Program Finance Manager

About the position:

The Program Finance Manager will be the main interface between the Programs Team and the Finance department in relation to partner grant management. The post holder will be responsible for supporting the Programs team to manage financial aspects of their grant portfolios by commissioning due diligence for new partners; reviewing partner budgets; monitoring expenditure through financial reports; and arranging financial capacity building for partners if / when needed.

The post holder will carry out their role with the support of a Finance Officer based in London and by commissioning technical assistance providers (e.g. local accountancy practices) in countries in which the Freedom Fund does not hold a local registration. For countries in which the Freedom Fund is registered (currently Ethiopia and Brazil – with a registration application pending for Bangladesh), the Program Finance Manager will support the country Finance Managers to fulfil these functions within their hotspots. This is an exciting opportunity to become part of a growing, highly regarded organisation doing incredible work around the world.
This position will have line management responsibility for one member of the Finance team (a Finance Officer).

Responsibilities
Partner financial management

• Develop and maintain appropriate systems, policies, procedures, guidelines and templates in relation to program finance management and ensure financial aspects of the Grant Management Handbook are fit for purpose
• Oversee the financial due diligence assessments of partner organisations – liaising with Program staff and / or external contractors (e.g. local accountancy practices) to carry out visits, develop improvement plans and to collate, monitor and report on partner financial risk
• Manage relationships with hotspot technical assistance partners for ongoing financial monitoring and partner financial capacity building
• Support the financial assessment of new grant proposals and budgets from partners and assess partner compatibility with Freedom Fund funding opportunities
• Work with the Senior Financial Reporting and Compliance Manager to ensure that partners are compliant with donor terms and conditions
• Oversee the review of financial reports received periodically from partners – identify, investigate and report on budget variances and provide reports and analysis to both the Programs and Finance teams as required
• Ensure periodic partners finance reviews are conducted and manage completion of actions resulting from the reviews
• Provide oversight to Finance Managers in branch offices on program finance management
• Provide training to Programs staff in relation program finance systems and processes
• Update and maintain the organisation’s grant management system (Salesforce) in relation to program finance matters
• Monitor partners’ payments requests in the accounting system (Microsoft Business Central) and monitor balances owing to / owed by partners on the Freedom Fund balance sheet

Partner risk

• Maintain the fraud register and lead any investigations of fraud allegations
• Assess, report on and put in place appropriate measures to reduce partner financial risk
• Produce the quarterly partner financial risk dashboard
• Report on partner financial risk to the Senior Leadership Team and Board, as required

Other

• Work with the Finance team to monitor and process grant payment requests in the weekly payment runs
• Manage the Program Finance Officer based in London
• Provide ad-hoc financial training to staff as required
• Produce ad-hoc reports as required by the Programs or Finance team
• Support the programs or finance team on any other relevant financial management issue
• Provide cover for other team members as required
• Any other duties commensurate with the post as requested by the Managing Director, Finance and Administration and the Head of Finance

Qualifications and experience
Essential

• Experience working for a grant-making organisation
• Experience of managing partner financial risk within an international charity
• Experience of developing financial systems and processes
• Experience and knowledge of typical donor compliance requirements
• Experience of overseeing fraud investigations
• Experience of working with multiple currencies
• Experience of designing and delivering training to build financial capacity of staff and / or partners
• Excellent numerical skills
• Advanced excel skills and strong general IT skills
• Entitled to work in London without work permit sponsorship

Desirable

• Qualified management accountant, ACA/ACCA/CIMA with proven work experience
• Experience in the anti-slavery sector

Please see the job description for all details.