Finance Lead at Christian Aid

About the Role

• Reporting in to the Head of Finance in the UK, the Finance Lead will lead and coordinate all restricted budgets in Nigeria. 
• The post holder will provide a wide range of business support, financial analysis and information to the Senior management team of the Multi-Country Cluster (MCC).
• The Finance Lead provides strategic leadership and oversight of all financial aspects of the programme, ensuring effective resource management, financial accountability, compliance, and value for money across the consortium. 
• The role supports the achievement of programme outcomes by leading financial planning, budgeting, reporting, risk management, and financial performance monitoring, while fostering strong collaboration with consortium partners, financial institutions, donors, and other stakeholders.

Responsibilities

Some of the main areas of responsibility for the Finance Lead include:

• Leading financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and financial coordination to ensure programme resources are managed effectively and programme outcomes are achieved in line with the programme’s theory of change.
• Providing strategic financial leadership across the consortium, fostering transparent, accountable, and trust-based financial collaboration among NGOs, agribusiness partners, financial institutions, youth organizations, government actors, and other stakeholders.
• Ensuring financial strategies and resource allocation support youth-centred and gender-responsive programming, addressing barriers to youth and women’s participation in the poultry value chain through equitable investment and financing mechanisms.
• Overseeing financial systems and funding mechanisms that support youth-led agribusinesses, apprenticeship models, digital learning platforms, and improved access to finance, productive assets, and agricultural inputs.
• Guiding the programme’s financial sustainability and market systems financing approach, ensuring effective engagement with financial service providers, investors, and market actors to expand access to financial services and strengthen value chain development.
• Leading financial risk management, compliance, and internal controls, ensuring adherence to donor requirements, consortium agreements, statutory regulations, and organizational policies.
• Providing oversight of financial reporting and performance monitoring, ensuring timely, accurate, and high-quality financial information is available to consortium partners, programme leadership, and donors to support effective programme delivery and impact.

About you

Who we are looking for:

Essential:

• Professional Accounting qualification (such as ACCA, ACA, CIMA, ICAN or equivalent) and/or equivalent relevant experience.
• Significant experience in senior finance roles, including budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting and business partnering.
• Experience of leading financial risk management, internal controls and compliance in a complex organisational environment.
• Experience of managing, coaching or coordinating staff and/or cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality financial outcomes.
• Experience of developing financial plans, budgets, forecasts and management reporting to support decision-making.
• Ability to communicate complex financial information clearly and confidently to non-financial audiences.
• Strong understanding of financial controls, accounting principles and financial analysis.
• Knowledge of relevant tax, regulatory and compliance requirements relevant to the role.
• Ability to build credibility for finance as a value-adding partner and to influence decision-making through financial insight.
• Experience of improving or working with financial systems, processes or reporting tools to support effective financial management.

Desirable:

• Experience in the development, humanitarian, not-for-profit or similarly complex grant-funded sector.
• Experience of managing multiple or large donor-funded projects or programmes, including those funded by institutions such as Mastercard Foundation, ECHO or similar donors.
• Experience of the legislative and regulatory environment relevant to UK charities.
• Familiarity with Nigerian regulations, particularly statutory remittances and related compliance requirements.
• Knowledge of development issues and market systems or programme delivery contexts relevant to the role.