Finance & Grants Director at Palladium Group

Project Overview and Role

• Palladium develops and delivers solutions that create positive impact for communities, businesses, societies, and economies. We transform lives and create enduring value by working with governments, corporations, and non profit organizations. We create positive impact through more than 100 current projects with more than 2.000 employees operating in over 90 counties.
• The UKs Department for International Development (DFID) is considering fulfilling a new requirement in 2018 where we will be seeking partners suppliers to implement the Mobilising Data for Anti Corruption (MoDAC) programme in Nigeria and Ghana in the first year then potentially scaling up to include Kenya and Tanzania from the second year onwards. These countries have already been chosen by the UK as key partners in the fight against corruption when they attended the London Anti Corruption Summit in 2016.  Any contract would be expected to start in mid late 2018.
• The programme would aim to improve the quality and use of corruption data, over a four and a half year period, to increase the number of high level sanctions, penalties and prosecutions in corruption cases.  It would fund partnerships between professional users of anti corruption data in law enforcement, civil society, the media and private sector. Partnerships would follow the data on specific corruption cases or high corruption risk events (such as a high-value government procurement or extractives contract).
• The Finance & Grants Director is responsible for the day to day programme operations, budget management in accordance to the client Head Contract and developing, implementing, and managing systems to ensure successful delivery of programme services.

Responsibilities
Primary responsibilities:

• Provides overall management of administrative operations, including, logistics, procurement, budgeting, finances, human resources, information technology, property and security.
• Drives set-up of office, systems and processes during Inception Phase and the onboarding of key operational staff.
• Oversees sound and effective systems for project administration and operations, including grants, subcontracts, procurement and compliance.
• Supervises financial operations and daily monitoring of obligations, budgets, and expenditures.
• Coordinates and manages the mobilization of short-term and long-term technical assistance and administrative staff.
• Manages office and programme financial resources while exercising proper financial controls and adhering to both DFID and Palladium policies and procedures.
• Develops and reports on efficiency, effectiveness and economy e.g. Value for Money to DFID.
• Provides ongoing support to team and partners to ensure delivery and implementation of all programme activities including the Investment Fund and savings accounts is aligned with best practices, local context, compliant and enhances Value to Money (VFM) to DFID.
• Work closely with team and Palladium to identify and manage ongoing risks and operational issues across the programme.
• Manages grants across four countries and oversees the Finance & Grants Officers in each of the countries.

Financial management and reporting:

• Overseeing all financial management including funds disbursement, requests and acquittals.
• Preparing monthly payroll for Fixed Term employment contracted staff.
• Ensuring financial systems are complementary to administrative systems.
• Preparing and managing monthly financial statements, and forecasts.
• Maintaining overview of programme expenditure against programme budgets.
• Maintaining a rolling cash flow projection.
• Managing and responding to audits.
• Ensuring the appropriate use of programme coding and the up to date documentation and reconciliation of programme expenditure.
• Training and mentoring staff on the use of the financial system, for example supporting all budget holders in the budget preparation process financial management procedures.
• Ensuring effective, prompt and value for money procurement, including leading the process of introducing and establishing systems and processes to capture VFM.
• Managing all programme banking requirements ensuring that clear audit trails are left of all transactions.
• Supervising and managing the overall programme operations team.

Operations:

• Overseeing the preparation of subcontracts and hiring management of subcontractors.
• Ensuring that the general office facilities are running smoothly.
• Ensuring compliance with other regulatory requirements relating to the employment of staff and all assets procured or leased by the project.
• Negotiation, preparation and management of all contracts of suppliers and service providers relating to programme operations.
• Oversee programme procurement and adherence to Corporate SOPs.

Implementation of grant management process:

• Training and capacity building of programme team and partners to support applications, selection and reporting.
• Review of grantee concept notes and supporting documentation to ensure completeness, consistency and adherence to the grant terms.
• Oversee due diligence process and support selection process in close coordination with programme team and partners.
• Issue grant agreements.
• Review project budgets and advise the Team Leader accordingly.
• Review the Fiduciary Risk Assessment Reports to identify key risk areas.
• Coordinate project expenditure verification and audit.
• Coordination with RMEL Director and Officers to track, monitor and report progress

Requirements

• University qualification in Business Administration, Accounting, Finance or similar fields, preferably at postgraduate level.
• Professional qualification in accountancy preferred.
• Minimum of eight (8) years of experience in administrative and financial management of large-scale, complex, international and donor-funded programs.
• Demonstrated knowledge, skills, excellence in accounting, financial management, human resources, procurement, and other management support functions as needed.
• Financial management of a project worth 5M pounds, 10M pounds per annum is desirable.
• Setting up and establishing financial systems.
• Grants management experience.
• Experience working in an international development project.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Strong team leadership, management and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and to manage competing priorities.
• Outstanding team player and willingness to learn and support learning of others.
• Fluency in English.