Senior Manager, Program Finance, Africa

Job Title: Senior Manager, Program Finance, Africa

Department: Africa Programs

Center Background: The Center for Reproductive Rights (the Center) is a global human rights organization working to ensure that reproductive rights are protected in law as fundamental human rights around the world. With offices in New York City, New York; Nairobi, Kenya; Bogota, Colombia; Geneva, Switzerland; and Washington, D.C., the Center is a non-profit, non-partisan organization changing law and policy throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the United States. Our 230+ diverse professionals are committed to advancing the Center’s human rights mission through game-changing litigation, legal policy, and advocacy work. This has powered the Center’s exceptional growth to an operating budget of over $50 million and won the respect of law firms in countries around the world, with an additional $29 million annually of donated legal services, representing the work of countless lawyers from more than 46 countries.

The Center’s Strategic Plan sets a high mark for impact: By 2030, half of the world’s population will be living under stronger protections for reproductive rights than they are today. The Center has a track record of success to back up this ambitious goal. Since our founding in 1992, the Center has transformed how reproductive rights are understood and applied by courts, governments, and human rights bodies worldwide on issues including maternal health, abortion, assisted reproduction, and adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). We have won groundbreaking cases before national courts, U.N. Committees, and regional human rights bodies. Additionally, the Center has led the development of historic, proactive legislation advancing robust protections for reproductive rights and has built the legal capacity of women’s rights advocates in more than 65 countries and counting.

The Role: Reporting to the Director, Program Operations Africa, the Senior Manager, Program Finance is responsible for providing financial leadership, strategy, risk management and oversight to the Africa Programs team. The incumbent will ensure that the regional program budget aligns with the program strategy, and ensure prudent financial management, controls, and efficient budgetary allocation and implementation. The incumbent will primarily work within the Africa program operations team and will be expected to collaborate with other teams in the Nairobi Office and the larger organization.

The Senior Manager will be based in the Nairobi, Kenya office in a hybrid model of 3 days working in office and 2 days working from home.

Primary Responsibilities:

Financial Leadership and Management

• Develop and manage the regional budget including regional forecasts and reprojections aligned to the regional strategy and workplans in close coordination with the regional team.
• Actively contribute to the development and periodic review of the Africa program workplans and ensuring alignment of the workplan to the regional budget.
• Accountable for ensuring and monitoring delivery against the financial plans through targeted financial analytical reviews and forecasting accuracy.
• Maximize spending and cost recovery on restricted grants, in line with donor regulations.
• Ensure financial and compliance policies and procedures are well understood; accountability is clear, carrying out proper management review of financial expenditure for the Program.
• Internal control – ensuring that funds are used as intended. Accountable for control of program assets and liabilities, ensuring costs are accurately charged against awards or budgets.
• Provide decision support to the Senior Regional Director for oversight of deployment of financial resources extending to all key activities of the region: grant management, logistics, operations, strategic issues, and financial risks and requirements for program and geographical expansion.
• Champion cost effectiveness in general ensuring that the Program is operating efficiently with a sustainable cost base.
• Ensure staff in the Program have the right finance skills to carry out their varied budget management roles including planning, monitoring, reviewing, and reporting on Program finances.
• Be responsible for regional program financial oversight and risk management including ensuring functional risk tracking and management tools on all aspects of regional program financial management.
• Participate in Center-wide cross-organizational teams working to optimize program management, grants reporting and compliance functions.

Program and Grant Support

• Review budgeted to actual expenditures monthly to ensure that spending is in line with budget allocations.
• Work with the Program Partner Team (constituted of the program finance officer, program manager, compliance staff and the relevant advocacy/litigation staff) to support partner assessment, engagement, reporting, audits, and financial management capacity building.
• Partner with the SRD to develop program and proposal budgets and supporting value for money rationales for the Africa Program ensuring that they are in line with the Donors interests.
• Take lead on all project and program related audits. Ensuring compliance and follow through on audit related issues.

