Sightsavers implements projects in over 30 countries in Africa and South Asia working to eliminate avoidable blindness and promote the rights of people with disabilities. We are looking for a new Project Finance and Risk Advisor to work closely with country office staff and other support teams to ensure that projects funded by donors run smoothly.
Location:
Kenya (Nairobi) or Zambia (Lusaka)
Contract:
Two-year fixed term contract
Salary:
Local Terms and Conditions
apply
About the role
Project Finance and Risk
Advisors at Sightsavers specialise in support and advice of project financial
management and donor compliance to key stakeholders across the organisation.
They offer support and advice across the key stages of Sightsavers projects
life cycle: design, launch, implementation and close-out. They ensure that
project financial planning, monitoring and reporting are delivered on time and
to a high standard.
A typical day could include:
- Calling
a country office finance manager to discuss pending issues in the
financial report
- Noticing
an area for improvement in our review process. Making a note of it to
bring up in our team meeting next week
- Dealing
with ad-hoc requests about exchange rates and budget flexibility from
various country office and global contacts
- Attending
a meeting with stakeholders across the organisation to kick-start a
proposal application
- Working
on a payroll journal that charges staff time to donors for this month
- Pausing
your work on the payroll journal to review and sign-off that project
financial report that just came in your inbox.
This job may be for you if you are:
- proactive
by nature and have initiative
- comfortable
taking decisions and have a good sense of when to escalate issues
- quick
to notice irregularities, yet you do not lose sight of the bigger picture
- good
at solving problems and have a keen eye for improvement
- confident
holding close working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders
Jobholder Requirements
Essential:
- Able
to demonstrate finance and accountancy experience or excellent numerical
skills
- Awareness
of overseas development context gained through working in the INGO sector
- Extensive
experience of institutional donor project financial management
- Excellent
numerical skills
- Advanced
Proficiency with Microsoft Excel
- Good
English language skills and experience working in English
- Good
communication and stakeholder management skills
- Well
organised with an appreciation of meeting reporting commitments
- Ability
to work independently and manage a portfolio of projects, acting as a
point of reference
- Strong
attention to detail with a willingness to follow issues through to
resolution
- Continuous
improvement mindset, seeking ways to improve processes and mitigate risk
- Willingness
to continuously develop skills and knowledge to remain current with donor
funding developments
Desirable:
- Proven
experience of USAID, EC and FCDO project financial management
- Proven
experience of financial training to finance staff
- Experience
of a computer-based accounting system
- Any
knowledge of languages aside for English (notable focus on French,
Portuguese, Wolof, Swahili)
- High
level of programmatic and financial understanding of the project cycle
- Able
to explain financial issues and procedures to a non-financial audience
How to Apply
This is an involved role,
please read the full job description before applying
Next Steps
We anticipate that remote
interviews will take place on 23 January 2023 and the evaluation process will
include an Excel-based role specific task which will need to be completed in
advance of the interview.
To apply for this exciting
new opportunity, please complete an application via our recruitment portal. We
are particularly interested in learning of your motivations for applying.
As an equal opportunity
employer, we actively encourage applications from all sections of the
community. Sightsavers is a Disability Confident Leader and qualified people
living with a disability are particularly encouraged to apply.
Sightsavers is an employer
that does not tolerate any form of harassment and has zero tolerance for sexual
exploitation and abuse. All potential candidates will be subjected to rigorous
background checks and controls.
Closing date: Monday
2 January 2023
