Director (Finance) - CARE India (Apply by: 10 April 2014)

Position: Director-Finance

Grade/Level: B

Project/Unit: Finance

Reports to: Executive Director – Finance and Operations (ED – F&O) of CARE India. The Executive Director – Finance holds the overall responsibility of playing the CFO role of CARE India, and the role of the CARE International Finance Directors.

Staff reporting: Manager (Finance Operations), Manager (Budget and Grants), Finance Officer, Programme Support Managers (PSMs will have dual reporting)

Location: CIHQ, New Delhi.

Job Summary

Director - Finance is the overall in-charge of the Finance functions of CARE India. S/he is the overall responsible person to deliver the required financial support services to all business units within CARE India (at the Hub, State and CIHQ level) with time-efficiency and effectiveness, simultaneously with ensuring the required “compliances”.

S/he would deliver to the above job through effective management of the Finance Team in CARE India HQ, and by supporting the field level Finance Teams of CARE India. S/he is also responsible for ensuring the speed and quality of the Finance Management functions of all Hubs, State locations and Projects through providing required techno-managerial leadership to the Finance In-charges of those locations, and thus getting all necessary financial management processes, analysis, outputs accomplished with excellence, timeliness, and compliance. This will require the Finance In-charges of the Hub offices, State locations, and Project offices to have a line of “technical accountability” to the Director-Finance. The Director-Finance would also have lines of coordination, through matrix structure, with Regional Program Directors, and State / Project / CIHQ Unit Heads, and Director – Support Services to ensure an effective team-based management of the overall CARE India’s Finance functions.

The basic functions of this position include development, coordination, and administration of CARE India’s plans for financial planning / budgeting, accounting, financial analysis, and treasury management functions. The role includes ensuring proper recording, documentation, controls, monitoring and reporting of financial operations to all stakeholders of CARE India with correctness, consistency, and timeliness. S/he is responsible for the day to day financial operations at the organizational level. S/he plans, organizes, directs, and is responsible for providing quality financial services to all Hubs, projects, units and staff in the organization. S/he also provides support to (a.) the Mission Management Team (MMT) and other senior managers to ensure that required partnerships developed between Finance, Program, HR and Programme Support and (b) overall responsibility for implementation of donor rules and regulations are carried out by the CARE India teams.

The incumbent performs financial analysis and reviews of CIHQ/Hub/programs/ projects along with the administrative costs of each of the business units, under general supervision of the ED – F&O. S/he advises each of the business units/functions to enhance their financial viability. S/he reviews CARE India’s accounting system, financial data, records and financial management capabilities of Hubs/ Units / Project implementing agencies/ institutions and uses financial ratios to analyze data and to make a comparison over time.

The Director-Finance ensures that CARE India meets the agreed upon CARE International (CI) Financial management processes (including PeopleSoft ERP platform), standards, disciplines, protocols and reporting requirements. The position achieves these objectives by working closely with the Shared Service Center in ensuring that monthly & yearly closing processes & procedures and reporting requirements and associated timelines are adhered to. S/he helps the ED – F&O as well as the MMT to take informed financial & program decisions based on various analytic outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

CONTROLLERSHIP:

• Develops, updates and implements the organization’s accounting systems and procedures, as needed;
• Maintenance of financial ledgers and accounting processes and ensuring accuracy of transactions being recorded;
• Overseeing the Payroll process and ensuring accuracy and timeliness;
• Cash management and treasury functions;
• Preparation of Monthly Consolidated P&L and Balance Sheet ;
• Timely production of accurate statutory and internal financial reports and their audit by statutory auditors;
• Coordinate with the Shared Service Center of the CARE International (CI) to ensure that global CI Accounting protocols, reporting etc. are followed;
• Regularly reviews the financial process to identify redundancies and opportunities to strengthen in response of changing business and legal environment.

FINANCIAL CONTROLS:

• Ensures CARE India’s compliance with the organization’s accounting policy and procedures and generally accepted accounting principles;
• Supervises the protection of the organization’s assets through internal control and auditing procedures; Supports and facilitates any internal and external audits conducted by CI Members or the donors;
• Supervises and controls the quality of the CARE India’s financial processes and systems using the Pamodzi tools.

REVIEW AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL PLANS AND BUDGETS:

• Performs detailed reviews and analysis of financial plans / budgets for proposed new projects, and on-going projects, as appropriate;
• Reviews areas of financial planning and projections, looking at revenue streams as well as project “burn rates” and operational costs;
• Makes recommendations, and advise the ED – F & O and CEO on the general financial feasibility of proposed projects and adequacy of financial plans and budgets. Such reviews and analysis will form the basis for CARE India’s management decision on: a) retaining Business Units / Hubs and b) providing formal approval of proposed projects. Those analysis would also assist in drafting the financial sections of project papers as necessary;
• Makes monthly presentations on CARE India’s Funding Pipeline, Expenditure Reports and other key financial reports to the MMT, to help make required decisions.

