Chief Finance Officer - Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation (Apply by: 12 June 2014)

JOB DESCRIPTION

Chief Finance Officer, Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation

1. POSITION VACANT:  Chief Finance Officer, Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation (CFO-BRLF), New Delhi

2. ORGANISATION BACKGROUND:

Government of India (GOI) has initiated Bharat Rural Livelihoods Foundation (BRLF) as an independent organization under the Societies Registration Act to facilitate civil society action in partnership with State and Central Government, for transforming livelihoods and lives of rural households, with an emphasis on women, particularly in the Central Indian Tribal Region.

BRLF is a unique and first-of-its-kind initiative and the Foundation is constituted as a partnership between Government on the one hand and the private sector philanthropies, public and private sector undertakings (under Corporate Social Responsibility) on the other.

Major functions of BRLF will be to provide financial grants to Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to meet their human resource and institutional costs for up-scaling of proven interventions, invest in institutional strengthening of smaller CSOs and capacity building of professional human resources working at the grassroots. Alongside, BRLF will continuously facilitate projects receiving its grant support through all levels of Government to ensure smooth flow and utilization of Government funds to rural communities and poor households under the mega Centrally Sponsored Schemes for promoting livelihoods of the poor.

The General Body and Executive Committee of BRLF are constituted by eminent individuals as well as ex-officio representatives from private philanthropies, public and private sector organizations, financial institutions, State Governments and GOI.

A detailed note on BRLF is available at http://sams.co.in/BRLF-Intro.html

BRLF is an equal opportunity organization. Qualified women are encouraged to apply.

3. JOB DESCRIPTION/ RESPONSIBILITIES:

BRLF is now seeking to hire a senior finance and accounts professional, for the vacancy of Chief Finance Officer (CFO-BRLF).

Key Responsibilities:

A. Finance

(1) Overall management of office finance, as per approved finance rules
(2) Suggesting and developing amendments to the finance rules
(3) Planning and managing grant funds flow to partners
(4) Ensuring timely payment of dues to all clients and staff
(5) Ensuring finance and accounts books are balanced at the end of each month
(6) Preparing annual budget of BRLF under the guidance of the CEO
(7) Preparing monthly expense reports for internal management 
(8) Ensuring compliance with standard accounting and audit requirements; Successful conclusion of annual financial audit
(9) Ensuring proper coding for allocation of expenses to projects/donors, in accordance with grant agreements
(10) Ensuring compliance with requirements of donor grant agreements
(11) Ensuring proper management of fixed assets and inventory registers
(12) Complying with due process for the disposal of assets
(13) Ensuring inventory control and management
(14) Maintaining a good filing system
(15) Successfully handling internal and external audits
(16) On the job support and training of finance staff
(17) Ensuring proper handling of office cash
(18) Recording of expenses in the standard accounting package used by BRLF; Also selecting a suitable accounting package.

B. Funding and Donor Related: 

(1) Providing all funding related information and periodic briefing to the CEO
(2) Developing donor specific budget heads etc.
(3) Ensuring preparation and submission of all requisite financial reports to donors
(4) Ensuring expenditures are as per donor agreements
(5) Checking the balance sheets and audited reports of grantees during proposal assessments, as well as during the course of periodic reporting
(6) Coordinating with Programme Officers for the release of tranches to grantees, ensuring all requirements of the finance department are complied with
(7) Providing monthly expense and budget balance reports against donor grants and advising CEO and Programme Officers on budget management
(8) Checking that all expenses incurred at offices are compliant with the normal approval process and supported with proper backups.

C. Procurement:

(1) Developing and updating procurement procedures, ensuring compliance with government and prudent financial norms and practices
(2) Responsible for procurement and ensuring procurement procedures are followed correctly.

D. Human Resources and other Management Duties:

(1) Evaluating the knowledge/skill levels of finance staff and determining where training or other kind of capacity building support, is required
(2) Training Programme Officers on basic financial management processes, i.e. budget preparation, management and tracking of expenses, etc.
(3) Coaching or organizing coaching and training of partner organizations on prudent financial and procurement systems and practices
(4) Conducting performance appraisal of subordinate finance staff
(5) Assisting in the recruitment of additional, finance staff, as and when necessary.  

E. Member of Senior Management Team 

(1) Participating in discussions on policy
(2) Sharing fully in the work of the organization as a member of the senior management team
(3) Tracking and monitoring of programme activities, information and statistics.

4. QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCIES:

Qualification: 

Chartered Accountant or equivalently qualified accounts professional, or Masters in Commerce, with extensive experience in finance and accounts.

Experience: 

(1) Minimum 10 years of relevant experience with at least three years as Head of Finance Division in an organization
(2) Experience of working with Foundations, Grant making institutions or Government created missions and societies
(3) Proven record of handing audits and/or conducting audits of organizations
(4) Hands on experience with procurement processes of the World Bank, Govt of India, or any other equivalent robust system
(5) Familiarity with CAG procedures, is desirable
(6) Experience in grants management, monitoring, assessments and reviews desirable
(7) Experience of coaching training and facilitating others on finance and procurement systems, is desirable.

Skills and Competencies:

(1) Well versed with financial and accounting software
(2) Good knowledge and experience of MS Office, especially Excel
(3) A team player, with the ability works in a collaborative and consultative manner
(4) Ability to travel to remote locations outside New Delhi, for the performance of duties, as necessary.

Language Requirements:

The positions require fluency in both oral and written communication in English and Hindi.

5. COMPENSATION OFFERED:

The offered compensation for this position is attractive and competitive to market rates. The offer made to the selected candidate shall be commensurate with qualifications, experience and salary history.

6. LOCATION: The position will be based at New Delhi.

7. REFERENCE: CFO-BRLF

8. CONTACT INFORMATION:    

Senior Consultant
Strategic Alliance Management Services P Ltd.
1/1B, Choudhary Hetram House, Bharat Nagar
New Friends Colony, New Delhi 110 025
Email: cfo-brlf@sams.co.in

9. APPOINTMENT: These are full-time positions and the initial contract will be offered for a period of three years, renewable based on performance.

10. LAST DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: Eligible candidates interested in this position are requested to apply to cfo-brlf@sams.co.in with a cover letter outlining how you meet the expectations of BRLF, along with an updated resume, giving details of three references, current cost to organisation and expected compensation, by or before June 12, 2014. Please mention where you saw the job announcement.

For further details please visit our website http://www.sams.co.in