Finance Director

Position:                                 Finance Director
Reports To:                            Country Director, dotted-line report to the WCS Global CFO
Positions Managed:              Finance Staff
Location:                                Bangui
Country Program/Sector:    
Position Type:                       Full-time
Scope/Capacity:                    Country
Coordinate with:                   Country Management team, finance team

About Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS):
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a US non-profit, tax-exempt, private organization established in 1895 that saves wildlife and wild places by understanding critical issues, crafting science-based solutions, and taking conservation actions that benefit nature and humanity. With more than a century of experience, long-term commitments in dozens of landscapes, presence in more than 60 nations, and experience helping to establish over 150 protected areas across the globe, WCS has amassed the biological knowledge, cultural understanding and partnerships to ensure that vibrant, wild places and wildlife thrive alongside local communities. Working with local communities and organizations, that knowledge is applied to address species, habitat and ecosystem management issues critical to improving the quality of life of poor rural people whose livelihoods depend on the direct utilization of natural resources.
About the Finance Director
The Director of Finance will establish and oversee efficient financial management systems, ensure Compliance with internal controls, conduct/coordinate financial reviews of project sites with frequent travel to field sites, and manage cash management for the country’s program operations.
He/she will communicate appropriately with WCS project leaders (Directors, Managers, and Administrators), key donors, funding agencies, and local governmental institutions (e.g., Ministries of Finance, Labor, etc.). He/she will coordinate and consult regularly with the Sudano Sahel Regional and New York HQ offices to manage the timely and accurate submission of reports.
Major Responsibilities

• Overall supervision of the Finance unit and staff
• Ensure financial efficiency in all aspects of operations, advising the Country Director of any problems or weaknesses in financial controls and procedures, and any ways in which costs could be reduced.
• Ensure all project budget management and financial activities are in compliance with WCS and donor requirements as well as national legislation, including customs regulations, labor rights, taxes, and benefits.
• Ensure that the highest standards of financial integrity are followed.

            Budgeting, projections, and cash flow management

• Prepare annual Country Program budget for submission to the Sudano-Sahel Regional office. Maintain Country Program budget and forecasts throughout the fiscal year to adjust for new funding and other budget adjustments
• Prepare donor proposal budgets in coordination with field teams for review by the Regional Business Manager.
• Ensure cash flow management of the program to ensure that sufficient funds are available for project operations.
• Maintain an accurate database of project funding, including contracts, project budgets and donor-specific procedures and regulations.

         Monitoring and managing expenditures.

• Ensure that all expenditures are made per established procedures, including verification of supporting documents and budget availability.
• Monitor and review expenditures against budgets on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis by project and for the country office.
• Prepare monthly reports of expenditure against budgets for internal use, including monitoring of expenditure against project activity budgets as well as WCS project, grant/fund, and account codes.
• Where expenditures on projects are not in line with budgets, bring this to the attention of the project director and country director and make recommendations to adjust spending accordingly.

• Where funds are received in-country, ensure that these are correctly reported to WCS NY and WCS Region and posted to the appropriate project, grant/fund and account code.
• Oversee cross-charging to other country programs as per established procedures.
• Ensure proper tracking of project advances to staff, ensuring that advances are accounted for promptly according to WCS procedures and that an accurate balance sheet of each staff member’s outstanding advances is kept. Prepare a monthly report of outstanding advances at the end of each month.

         Reporting

• Prepare and submit analysis on all country project expenditures to the WCS Regional Program according to WCS established procedures and deadlines.
• Oversee monthly and year-end reconciliation of accounts, reports and bank statements.

• In consultation with the WCS Country Director and the Project Managers/Directors, ensure communication, reporting and administrative requirements of donors are met.

          Audit and quality control

• Ensure that all transactions entered into the SAP in the central office are correctly and consistently recorded, including grant, fund, project and other information where needed. Perform a monthly check of all financial data by the 10th day of the following month.
• Ensure that revenue and expenditure posted by WCS NY are correct and are assigned to the right project, grant/fund and account codes, and where problems are found, ensure that these are resolved with the appropriate staff in NY along with project staff as required.
• Supervise regular petty cash counts under WCS policy.
• Assess and mitigate the financial risks of the mission, ensure that reliable internal control systems are in place, and financial ethics is respected within the mission.
• Coordinate and supervise local audits relating to accounting, including donor and institutional audits, tax, and labor matters

          Contracts and sub-awards

• Review budgets for contracts and sub-awards to other organizations to verify that costs are reasonable and sufficient for proposed activities and meet donor requirements for budget presentation.
• Ensure that contractors and sub-awardees meet financial reporting requirements.
• Where necessary, perform audits of sub-awardee financial systems and reports.

          People Leadership

• Effectively manage performance, developing team members to maximize their contribution to the team and organization
• Responsible for recruiting, training, and managing finance staff for the Program.
• Support staff engagement through maintaining a positive team environment.

Qualification Requirements

• Bachelor of Accountancy Degree or equivalent accounting qualifications from recognized institutions. MBA, CPA or other equivalent certification a plus.
• A minimum of 10 years’ post-qualification experience, of which at least 5 years must be at a senior management level.
• Experience in monitoring budgets, cash flow management and systems development for a non-profit organization.
• Demonstrated sound and in-depth knowledge of GAAP, Financial Accounting, Management Accounting, Financial Management and Taxation law of CAR.
• Experience using an ERP system and advanced Excel skills required.
• Demonstrated ability to work with a diverse team. Must be solution-oriented and have strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Good communication skills, both written and verbal, and strong analytical skills.
• English and French fluency are required
• Significant experience with the financial management of EU funding, government and agency grants and contracts.
• Ability to work independently and work effectively in a diverse team environment
• Experience and knowledge of working in a non-profit context in Africa, an advantage.
• Ability and willingness to travel regularly to remote sites.
• Commitment to the mission and values of the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Competitive salary commensurate with experience