Lead Finance and Administration (Roving)

The Global Services Unit (GSU) Lead Finance and Administration (Roving) will cover DFA/country finance team lead level gaps. In this role, the employee is expected to step in and take over the functions of an office in absence of the Director of F&A and/or as needed, to assist an in completing functions within the office. The employee will need to travel with extended stays at sites as needed, as well as provide remote support to multiple sites. and routinely as per GSU Accounting team’s prevue coordinate and oversee financial management and country office operations, ensuring compliance with accounting statements and organizational policies across multiple countries (7-8 on average) in Europe, Asia, the America’s and Africa. 

The responsibilities include developing manuals and standards of operations globally, reviewing financial statements, and managing reporting procedures. They will contribute to the enhancement of business systems, manage banking and treasury functions, strengthen capacity within country office finance teams, conduct financial analysis, and contribute to recruitment and proposal development. The Lead Finance and Administration (Roving) will serve as a liaison between headquarters and country offices, ensuring effective coordination and adherence to organizational priorities.

LOCATION: Preferred Abuja, Nigeria but will consider countries with MSH presence

Specific Responsibilities Include:

Cover Country Finance & Operations Team lead functions. Provide Business continuity and shared services (35%)

• Provide temporary cover at start up, close out or during gaps for the country finance & Operations lead. In the general areas of:
• Financial Management: Lead program annual budget development process that includes managing the annual work plan, life-of-project and activity budgets and ensuring compliance of program expenditures with approved budgets
• Maintain systems for program budget monitoring and tracking that include financial and contractual data. 
• Responsible for coordination of contract management activities. Work with program staff, home office and partners to draft, manage and monitor implementation of contracts. Provide routine progress reports to program management team.
• Grants Management: Supervise grant and contract administration functions. Supervise the grant management team for the project. Correspond as necessary with grantees, local subcontractors, and MSH Home Office. Oversee the design of the grants program; with contracts team, make recommendations to the Chief of Party for the selection of the grant instruments. 
• Administration: Collaborate with the Project Director to (a) ensure that project activities and management operations are implemented as per MSH Mission, values, and policies, and standard operating procedures, and local laws and regulations, and (b) to safeguard MSH's reputation - Financial, Contractual, and political integrity.
• Support the Project Director in the management of the project, aligning staff, systems, and other resources with the annual work plan and budget to provide timely, cost effective, responsive, and high-quality operations and administrative support within local laws and available resources, and in an environment with adequate internal controls, adhering to contracts regulations, MSH Policies, and standard operating procedures.
• Business continuity and shared services: A backstop for the country office finance leads in their absence and as needed. 
• Provide compensating controls for multiple countries/projects with inadequate finance structures to manage segregation (2-3 countries on average)
• Act as the finance team in countries/projects with no finance staff (2-3 countries on average) or provide specialized support when required.
• Provide robust surge support to country finance teams during periods of increased demand or special projects.
• Maintain business continuity by serving as bank signatories to MSH bank accounts (except when prohibited by local regulations) in all supported countries. 
• Setup the accounting function at country/project start-up by conducting robust onboarding sessions for finance and accounting staff, equipping new hires with required knowledge and skills to perform effectively, reviewing system requirements, and delivering a fully operational accounting system (QBO, Transaction Pro, Inventory Management Systems etc.)
• Manage the close-out of finance and accounting functions in countries/projects in collaboration with the country office finance leads, ensuring that all expenses are recognized, assets and liabilities are reconciled and accurate, and bank accounts are closed/transitioned as appropriate.
• Manage both cash accounts and accounts payable of projects/countries in start-up and close-out where local capacity is absent.

Financial Management and Country office oversight (20%)

• Perform monthly reviews of multiple country offices' financial statements and transactions to ensure compliance with accounting standards and MSH policies, maintaining the integrity of accounting information and financial reporting.
• Prepare summaries of the monthly reviews for management, identify and communicate financial reporting errors/gaps to country office finance leads, and provide guidance for the resolution of identified gaps.
• Review and facilitate the timely transition of country offices' financial data from QuickBooks to Cost Point monthly.
• Oversee the implementation of accurate reporting procedures and the timely submission of month-end and year-end financial reports from multiple country offices. 
• Perform (countries without accounting staff) or review (all other supported countries) annual reconciliations of balance sheet accounts in QuickBooks and Cost Point for all supported countries. 
• Develop, update, and manage MSH global financial processes and manuals, including the Country Office Finance Manual, Chart of Accounts Manual, specific training manuals (QuickBooks, Costpoint etc.), Inventory Management manual, among others.

