Director of Finance and Administration

Position description

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), an international non-profit, research organization with over 600+ employees worldwide, seeks a Director of Finance and Administration to oversee the institute’s annual budget of USD 100+ million and lead the finance and administration services across the institute including Finance, IT Services, Travel and Facilities. The Director of Finance and Administration is a member of the Senior Management Team and reports to the Director General. The ideal candidate should be an excellent leader, people person, strategic communicator and relationship builder who can thrive in a complex, fast-changing environment. This is a three-year, full-time, exempt, renewable appointment and involves international travel, particularly to developing countries. This position could be based at IFPRI’s headquarters located in Washington, DC (preferred), Nairobi, Kenya or New Delhi, India.

Essential Duties: 

Specific duties include but are not limited to:

• Provides information and advice to the IFPRI’s Board and senior management to ensure that the financial and physical resources of the institute are managed optimally and sustainably.
• Ensures that an effective framework is in place for informed decision making including the appropriate financial and risk management strategies, internal and external audits, compliance policies, corporate financial planning and reporting.
• Oversees the preparation and timely distribution of the Institute’s annual budget, long-term forecasts, including base case and downside scenario planning, and regular financial and management reports in accordance with internal, external and statutory obligations
• Directly supervises the senior corporate services managers (Finance, IT Services, Facilities, and Travel). Leads, manages and supports all managers in carrying out their duties by providing them with information, advice, general support and capacity building as needed.
• Monitors budget and expense trends; recommends and implements corrective actions as required.
• Reviews financial policies, procedure and practices; recommends improvements to financial processes and controls.
• Develops and implements systems that ensure the smooth operations of central administration.
• Work closely with the CGIAR Corporate Service Heads and at the One CGIAR System Office.
• Oversees all space and lease functions.
• Primarily responsible for IFPRI’s risk management system including oversight of IFPRI’s operations in Africa and Asia.
• Ensures that Finance and Corporate Service units in all IFPRI locations are appropriately staffed, well led and managed for performance. Ensure continuous improvement in the service delivery from these units.

Salary Range: The expected salary ranges for this job requisition are between $188,900 – $231,400.  In determining your salary, we will consider your experience and other job-related factors.

Benefits: IFPRI is committed to providing our staff members with valuable and competitive benefits, as it is a core part of providing a strong overall employee experience. This position is eligible for health insurance coverage and a  summary of our benefits can be found on our website. Please note that the listed benefits are generally available to active, non-temporary, full-time and part-time US based employees who work at least 25 hours per week.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• CPA/MBA or equivalent; minimum of fifteen years of relevant experience at the senior management level.
• Demonstrated leadership, management, and supervisory skills including the ability to recommend or make decisions, including difficult ones, in a complex, changing environment.
• Excellent planning and organizational skills, as well as attention to detail.
• Broad knowledge of finance and corporate service functions.
• Senior level experience in contract administration.
• Managerial experience in a non-profit, research, and/or international organization.
• Excellent written and verbal English communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work in multi-cultural settings and to build productive relationships with diverse internal and external stakeholders.
• Willingness and ability to travel internationally, particularly to developing countries (15-20%).
• Essential personal qualities: integrity, responsiveness and decisiveness.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Knowledge of or experience with the CGIAR
• Understanding of US GAAP AND IFRS
• Experience in donor relations
• Proficiency in a second language of the U.N. system

Physical Demand and Work Environment:

• Employee will sit in an upright position for a long period of time.
• Employee will lift between 0-10 pounds.
• Employee is required to have close visual acuity to perform activities such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing computer terminal; extensive reading.

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is an equal employment opportunity employer – F/M/Disability/Vet/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity.

Application instructions

Please complete the online application and provide a complete resume. Cover letter accompanying the application should describe the candidate’s interest and any experience and include 3 references. For more information about IFPRI, please visit our websites at www.ifpri.org