Finance Director at Partners of the Americas

Overview 

• Partners of the Americas seeks an experienced Finance Director to work on a program in Nigeria focused on poultry and aquaculture within Agriculture and Agricultural Trade. This multi-year initiative aims to increase poultry and aquaculture productivity and expand trade by strengthening market systems, improving compliance with international standards, and fostering public-private partnerships. The Director of Finance will be responsible for the financial and operational management of the program in Nigeria, ensuring compliance with regulations and policies, transparency, and effective use of resources. The Director will be responsible for reviewing and analyzing financial reports for the project, ensuring they are accurate and timely. The Director will also periodically oversee procurement, disbursement, and reporting processes, ensuring compliance with regulations. The Director will conduct audits of office operations and random checks of implementing partners as part of POA’s fraud prevention and internal controls system. This position reports directly to the Chief of Party. The Finance Director will be based in Lagos, Nigeria.

 Key Responsibilities 

• Lead the financial, administrative, and operational functions of the Nigeria project. 
• Supervise the administrative and financial personnel for the project, coordinating, monitoring, supervising, and developing the team’s capacities. 
• Lead the development, updating, and implementation of the project’s financial, operational, and administrative processes, ensuring the systems established promote efficiency, effectiveness, standardization, and compliance with rules and regulations. 
• Ensure compliance with POA, Government of Nigeria, and project rules and regulations related to finance, procurements, and contracts. 
• Communicate in a timely manner any concerns or questions regarding the project’s financial, technical, administrative, or organizational management, within POA or its partners. 
• Develop accurate annual budget projections to support the planning of activities and resources. 
• Support capacity-building efforts of project partners and subrecipients around administration and finance. 
• Review the project’s budget, spending reports, and procurement plans regularly to ensure implementation is aligned with the goals, needs, rules, and regulations of the project. 
• Ensure financial reports are submitted in accordance with the timelines established by POA’s home office Finance Department. 
• Support the development and/or update of Nigeria’s Supplemental Operations Manual, providing capacity-building to project staff. 
• Effectively coordinate with the accounting, tax, and legal advisors of the Nigeria entity to fulfill the entity’s responsibilities and ensure that the procedures and practices of project comply with all current Nigerian Government regulations. 
• Review monthly project payroll registries to ensure adherence to local laws, POA’s policies, and donor regulations. 
• Oversee procurement processes, including supervising the drafting and/or review of RFPs and RFQs, determining evaluation criteria, performing bid analysis and evaluations, drafting procurement contracts, and reviewing contract deliverables in accordance with POA’s procurement policy. 
• Implement fraud mitigation policies. Conduct confidential investigations as needed. 
• Other relevant tasks that are assigned by the Chief of Party.  

  Team Management  

• Develop team capacity, deepen understanding of their roles and responsibilities, and assist in career development.    
• Assist team members with information, tools, and resources to improve performance and achieve goals.  
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations, and provide constructive feedback formally and informally with regular one-on-one meetings and performance reviews.  
• Create and maintain a mutually respectful work environment where team members strive for excellence.  Hire, mentor, and direct team members as needed.  

 Responsibilities of All Partners’ Team Members  

• Have a clear and deep understanding of POA and donor policies and standards to comply with programmatic, financial, administrative, procurement, logistics, human resources, and security processes.   

 Required Qualifications 

• Minimum of ten (10) years of professional experience in management and leadership positions, or equivalent, executing financial, administrative, and operational activities for the implementation of development projects.  
• Professional with an advanced degree (preferably a master’s degree) in finance or related field.  
• Experience leading the administrative and financial areas of projects. Experience should include strong skills in procurement/subcontracting, budget development and implementation, compliance, and administration. 
• Experience in the development and implementation of organizational policies and procedures and operational and/or management manuals. 
• In-depth knowledge of Nigerian labor, administrative, tax, and banking laws and regulations. 
• Knowledge of program rules and regulations for international development project implementation. 
• Strong leadership, mentoring, management, planning, analytical, and organizational skills demonstrated by the ability to work independently and within a team, assess priorities, and manage a variety of activities with attention to detail. 
• Previous experience in field operations is desirable. 
• Ability to effectively supervise local staff. 
• Ability to work with collaborative partners in the implementation of complex programs. 
• Strong interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills. 
• Demonstrated versatility and integrity. 
• Advanced proficiency in English; written and oral communication.