MSH business systems enhancement and maintenance (5%)

• Serve as the administrator for MSH’s financial management systems (QuickBooks, Costpoint, Inventory Management): Manage access and controls, provide training, and troubleshoot errors for all country office and HQ users. 
• Create QuickBooks company files for all new countries and projects.
• Process Costpoint timesheet expense allocation and leave accruals, generate reports for country office use and troubleshoot issues for supported countries. 
• Identify and develop innovative and business improvement solutions in technology that keep MSH efficient and effective. Will work in close collaboration with HQ Accounting and Field Office Accounting teams to identify needs and address them.

Banking and Treasury Management (5%)

• Coordinate the identification, assessment, and selection of preferred bankers in country offices (7-8 countries on average)
• Coordinate the opening and closing of country offices’ bank accounts, including changing of signatories (removal and additions), ensuring compliance with MSH's banking guidelines. 
• Coordinate the annual independent verification of current bank signatories, thresholds approved and account mandates in country offices. 

Capacity Strengthening (10%)

• Assess the capacity of country office finance teams and make recommendations about training needs and team structure
• Develop and implement capacity-strengthening programs by developing tools and training materials and organizing training or mentorship sessions for finance and accounting staff in country offices.
• Provide capacity building and onboarding support for country office finance leads around systems, policies, and procedures, and for country leadership around financial management oversight

Financial Analysis, KPIs, and compliance (10%)

• Provide the Program Delivery Group (PDG), and the CFO management, with regular analysis of key country offices' assets and liability balance sheet performance trends. Identify systemic exceptions and make recommendations on how these can be addressed across a group or all countries.
• Interpret country offices' balance sheets results based on financial analysis reports from QBO and Cost Point, support HQ and country office accounting teams in troubleshooting accounting exceptions and providing timely resolution. 
• Participate in/coordinate internal and external audits across countries as required. Lead efforts to close audit financial management findings timely.

Recruitment and Proposal Development (5%)

• Contribute to the proposal development process by recommending suitable finance team structure for effective program implementation and designing/reviewing job descriptions for new projects/countries
• Participate in the interviews and selection of senior country office finance positions

Internal Liaison and Coordination (5%)

• Act as a strategic link and focal point connecting corporate departments with country offices.
• Coordinate and ensure country offices' execution of organizational priorities and timelines set by corporate finance. 
• Facilitate organizational change to support business & process improvements and efficiency.
• Facilitate cross-learning between finance staff across countries/projects

People Management (5%)

• Manage direct reports, defining expectations, providing leadership and technical support as needed.
• Manage the Onboarding process for direct reports.

QUALIFICATIONS

REQUIRED MINIMUM EDUCATION:

• Master’s degree in accounting, finance, business administration, commerce or a related 
• PREFERRED: Professional Certified Accountancy Qualification (i.e. ACCA, CPA, ICAN)

REQUIRED MINIMUM EXPERIENCE:

• 8 years of progressively responsible experience in finance/accounting in a similar organization.
• Preferred: 10+ years of experience.
• Prior work experience with U. S. Government and non-USG, foundations, or other donors.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

• Experience in the use of accounting software (QuickBooks preferred).
• Experience in solving complex issues through analysis.
• Experience in developing and building the capacity of finance and accounting staff.
• Demonstrated ability to independently analyse balance sheet and expense account transactions. 
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office 
• Understanding of the tenets of cash control and asset management and must be able to complete timely and accurate account reconciliations

COMPETENCIES:

• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.
• Excellent interpersonal skills: demonstrated ability to interact professionally with culturally diverse staff. 
• Demonstrated ability to thrive in a matrix management environment.
• Strong results orientation, with the ability to challenge existing mind-sets/status-quo.
• Excellent strategic, analytical, problem-solving, and systems-thinking skills with the ability to make sound judgments and decisions.
• Ability to travel 30% of the time.
   

MSH is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity, religion, creed, citizenship, national origin, age, veteran status, or disability unrelated to job requirements. MSH will take affirmative action to ensure that qualified applicants are employed and that employees are treated without regard to their race, age, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran and disability status. In compliance with U.S. Department of Labor Executive Order 11246, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, and Section 4212 of the Vietnam Era Readjustment Assistance Act, MSH has developed and maintains an affirmative action program and plan.

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