Job Opportunities at Abt Associates

About The Job

• Abt Associates seeks candidates Finance and Operations Director candidates for the anticipated USAID/Ghana Fiscal Accountability Strengthening Activity (the Activity). 

The Opportunity

• The purpose of the five-year Activity is to improve accountability within the Government of Ghana's public financial management systems to achieve three objectives:
  • enhanced external audit and parliamentary scrutiny; 
  • improved accounting, financial reporting, and compliance to fiscal policy; and 
  • strengthened control, predictability, and transparency in budget execution.
• As the Finance and Operations Director, you will be responsible for budgeting, financial management and reporting; oversight of procurement; administrative management of subcontracts and grants; human resources management; and general administrative and operational support for program activities.
• Work is expected to begin in late 2023. The position is contingent on the contract being awarded to Abt Associates. As the Finance and Operations Director, you will be based in Ghana and will report to the Chief of Party in country.
• Abt Associates actively seeks out candidates with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. Therefore, we particularly encourage women, individuals from disadvantaged communities, and differently abled people to apply.

Responsibilities:

• Ensure compliance with USAID and Abt Associates policies, regulations and procedures governing the contract.
• Oversee the development of administrative and operations management systems and processes required to support project implementation, ensuring compliance with USAID and Abt policies and regulations.
• Manage the provision of operational support to project activities, ensuring that project senior management and program staff have the support required to implement planned activities.
• Manage implementation of financial, administrative, and human resources (HR) policies and procedures that meet project needs and corporate and client requirements.
• Provide ongoing financial administration to project including approvals of purchase requisitions, local consultant agreements, vendor invoices, and the like.
• Oversee procurement efforts for the project including selection and negotiation with vendors, and management of sub-contracts and grants on the project in compliance with USAID and Abt Associates procurement regulations.
• Ensure that project budget projections, expenditure, tracking and reporting are in accordance with USAID and project requirements, procedures, and practices for compliance and audits.
• Create and maintain financial reporting and tracking systems and provide financial performance updates on project activities.
• Ensure accuracy and completeness of monthly Remote Office Voucher.
• Develop and manage project banking procedures and transactions.
• Oversee all human resources management functions – recruitment, hiring, transition and termination; benefits administration; performance appraisal and ongoing performance management; leave tracking; rewards and recognition; disciplinary processes in collaboration with the home office-based Finance and Contracts Manager and Abt’s human resources department.
• Supervise all financial, administrative and operational project support staff.
• Ensure that staff, team members and consultants understand their roles and responsibilities and comply with contract requirements, USAID and Abt Associates’ HR policies and procedures for hiring, performance reviews, terminations, etc.
• Provide training to staff on project procedures and build skill-levels of project staff in the area of finance, administration, and project management.

What We Value:

• A post-graduate degree in business administration, finance, accounting, management, or other relevant field.
• At least 10 years of professional work experience in the financial and administrative management of large (over 10 million USD) complex development projects, preferably on USAID or other donor funded projects
• Supervisory and/or management work experience including: (1) direct supervision of professional and support staff; (2) quality evaluation of staff performance and deliverables; and (3) ability to lead large complex programs and motivate multidisciplinary, multicultural teams.
• Experience managing financial transactions on USAID-funded programs preferred and familiarity with USAID regulations and procedures.
• Excellent financial management skills and knowledge of latest management tools and computer applications.
• Strong analytical and computer skills, with emphasis on budgeting and financial analysis.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Proven written and oral presentation skills in English

What We Offer:

• We foster an environment where you can Thrive Your Way. Our innovative total rewards programs are designed to help balance your work and personal life.
• The approach toward your wellbeing centers around comprehensive benefits and professional development.
• Abt Associates is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer committed to fostering a diverse workforce. Abt Associates provides market-competitive salaries and comprehensive employee benefits. 
• Candidates from Ghana are strongly encouraged to apply.

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About The Job

• Abt Associates seeks candidates for a long-term MEL Director position for the anticipated USAID/Ghana Fiscal Accountability Strengthening Activity (the Activity). 

The Opportunity

• The purpose of the five-year Activity is to improve accountability within the Government of Ghana's public financial management systems to achieve three objectives:
  • enhanced external audit and parliamentary scrutiny
  • improved accounting, financial reporting, and compliance to fiscal policy; and 
  • strengthened control, predictability, and transparency in budget execution.

Position Summary:

• The Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Director will be responsible for the monitoring, evaluation, and learning components of this project including the design and implementation of the MEL Plan and supporting the effective use of data for programming decisions. 
• Strong experience in managing and implementing M&E, staff building, excellent data analysis and writing skills are important.
• Work is expected to begin in late 2023. The position is contingent on the contract being awarded to Abt Associates. 
• As the MEL Director, you will be based in Ghana and will report to the Chief of Party.
• Qualified candidates will possess the qualifications listed below. Abt Associates actively seeks out candidates with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. Therefore, we particularly encourage women, individuals from disadvantaged communities, and differently abled people to apply.

Core Responsibilities:

• Develop and finalize a comprehensive Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plan for the life of the project, in collaboration with appropriate stakeholders.
• Lead the implementation and management of monitoring and evaluation for the project, including customization, roll out and management of Abt’s M&E system.
• Work with MEL stakeholders in Ghana and the Home Office MEL team to maintain the program’s results framework that establishes a causal pathway from activities and outputs to intermediate results, and ultimately to the Activities’ desired outcomes and impact.
• Manage a rigorous approach to MEL to measure performance toward specific Activity goals and objectives, including quantitative, qualitative, and participatory methodologies.
• Drive the Activity’s learning agenda to derive lessons learned and best practices from activities and contribute to program reporting.
• Coordinate regular reviews to interpret MEL findings for planning, decision-making, course-correction, and communication of implementation successes and challenges.
• Support programmatic decision-making at all levels through data analysis, reporting and communication of program learnings across multiple locations.
• Support and manage the design, implementation, and/or oversight of research, evaluations, or assessments.
• Lead preparation of all program reporting requirements and lead the development of learning products for information sharing with appropriate stakeholders.

What We Value:

• Minimum of a Master’s Degree in, Statistics, Social Sciences or other relevant field.
• Minimum of ten years of relevant professional experience in monitoring, evaluation, and learning on donor-funded programs, with progressively increasing level of responsibility
• Experience with MEL on public financial management projects preferred
• Experience with USAID-funded activities preferred.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience in Collaborating, Learning and Adapting techniques to support use of M&E data for improved program design
• Strong interpersonal skills, initiative, good judgment, demonstrated team leadership, and problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent report writing, analytical, and communication skills, including oral presentation skills, in English.
• Extensive experience in knowledge management and dissemination of results and research findings.
• Computer literacy (MS Word, MS Excel, statistical software).

What We Offer:

• We foster an environment where you can Thrive Your Way. Our innovative total rewards programs are designed to help balance your work and personal life. The approach toward your wellbeing centers around comprehensive benefits and professional development.
• Abt Associates is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer committed to fostering a diverse workforce. Abt Associates provides market-competitive salaries and comprehensive employee benefits.
• Candidates from Ghana are strongly encouraged to apply.