FINANCIAL REVIEWS AND REPORTING, INCLUDING DONOR REPORTING:

• Ensures preparation and submission of complete, accurate, reliable and timely financial reports to the organization’s managers, donors, local entities as relevant, regional office and Headquarters;
• Supervises and controls the quality of the monthly closing process and preparation of financial reports;
• Reviews CARE’s contract terms with partners, sub-grantees for their adequacy before they are finalized and signed;
• Ensures basic compliance of sub-grantees with agreed upon financial policies and standards;
• Ensures coordination with the Program teams in managing grants and contracts.

STRENGTHENING CARE INDIA’S TRANSACTION MECHANISMS WHILE ENSURING THE REQUIRED INTERNAL CONTROLS AND COMPLIANCE:

• Ensures Speed and Quality in all transactions processed by the Finance Unit;
• Ensures error-free processing of transactions through a highly motivated and trained Finance team;
• Fixes responsibility and accountability within the Finance Unit for processing of transactions;
• Supervises the CARE India’s payroll system to include taxes and other deductions;
• Reviews all leases and other contracts that require current and future use of the organization’s asset and make any relevant recommendations to the ED – F&O and CEO, as appropriate;
• Assists in CARE vulnerability assessments and related internal control reviews of selected Mission offices. Assist staff in correcting deficiencies disclosed during such reviews. Reviews CARE’s internal operations;
• Reviews audit report findings and work with Internal Auditor to assure appropriate follow up regarding the adequacy and appropriateness of actions on audit reports;
• Supports the External Relations and Fund Raising team of CARE India in effectively and efficiently managing the financial back-office supports needed to accomplish their rapid transactions;
• Compliance with all laws and regulations, including Company Law, Service Tax, FCRA, Income tax etc.

BUDGETING & FORECASTING:

• Develops budget guidelines and supervises the preparation of the CARE India’s budgets to include project proposal budgets and monthly, quarterly and annual operating budgets; Coordinates and supervises the preparation of the organization’s quarterly forecast (pipeline) budgets and future years budgets;
• Implements CARE guidelines and processes related to fair sharing of administrative and finance support costs;
• Supervises the monitoring of actual expenses against budgets and other managers who make budget decisions in the organization;
• Identifies opportunities and completes risk analysis for investment/placement of surplus funds/reserves and presents the investment plan for approval to ED - F&O and the CEO.

STAFF & TALENT MANAGEMENT:

• Directly responsible for the supervision of CARE India finance staff;
• Provides accounting and financial training to the organization’s finance staff including Hub Offices / State Offices / Project Offices / Units; Organize training in financial management to non-finance staff as necessary;
• Implements CARE’s Annual Performance Assessment policy and process to include the preparation and monitoring of individual Operating Plan (IOPs) for finance staff; Develop succession plan to ensure that Financial level of service will not suffer due to the loss of any personnel;
• Provides guidance to subordinate staff in implementing the staff development plan; Work with the Regional Controller and the organization’s Human Resources unit to develop and manage talent in the CARE India’s finance unit;
• Evaluates performance of team members, provide feedback on an ongoing basis, identify development needs and coach them to ensure ongoing capability development;
• Ensures clarity of individual roles and appropriate delegation of responsibility within team members in the department.

Qualification & Experience

Essential:

• Chartered Accountant / MBA Finance / ICWA. The incumbent should have a good understanding and experience of working in an ERP environment.
• Ten plus years’ experience in not-for-profit financial, budgeting, accounting, financial reporting, grants/contract management, and business management in developing countries.

Skills & Competencies

• Subscribes to core values of CARE – Respect, Integrity, Commitment, Excellence
• Thorough understanding of financial accounting, reporting and grants & contract management processes
• Facilitating skills to conduct training session for small, medium and large sized group
• Works effectively as part of teams and is effective in a matrix organisation
• Solid analytical and problem solving, financial trouble shooting and audit experience
• Ability to maintain customer focus while handling multiple priorities.
• Ability to quickly learn new systems, processes and procedures and adapt local practices to global standards
• Excellent leadership and management, coaching and negotiating skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication and listening skills
• High level of computer skills with the ability to find improvised solutions
• Ability to handle high level of work pressure
• Understanding of audit and compliance requirements.

Candidates should visit http://apps.careindia.org/eis/Recruitment/frmCareerOptions.aspx to apply for the positions online.

The last date of receiving applications will be 10th April 2014. Only short-listed candidates would be contacted.

“CARE India is an equal opportunity and diversity promoting employer. Therefore Women, persons differently abled, SC/ST/ OBC candidates are especially encouraged to apply”