Staff management, mentorship, and development

• Manage regional program financial staff, defining expectations, providing leadership and technical support as needed, and evaluating direct reports regularly.
• Manage the performance of program financial staff in the region through staff development strategies and performance management systems.

Qualifications

• A university degree in Finance or Business administration or related field.
• 10+ years post qualification experience in program financial management including demonstrable experience in handling of multi-country program finance, grants, and compliance requirements.
• Familiarity with INGO and NGO sector, financial reporting and accounting practices including program budget development, tracking of program expenditure and donor reporting.
• Proven experience with Excel and managing large and complex budgets, including sub-granting to partners.
• Extensive experience in working with computerized accounting systems, including familiarity with use of scalable Enterprise Resource (ERPs) and other e-based communication channels and tools.

Don’t meet every single requirement? At the Center, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you are excited about this role but your past experience does not align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Behavioral Competencies:

• Develop & Manage Self & Others: Takes ownership of individual growth in order to achieve full potential; recognizes the value of team members and helps them develop their full potential while also achieving set objectives.
• Collaboration (People First): Works intra- and/or cross-departmentally to support the goals and overarching strategies of the Center and its strategic plan.
• Feedback (Improve & Innovate): Actively engaged in feedback cycles: Gives and requests feedback to and from peers, supervisors and direct reports about work products, behaviors, values, style, and approaches with a view on how this impacts self, other individuals, and teams.
• Accountability: Follow-through on each commitment made to individual contributors, teams and partners and proactively informs others of any delays that occur along the way.

Work Competencies:

• Project Management: Works effectively on project teams in order to achieve long-term project goal and objectives.
• Problem Solve & Make Decisions: Identifies, analyzes and resolves existing and anticipated problems, using common sense to make timely decisions in order to reach the best solutions for the organization.
• Internal/External Focus: Anticipates internal and external partner’s needs; assesses requirements and identifies new solutions that align with overall goals and objectives of the organization.
• Communication & Influence: Communicates with and influences others to gain agreement and commitment to the strategic goals of the organization.

Compensation: This position is KES 7,600,000. This salary is reflective of a position based in Nairobi, Kenya. This salary will be subject to a locality adjustment, if an authorization is granted to work outside of the location listed in this posting.

Benefits:

• Health: The Center pays up to 95%* of the premium for a comprehensive health insurance plan with no in-network deductible and best-in-class reproductive healthcare coverage, including infertility. The Center also offers Dental and Vision coverage. (* % may differ in various countries)
• Flexibility: The Center currently operates in a hybrid model, allowing staff to work 3 days in the office and work 2 days from home
• Well-being: The Center offers resources to help prevent and recover from burnout through different programs that enable mental, physical and community well-being. The Center offers generous leave including paid parental leave, personal days, vacation, and sick leave. We are also closed the last week of December to allow staff to spend time with their loved ones.
• Growth: You will be working with and learning from some of the top legal and operational minds, all passionate about the mission of advancing reproductive rights around the world. You will also be eligible for a stipend to use towards professional growth.
• Global: You will get a front-row seat to update on the fight for reproductive rights in the global space. You will also have access to Employee Resource Groups to connect to colleagues that share similar interests/backgrounds/views.
• Investment: After the first year of employment, the Center will contribute 7.5%* of your annual salary to a 401(k) (* only applicable in US and Kenya)

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The Center is committed to inclusive hiring and dedicated to diversity in our work and staff. We strongly encourage people from all communities to apply. If you are excited about this role and unsure about whether your past experience aligns with the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be the right candidate for this or other roles.

Our hiring processes and our work culture offer support and flexibility for staff with a variety of needs. Should you face an accessibility barrier in the application and interview process please let us know by contacting [email protected]. We will work with you to provide the accommodation that works best for you.

To learn more about the Center’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), please visit Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Center for Reproductive Rights

Learn more about the Center for Reproductive Rights, go to www.reproductiverights.org