Chief Financial Officer, m2m South Africa at mothers2mothers

Job Description

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is responsible for financial oversight of mothers2mothers (m2m) South Africa (m2mSA) and globally through its branches in programme-implementing countries and sister entities (m2mUnited Kingdom and m2mUnited States):

• Financial recording and record keeping and reporting, including the preparation of management and statutory information for the President & Chief Executive Officer and President (CEO), Chief Operating Officer (COO), m2m entity Boards (m2mSA, m2mUK, and m2mUS), the Executive Management Committee (EMC), m2m local boards in countries of operation, and key external stakeholders.
• Support the CEO in the overall leadership and management of m2m and its branches and affiliated entities by ensuring organisational adherence to the mission and strategic direction, operational plans, policies, procedures, and budgets.
• Develop and implement financial strategies that support the organisation’s mission and goals and contribute to the long-term financial sustainability of the organisation.
• Ensure compliance with all financial reporting and regulatory requirements, including tax filings, audits, and other reporting requirements.
• Safeguarding assets, investments, and interests of the organisations by advising the CEO, COO, EMC, Boards of Directors and Trustees, m2m local boards in countries of operation, and other stakeholders about the financial health of the organisation;
• Participates in and contributes to investment and other strategic decision-making. 
• Provides treasury and statutory functions for the organisation, including serving as the Treasurer for the m2mSA and m2mUS Board of Directors, and staffing the m2mSA Audit & Finance Committee, m2mUK Finance & Audit Committee, m2mUS Audit Committee, m2mUS Finance Committee, m2mUS Investment Committee, and supporting the Global Ad Hoc Finance Committee.
• Ensuring governance compliance in the various entities and other statutes and by-laws.
• Manage relationships with external partners, including banks, investment managers, auditors, and other finance-related service providers; and
• Provide leadership and mentorship to the Finance Team, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and professional development.

Key Performance Areas:

Organisation Strategy and Functional Leadership:

• Assess organizational performance against both the annual budget and the organisation’s long-term strategy.
• Develop tools and systems to provide critical financial and operational information to the CEO, CFO, EMC, and SMT and provide actionable recommendations on both strategy and operations.
• Engage m2m Boards and key Board Committees around key issues, trends, and changes in the operating model(s) costs and pricing.
• Assist and support establishing yearly objectives and meeting agendas, and selecting and engaging outside consultants (i.e., auditors and advisors).
• Oversee long-term budgetary planning and cost management in alignment with the organisation’s strategic plan, especially as the organization considers grants, potential acquisitions, and collaborations with external organisations.
• Support the development, maintenance, and enhancement of strategic organisation stakeholder relationships, including but not limited to government, business, civil society, donors, and other collaborating partners.

Financial and Operational Management:

• Oversight of all financial reporting for the organisation and its affiliates and branches.
• Safeguard organisational assets and interests by advising the CEO, COO, EMC, m2m Boards, and other stakeholders on the financial health of the organisation, its affiliates, subsidiaries, and branches.
• Report on all the financial matters for the organisation to the CEO, COO, EMC, m2m Boards and key Board Committees.
• Oversight of the organisation’s indirect cost rate (IDC), including monthly tracking of IDC costs against budget, reviewing IDC forecasting quarterly, and recommending measures to ensure that indirect costs do not exceed m2m’s negotiated indirect cost rate agreement (NICRA).
• Direct the development, modifications, and monitoring of departmental budgets.
• Maintain internal control safeguards and coordinate all external audit activities.
• Work closely with the Grants & Compliance Unit and the Internal Audit Unit across financial systems and teams for financial reviews, monitoring, quality assurance and quality improvement, including fraud or other related investigations and reporting.
• Ensure that the accounting and financial management software is appropriate for the needs of the organisation and ensure that the systems are properly maintained.
• Oversee cash flow and forecasting via reliable cash flow projections and reporting mechanisms that include minimum cash flow thresholds to meet operating needs; optimise the handling of banking relationships and initiate appropriate strategies to enhance cash positions.
• Direct the annual budgeting process; monitor performance against budget and present financial metrics both internally and externally.

General Accounting Systems (GAS) 

• Through the Director—GAS, responsible for the following general accounting functions; vendor and creditor payments and management, audits, Tax Equalisation Benefits, IDC, and month-end accounting. 
• Support management and leadership of the GAS Unit.
• Provide input and support to other affiliates and country Finance Units to ensure that financial and other controls are properly implemented and managed.
• Ensure that resources are allocated within budgetary guidelines and that the financial records of all organisation entities meet the requirements of the relevant organisation policies and procedures and country legislation and tax laws.

