Company Profile

Job Description

Project Background

The USAID funded Ghana Fiscal Accountability Strengthening Activity (FASA) will work in key areas of Ghana’s public financial management (PFM) ecosystem to enhance the accountability, transparency, and efficiency of public expenditures. After the country defaulted in 2022, significantly raising the cost of living for most Ghanaians, international and domestic attention turned to the government. Building on the foundation laid by previous reforms, FASA will partner with key Ghanaian institutions such as the Ghana Audit Service and the Controller and Accountant General’s Department to raise the bar for fiscal accountability at national and subnational levels. 

Position Purpose

The Finance and Operations Director is responsible for oversight of FASA’s daily programmatic operations including project accounting, financial reporting, and compliance with the client and DAI’s rules and regulations. They will administer cost controls and track expenditures against FASA’s technical mandate. They will supervise finance and operation staff specialists covering human resources, finance, procurement, and logistics. As FASA grows, these finance and operation staff will grow commensurate with the level of finance and operation support required to support technical activities. The Finance and Operations Director will be supervised by the Chief of Party (COP).

Key Duties & Responsibilities

• Responsible for gaining comprehensive knowledge of DAI’s USG Project Management Manual, Project Schedule of Authorities, and for identifying areas where policies, procedures and/or practices may not be fully aligned with project management methodology and make changes and/or recommendations to the COP and home office project management to achieve a more optimal.
• Responsible for coordinating documentation requirements between the project’s various departments i.e., Procurement, IT, Logistics, Human Resources, Technical/Delivery, and other areas. 
• Responsible for providing training, guidance and direction to project Finance and Operations staff and supervises the duties of the staff while implementing their duties when staff in unavailable. 
• Contributes to quarterly performance and risk management reviews by identifying and rating risks while working in coordination with project and home office project management to design time-bound and accountable mitigation actions.  

• Manages the recruitment of short-term and long-term technical and operations staff including, salary negotiations, evaluation, and termination of employees, in consultation with the COP. 
• Confirm that all new hire paperwork is submitted, and personnel files are complete and compliant (in both hard and soft copy) with DAI policy, local labor laws, and USAID regulations.
• Coordinate with other DAI/USAID projects that are either global/buy-in in nature and/or being implemented in buy-in countries or with buy-in operating units to ensure effective collaboration and efficiency of operations. 
• As needed, and until a local finance and operations manager is hired, they will be responsible for annual corporate filings or other statutory requirements and ensuring the project remains compliant with registration in countries where significant buy-ins warrant a local office. Reviews and manages local processes and residential paperwork for project expats. Coordinates project needs with local legal counsel. Manages office lease and relationship with landlord. 

• Supports the COP on all contractual and financial matters with the client, partners, and beneficiaries and takes part in the preparation of budgets and relates realignments. 
• Contributes to review, reporting and planning cycles, and draws on project delivery background to contribute to implementation strategy and delivery management. 
• Oversees the internal financial management processes as well as the financial reporting. 
• Oversees disbursement of funds in compliance with internal procedures and Schedule of Authorities and reviews backup documentation completeness for all project related transactions. 
• Responsible for ensuring accurate and timely processing of invoices, advances and reimbursements, checks, and wire transfer payments. 
• Proactively sits with technical Team to conduct budget estimates for technical activities. 
• Prepares monthly financial projections based on scheduled activities. 
• Develops and maintains reports of status of financial management activities (i.e., monthly and quarterly reporting).
• Reviews and submits monthly field reports and reconciliations. 
• Monitors and submits advance, commitment, and grants reports as applicable. 
• Develops and submits other project reports necessary and based on registration requirement to local authorities. 
• Monitors and reports on partner/vendor payment schedules and obligations. 
• Provides annual budgets of expenditure as well as quarterly forecasts against budget statements (accruals, pipelines, etc.) as applicable. 
• As needed, supervising local employee payroll in compliance with established employment agreements and modifications. Ensures taxes are tracked, recorded, and reported as needed. 

• Ensures project staff are properly trained in project data management systems, personnel policies, financial procedures, and procurement, and that staff actively incorporate the data management systems into daily project activities. 
• Maintains and updates all operational and financial policies and procedures to ensure project compliance with local labor law, tax law, and USAID regulations. 
• Ensures that financial and administrative records as well as project personnel documentation, are obtained, maintained, verified, and safeguarded appropriately in related databases (TAMIS, BOX, P Drive). This includes conducting random spot checks and internal reviews. 
• Ensures staff compliance with timekeeping policy and recordkeeping. 
• Other tasks as assigned by the COP.

Required Skills or Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred. Degree in Business Administration, Finance, or another related field. 
• At least 10 years of professional experience, including increasingly responsible operations management experience, preferably with donor-funded organization. 
• Demonstrated experience working with diverse teams in a fast-paced environment. 
• Knowledge of USAID rules and regulations preferred. 
• Knowledge of DAI policies, procedures and systems preferred. 
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including a track record of successful coordination and effective working relations with a wide range of stakeholders (e.g., vendors, service providers). 
• Demonstrated ability to handle sensitive and confidential information responsibly and ethically.
• Strong communication skills both written and oral in English.