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.