Corporate Financial Analysis & Systems (CFAS) 

• Through the Director—CFAS, responsible for country support, system management training, capacity building, Replicon and Business Central Super-User Training and Implementation, JET Report Management, Adaptive budgeting system, Financial Templates Management, Country Finance Manager matrix management, and proposal development support.
• Support management and leadership of the CFAS Unit.
• Ensure financial reporting and analysis for Department Directors and entities.
• Monitor and support the work output of relevant country finance teams and branch operations by ensuring or providing technical and management support and relevant tools for work processes.
• Monitor Standard Level Agreements with Accounting and other department-related Systems’ Service Providers.
• Focus on efficient and effective internal business processes to ensure a sound internal control and quality environment for consistent application of internal control measures.

Financial Analysis, Pricing, and Budgets:

• Monitor and provide expertise to the Operations Country Management Unit to ensure proper financial analysis, pricing and budgeting, in line with Finance Department guidelines and standard operating procedures, including core awards proposal budgeting, reporting and analysis, and special projects.
• Responsible for developing and maintaining proposal budgeting processes and tools.
• Oversight of organisation budgets, processes, and related systems and procedures.
• Monitor and review financial analysis and reporting to internal and external stakeholders (i.e., financial reports, cost share and cost recovery, revenue tracking, etc.).

Payroll Management and Administration:

• Through the Payroll Administrator, responsible for the management, administration, and coordination of the payroll function for Sub-Saharan Africa and the U.S.
• Ensure quality assurance/quality improvement of payroll systems and operations. 
• Ensure statutory, tax law, and relevant country revenue authorities’ requirements and compliance.
• Ensure accuracy of payroll, and monitor payroll audits.

Corporate Governance, Compliance, and Risk:

• Implement principles of transparency and good corporate governance. 
• In collaboration with the EMC, understand and mitigate key elements of operational and financial risks.
• Develop and implement substantive testing procedures on decentralised country finance functions to ensure proper coverage of relevant risk areas according to organisational controls.
• Develop and monitor effective and reliable control systems.
• Ensure that record keeping meets auditor, donor, and government agency requirements.
• Maintain relations with external auditors and investigate findings and recommendations.
• Support the CEO, COO, and EMC with organisational governance requirements and compliance.

Company Treasurer and Fiduciary Functions:

• Serve as Treasurer for the m2mSA and m2mUS Board of Directors.
• Responsible for providing treasury and statutory functions for the m2mSA and m2mUS Board of Directors and key Board Committees as required by relevant governance laws and statutes.
• Ensure that Board Finance and Audit Committees charters are kept up to date.
• Support the m2mUS Investment Committee, lead in monitoring and evaluating the performance of investments, manage the relationship with Investment Managers, and ensure compliance with m2m’s Investment Policy Statement.

Internal/External Performance Management:

• Manage the performance, training, coaching, and continuous development of the Finance Department’s Management and overall team per m2m’s performance management program.
• Responsible for personally managing or through the Unit Managers, external service providers and independent contractors per service level agreements (SLAs).
• Mentor Department managers and staff and build an effective team.
• Contribute to the performance management and development of key cross-divisional teams outside direct span of control.

Job Requirements

Qualifications and Experience:

• Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting), Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) or equivalent degree plus three (3) years of external articles certification.  A CA (S.A.) or CPA is required.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in a senior financial management role partnering with executives, resulting in the development and implementation of creative financial management strategies.
• Strong staff management, and oversight of either branch or off-site teams/offices.
• Extensive experience in/or knowledge of nonprofit accounting, including advanced/sophisticated fund and award management, compliance, and reporting.
• Hands-on knowledge of U.S. Government (USG) policies/guidelines, 2CFR200/700, the U.S. Federal Acquisition System (FAR), and any other relevant USG governing documents; and Negotiated Indirect Cost Rates (NICRA); and
• Knowledge of and experience with information technology/cloud-based financial systems to manage, integrate, and improve accounting systems and related packages.

Competencies:

• Analytic and decisive decision-maker with the ability to prioritize and communicate key objectives and tactics necessary to achieve organisational goals.
• Ability to think strategically, anticipate future consequences and trends, and incorporate them into financial analyses and planning.
• Capacity to manage and lead individuals and teams—connecting to staff individually and in large groups.
• High energy, maturity, and strong leadership and interpersonal skills, with the ability to serve as a unifying force and to position financial/organisational discussions at both strategic and tactical levels.
• Relationship builder with the flexibility and finesse to “manage by influence.”
• Highly effective and versatile communication skills (written and oral), with the ability to communicate clearly with core internal stakeholders.
• Excellent group presentation skills.
• Excellent numeracy, high attention to detail, and ability to juggle changing priorities.
• Strong team management skills.
• Conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines, and communicating both internally and externally in a timely and responsive manner.
• Experience working in other countries, especially those within m2m’s focal geographies of Africa; and America and Europe.
• Fluency in English is required; proficiency in another language is highly desirable.