Director of Finance and Administration, Ghana SAGES at Creative Associates International

Job Description

Creative seeks a Director of Finance and Administration for an anticipated USAID-funded project that seeks to strengthen accountability policies, systems and responsiveness of the Ministry of Education (MOE), Ghana Education Services (GES) and schools (School Management Committees and Head Teachers) for improved primary education service delivery and learning outcomes.  This project will work with the MOE and its agencies at the central, sub-national and local levels throughout the country, and may include the following focal areas: monitoring and supervision, national assessments, school inspection, education management information system (EMIS), and community engagement.   

The Director of Finance and Administration will manage administrative, financial, and procurement processes in compliance with donor rules and regulations. S/he will design, implement, and supervise adherence to financial policy, budgets, and internal control measures. S/he will develop and implement financial and personnel procedures in compliance with Creative and donor policies; oversee the compliant management of the grants fund; manage payroll; draft periodic and annual reports on financial status of project expenses and budget information; support the development of documentation and written materials relating to the project; and respond to inquiries on the status of financial information. The Director of Finance and Administration will track the transfer of funds between headquarters and the field offices and manage accounting and finance records of in-country expenses. S/he will ensure funds’ availability and verify that all procurement and grants- under-contract actions are compliant with Creative’s financial management guidelines prior to payments. 

This position reports to the Chief of Party (COP).

Responsibilities

• Establish and maintain financial management and accounting control systems for program expenditures;  
• Ensure that the project meets all donor contractual requirements and complies with donor policies and regulations;  
• Liaise between Creative Associates' field and headquarters offices; 
• Oversee all operations staff/departments, including office administration, human resources, procurement, logistics, and IT 
• Supervise procurement processes and inventory management; oversee assignment of inventory to staff and assign spot checks and physical verifications;  
• Supervise travel and logistics for staff, including facilitating flight/hotel arrangements as needed; 
• Supervise personnel recruitment, onboarding, payroll, capacity building, UltiPro HR database updates, visa paperwork (as required) and termination (as required); 
• Supervise all project hard and soft copy filing systems in accordance with HQ protocols; 
• Mentor staff and field-based partners as appropriate  
• Provide financial and operational management and systems training/capacity building for project staff and field-based partners as required;  
• Participate in ongoing analysis, forecasting and review of project expenses.  
• Participate in budget planning and realignments as required; 
• Track the transfer of funds between headquarters and the field office, and manage accounting and finance records of in-country expenses, including developing spreadsheet programs for tracking and monitoring all financial project activities, and maintaining spreadsheets with current project expense data; 
• Work closely with field-based partners to ensure budgets, projections, and invoices are completed according to Creative/USAID policies and procedures; 
• Maintain project financial and contractual files; 
• Develop financial procedures manual; 
• Provide financial management and systems training for project staff and partners; 
• Prepare the requisite financial documents and vouchers; 
• Draft quarterly and annual financial reports on financial status of project expenses and budget information; and  
• Ensure monthly field expense reports. 

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in business administration, finance, accounting, or relevant field, or equivalent experience and certifications;  
• Minimum of 8 years of experience in administrative and financial management of complex, international development assistance programs, developing and managing budgets, and managing grant funds;  
• At least four (4) years of experience working on education, youth, and/or systems strengthening programming within Ghana is highly desired; 
• Demonstrated expertise and excellent track record in management, finance, grants, accounting and office operations;  
• Proven ability to coach, mentor, and build capacity of local staff and partners in the area of finance;  
• Experience effectively managing teams with culturally diverse teams and working with counterparts from other cultures;  
• Strong written and oral communication skills; and  
• Professionally proficient and fluency in written and spoken English.