Chief Financial and Risk Officer (CFRO) at IITA - International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

Job ID: FD/CF/RO/08/25
Duration: 3-year renewable contract

Job Summary

• As part of IITA’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the institutional performance and financial resilience, IITA is creating a new leadership position; Chief Financial and Risk Officer (CFRO).
• The Chief Financial and Risk Officer (CFRO) is a senior leadership role at IITA, reporting directly to the Director General and serving as a core member of the Senior Management Team (SMT) with oversight over Finance, Risk Management, Financial Systems and Analytics.
• The CFRO will collaborate with other SMT members and provide advice on matters with financial and potential risk consequences. The CFRO will lead efforts to drive value for money and cost effectiveness across programs, resource mobilization, and support service functions.
• This role is designed to improve clarity, integration, and responsiveness in how IITA manages and communicates its financial health especially in today’s evolving donor and governance environment.
• It will integrate Finance, Risk Management, Financial Systems and Analytics oversight aligning more closely with the expectations of our Board and the complexity of today’s financial landscape.
• The CFRO will lead the Institute’s financial strategy, enterprise risk management, institutional analytics, and financial systems oversight to ensure transparency, accountability, and long-term sustainability.
• The CFRO will play a pivotal role in providing strategic and operational leadership of finance at IITA, building institutional resilience by strengthening financial systems and controls, enhancing revenue generation and cost efficiency and recovery mechanisms, and providing clear leadership and vision for the finance function across IITA whilst developing a high-performing finance team.

Position Responsibilities 
Finance and Revenue Maximization:

• Provide operational and strategic leadership for all aspects of IITA’s financial management, planning, and reporting.
• Support the IITA Board in their governance and fiduciary responsibilities of finances, risk and audit including developing and ensuring the delivery of appropriate and effective financial statements and reports.
• Provide strategic oversight of the development and management of budgets, income, expenditure, and cash managementto support the delivery of IITA’s global portfolio through sound budgeting, forecasting, and financial controls across the Institute.
• Oversee the collection, analysis, and reporting of financial data, and provide effective business partnering to program and operational leaders to support decision-making, ensuring that all financial information provided is accurate, timely, and insightful.
• Enhance revenue by optimizing full cost recovery, leveraging allfunding strategically, and increasing return on infrastructure investments.
• Ensure compliance with all donors, CGIAR, audit, and legal and operational requirements.

Risk Management:

• Develop and maintain an enterprise risk management framework tailored to IITA’s evolving operations.
• Provide global oversight for identifying, assessing, and monitoring financial, operational, and strategic risks by leading an integrated risk management approach that informs the global risk register and strengthens proposal risk assessments.
• Integrate risk management systems, tools, and reporting into a unified global framework to help in monitoring and managing those risks across IITA’s portfolio.
• Advise the SMT and Board on risks, mitigation strategies and early warning indicators.
• ·Drive the implementation of improvements and corrective actions arising from internal and external audits, incident reviews, case management outcomes, donor feedback, and updates to policies and practices

Systems, Controls, and Automation:

• Ensure IITA’s financial planning, accounting and systems are robust, meet statutory and regulatory standards and support the delivery of all IITA’s work. 
• Lead the strengthening of financial systems (e.g., ERP) to enhance accurate information, internal controls, transparency, and audit readinessthroughout IITA headquarters and country offices.
• Oversee integration of financial systems with institutional planning, analytics, and risk functions.
• Promote automation and efficiency across financial and administrative operations.

Analytics and Strategic Reporting:

• Lead the development of financial dashboards, key performance indicators (KPIs), and scenario-based modeling to strengthen operational financial planning, monitoring, and reporting. Ensure these tools effectively support strategic decision-making and are clearly communicated and understood across the organization.
• Guide institutional planning processes through insightful trend analyses and predictive tools.
• Translate financial data into actionable insights for both technical and non-technical audiences, including the Board.
• Foster a culture of transformation and automation within financial processes and systems championing digital solutions to streamline operations and improve service delivery.

People and Capability Development

• Ensure Finance teams are effectively organized to support the achievement of IITA mission and objectives.
• Build and lead a results-oriented finance team aligned with IITA’s mission and core values
• Ensure continuous staff training and capacity building in financial strategy, systems, and compliance.
• Foster a culture of integrity, accountability, responsiveness, and innovation within the Finance function.

Requirements
Educational Qualification: 

• The candidate should hold at least an advanced degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Recognized professional accounting qualification (e.g., CPA, ACCA, CA).

Core Competencies:

• Minimum of 12 years of progressively senior experience in financial leadership roles, ideally in international, research, or development institutions.
• Deep understanding of international donor financial compliance (e.g., CGIAR, World Bank, Gates Foundation).
• Proven experience with full cost recovery, financial systems implementation, risk oversight, and institutional planning.
• Developing and delivering operational and strategic plans and providing advice at a senior leadership level in a large, international and complex organization with multiple stakeholders.
• Developing, implementing, evaluating information and financial systems internationally, and an appreciation of the need to use technology for operational connecting globally.
• The ability to be both a hands-on and strategic leader and the agility and the ability to adjust to constantly changing situations while maintaining focus on delivery and follow-through.
• Strategic thinking with strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• High level of integrity, sound judgment, and discretion.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to motivate diverse teams.
• Excellent communication skills—able to distil complex financial information for executive and governance-level audiences.
• Adaptability to lead in a dynamic, multi-stakeholder, multicultural environment.

Work Condition

• The contract will be for an initial period of three years. IITA offers an internationally competitive remuneration package paid in US Dollars.