key member of the International Leadership Team, lending your strategic financial expertise and insight to help drive the organisation forward.

What you will do

Lead and upskill staff:

• Lead and oversee the AfriKids Ghana finance team including line management of a finance manager and oversight of finance officers
• set and monitor meaningful performance and development goals for the finance team;
• provide training in financial management and donor compliance for non-finance staff.

Be accountable for the production of timely, accurate and insightful financial management information to support oversight, decision-making and risk management. Specifically:

• management accounts (monthly and quarterly);
• accurate financial reports for donors (including institutional and multilateral donors such as FCDO (DfID), SIDA, PPL, GHR, USAID and the EU);
• project financial reporting;
• annual budgets and forecasts;
• detailed supporting budgets for funding proposals;
• external reports to ensure compliance with legal and regulatory reporting requirements and the specific requirements of donors and other stakeholders
• accurate and timely annual and long term budgeting including appropriate reviews and sign offs;
• monitoring of expenditure in line with budgets and liaison with fundraisers to ensure donors are informed and approve of any changes to project budgets (eg under/overspends, scheduling, etc);

Ensure that the Charity has robust and well-documented financial controls are in place including:

• a comprehensive Finance Manual, taking into account the Charity´s legal and regulatory compliance and the requirements of donors and other stakeholders;

• compliant and best practice financial policies, systems and processes to ensure:
  • integrity of financial information;
  • fit for purpose tools are in use to minimise error and maximise efficiency and accuracy;
  • financial risk is understood and minimised through checks, controls and risk management processes, including ensuring compliance with AfriKids’ Anti Bribery and Corruption Policy;
  • financial obligations in funding agreements are complied with including management of funding restrictions;
  • permissions and sign-off procedures are in place to ensure appropriate access and approvals;
  • funding proposals include appropriate full cost recovery;
  • value for money is obtained on all organisational expenditure;
  • a regular programme of internal audits with reports andrecommendations arising;
  • continuous improvements and upgrades of systems and processes

Maintain strong working knowledge in:

• tax laws, rules and regulations and make appropriate recommendations on accounting and financial issues arising;
• financial developments in the NGO sector and anticipate the impact on the Charity of internal, external and legislative changes, ensuring recommended changes to accounting policies and financial policies and practices are planned and implemented; and
• work with credible and qualified independent auditors to ensure audited accounts, and any other statutory or legal reports for relevant authorities and stakeholders are prepared in accordance with the required deadlines and regulation

Contribute to the broader strategic management of the Charity:

• maintain a good understanding of AfriKids’ strategy and programmes to help develop and monitor budgets and manage resources effectively according to strategic parameters;
• scan the horizon for new strategic funding opportunities and maintain a network of contacts to benefit from cross- organisational knowledge and experience;
• ensure that the AfriKids Ghana leadership team and Board of Trustees are aware of financial legal and regulatory compliance requirements and coordinate the delivery of these obligations;
• support risk analysis and senior sign off on decisions involving high financial exposure, e.g., large funding contracts;
• make strategic recommendations to the Ghana and International leadership teams on financial matters (e.g., cost efficiency, value for money, risk management, strategic investment, FX efficiency, quality controls, etc.);
• financial modelling to support business cases and investment proposals for projects and social enterprises;
• work with downstream partners (“partner projects”) to ensure their financial management complies with AfriKids’ standards and requirements;
• identify and recommend opportunities for collective purchasing, stock systems and the pursuit of best value for money;
• manage relationships, plan and co-ordinate work with key external finance service providers, including external auditors, banking partners, insurers etc.

Required Skills or Experience

Essential

• be a fully qualified accountant (e.g., a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants/ACCA) with excellent technical accountancy skills and a high degree of numeracy;
• have at least 5 years post qualification experience in charity finance within the international development sector;
• have demonstrable experience of working at a senior level in a finance management role within the international development sector;
• be familiar with and able to manage donor financial compliance requirements;
• possess detailed knowledge of financial processes and control environments;
• have proficient computer skills, and be familiar with online accounting and reporting tools (e.g., QuickBooks Online, Xero);
• have intermediate or Advanced Microsoft Excel skills;

• be experienced in providing strong written financial reports and recommendations to leadership teams;
• have an impeccable record of professional integrity with credible references to support this;
• have excellent interpersonal and communication skills and fluency in written and spoken English;
• be a strong leader and team player, culturally sensitive, with the ability to work with a range of staff and stakeholders, in-person and remotely; and
• relevant knowledge/experience of Ghana and/or West Africa.

Bonus (you are not be expected to have these, but if you do, we’d love to hear about it)

• have worked in a complex, multi- entity, multi-currency financial environment, creating multicurrency budgets and reporting in donor currency (USD or EUR)
• have worked with a range of donors including institutional funders (eg FCDO (DfID), SIDA, PPL, GHR, USAID and the EU) and have a good understanding of their financial compliance requirements