Finance Business Partner at Rhizome Consulting

Summary

• The Finance Business Partner is responsible for ensuring sound financial management, donor compliance, and strategic financial support across all programme components. The role exists to bridge finance and programme delivery, enabling effective planning, budget control, financial reporting, and informed decision-making.
• The position plays a critical role in safeguarding donor funds while supporting programme teams to achieve results efficiently and transparently.

Key Responsibilities
Financial Planning, Budgeting & Analysis

• Lead programme budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning processes.
• Provide financial analysis and insights to support programme design and implementation.
• Monitor budget utilisation and expenditure against approved budgets.
• Support programme teams with cost planning and financial decision-making.

Donor Financial Management & Reporting

• Ensure full compliance with donor financial rules, grant agreements, and reporting requirements.
• Prepare and review financial reports for donors, management, and oversight bodies.
• Coordinate financial inputs for donor reviews, audits, and evaluations.
• Maintain accurate financial records in line with donor and organisational standards.

Grant Compliance & Controls

• Ensure robust financial controls and segregation of duties are in place.
• Monitor grant compliance risks and recommend mitigation actions.
• Support internal and external audits and respond to audit findings.
• Work closely with procurement and compliance teams to ensure value for money.

Business Partnering & Advisory

• Act as a strategic finance partner to programme leads and managers.
• Translate financial data into actionable insights for non-finance stakeholders.
• Support scenario planning and financial risk analysis.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of financial systems and processes.

Educational Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics, or a related discipline.
• Professional accounting qualification (ACCA, ACA, CPA, or equivalent).

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• Minimum of 8–10 years’ experience in financial management roles within donor-funded projects or development organisations.
• Proven experience managing multi-donor budgets and financial reporting.
• Strong familiarity with donor compliance frameworks and audit requirements.
• Experience working in complex, multi-stakeholder programme environments.