Director, Finance and Operations (ECP) at Palladium Group

Project Overview and Role:

• The Director of Finance and Operations (DFO) is responsible for providing operational oversight and guidance to the national team in Abuja as well as the delivery teams.
• The DFO will lead the Operational and Financial management of the project and maintain close liaison with the other project team members to have a holistic approach.
• The position will be providing directions and guidance to Project Support Functional team members including operations and finance; and be responsible for ensuring close links between this Support team and the Technical Support Team, Communications support, and MEL Support Team in Abuja.
• The position will also form a collaborative working relationship with the Operations teams of ARC- Pillar 1 of the PERL Programme (PERL is the umbrella programme, with ECP and ARC supporting different result areas).
• The DFO will ensure that project operations run smoothly and will track and maintain project budget allocations, working closely with the Palladium corporate Project Manager and Project Associate.
• DFO shall be the enforcer of the programme and Palladium operational processes and policies and internal control processes of ECP. 

Primary Duties and Responsibilities: 

Authority levels / Signatory

•  Signatory to all ECP bank accounts in line with programme and administrative operations in line with the operations manual.
•  Approval of expenses, procurement and other service contracts as stated in the operations manual and in line with the Palladium delegated authority.
•  Delegated authority for this role is detailed in the operations manual.

Line management Responsibilities

•  This role is line managed by the National Team Leader
•  This role shall manage the National Finance Manager, the National Administrative Officer (NAO) and the National Logistics/Security Officer (NLO).

Key Responsibilities

•  Provide collective oversight to the national, state and federal programme delivery teams.
•  Oversee general operations of the programme – provide the NTL with updates as may be required.
•  Day-to-day supervision of the logistical, Administrative, Human Resources and Financial requirements of the Programme
•  Act as a member of the Emergency Response Team along with the National Team Leader and other Heads of programme as assigned. As part of this team, follow the agreed crisis management protocols to ensure compliance with SOPs.
• Oversee and work alongside the National Finance Manager in ensuring that the project forecast is realistic and budget capping are monitored and checked.
• Provide oversight to the Project Operations team (2)- National Administrative Officer and Logistics Officer and establish all required updates and maintenance of operational policies, employee agreement amendments (if required).
• Maintain ECP’s accounting systems for financial management, based on Palladium policies and procedures, which conform to FCDO requirements. Ensure complementary of these systems with the administration, Human Resources and project fund management systems and alignment with programme philosophy.
• Update and maintain the ECP financial management systems, including the Value for money framework which feeds into the PERL overall VFM framework. Keep abreast of FCDO Nigeria thinking on value for money and advising the ECP team on ‘economy’ savings (Consultants, procurement, service contracts, etc).Maintain a constructive and supportive working relationship with Palladium staff and FCDO finance and admin staff, and stay up to date with current financial regulations, including tax liabilities to individuals/ECP, staff pensions and workers compensation.
• Work closely with all ECP staff in developing annual budgets for programme activities based on workplans, budgets at delivery teams and National level to ensure strategic management of project funds and provide technical guidance for effective QA of forecasts.
• Respond to Palladium and FCDO requirements for annual, quarterly, and monthly financial forecasts (FINSTATS). Ensuring that the monthly variance of invoices to FCDO remains below 2%.
• Oversee the external FCDO audit of ECP financial transactions and assets management.
• Facilitate internal audit processes through spot checks, peer reviews and scrutiny of transactions and financial records  including assets management.
• Plan and implement End of Project activities and tasks (July- Sept, 2024) in close coordination with the Team Leader and Corporate Project Management team members.

Teamwork

•  Maintain close working relationships with the all team leads
•  Actively contribute to Team building within the ECP team – use of shared mission, vision, values, identity/public profile, use of staff meetings, staff welfare, social events, formal and informal opportunities, etc, to reinforce teamwork. Look out for, highlight, and support resolution of internal challenges impacting on team performance.
•  Maintain strong working relationships with other members of the ECP and ARC (Pillar 1) State Teams to deliver a shared workplan. 

 Required Qualifications:

• A relevant degree or similar qualification in Finance, Business Administration, Economics or Development Studies.
• Exceptional (10+ years) experience of relevant professional experience working on project operations of donor-funded projects, FCDO experience mandatory.
• Strong understanding of FCDO compliance requirement and experience in applying those within the Nigerian context.
• Technical experience in the following project management areas (finance management, procurement, security, logistics, contract and compliance, HR).
• Demonstrated leadership skills, management skills and effective interpersonal skills.
• Well-developed organisational skills and the ability to combine attention to detail with a view of strategic priorities.