Main purpose of job:

FCDO Ethiopia is seeking a high performing finance professional to support its strategic financial management objectives. You will strive to improve financial management standards, drive learning from the programmes across the wider office; have the ability to adapt quickly and help others to learn and improve. 

You should have a deep understanding and knowledge on  financial management approaches, and understanding of aid programme delivery. You should be able to work with senior management on the portfolio management and monitoring. Regular communication with various key stakeholders such as advisers and programme managers, corporate services delivery teams, and with colleagues in regional hub and HQ are also needed.

In this post, you will play a key role in ensuring that the embassy delivers its spend objectives through an excellent spend management control. Beyond this, you will work with teams to ensure that all programmes and corporate services functions have strong controls in place that can maximise VFM and devise robust assurance mechanisms to assess the effectiveness these. 

Countering internal fraud and aid diversion is also key agenda for the embassy – it is one of the biggest spenders of UK aid, with a complex portfolio and a diverse suite of programmes that need tailored approaches to ensure that it’s investments reach to the intended beneficiaries. The British embassy is also one of the largest platforms in the FCDO network which requires ongoing servicing, including to our off compound properties. You will have a critical role in shaping the financial management in all these areas and influencing the embassy’s strategy as a key senior leader. 

The role also provides an excellent opportunity to develop your leadership skills and ability to deliver change, as you will support the Embassy as it progresses through the process of integrating the legacy finance functions in line with the wider Finance Transformation agenda from HQ. It also provides learning and development opportunities that you can tailor to your professional development need. 

Roles and responsibilities:

In this role, you will be responsible for driving excellence in financial management across the British Embassy’s portfolio, including: 

1. Spend management: Prepare and support local scenario-based forecasts, taking into account risk, probability and contingency planning and support management of pipeline budgets in-year and across future years. Lead and conduct challenge meetings with senior local budget holders and variance analysis.
2. Lead/ coordinate reporting and returns to HQ: generate quality timely and accurate performance reports, analysis and recommendations to Ambassador and Deputy, Development Director and the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), to facilitate effective decision making. Lead on month-end returns, central commissions, interim and year end accounting packs to HQ.
3. Finance Integration: play a key role in driving forward the integration of the finance function, supporting the Head of Finance in consolidating finance teams and processes from ODA Programme Delivery and Corporate Services branches to create a unified and efficient finance operation for the embassy. Take forward this key change management process in a delicate manner, securing ‘buy ins’ from key stakeholders.
4. Strengthening control and assurance processes: Support the maintenance and strengthening of the internal control environment both on programme delivery and corporate services to mitigate risks, by ensuring compliance with key finance processes, highlighting control weaknesses identified through audits, annual reviews, due diligence, etc. and making associated recommendations for improvement. Support internal and external audits and report on progress made recommendations relating to finance and control.
5. Counter aid diversion (CAD) and fraud prevention: Support the implementation of the embassy’s approach to CAD, ensuring that all staff and partners are aware of their responsibilities. Develop a fraud prevention approach for all internal operations and implement these. Support tracking and following up on any reports of fraud or misuse of funds with the relevant teams in the embassy and HQ, to ensure cases are resolved as quickly as possible, and lessons learnt and shared.
6. Provide on-going support to all embassy teams: Support all colleagues across the embassy on financial management issues, including risk mitigation, particularly around counter fraud, corruption, and leakage, implementation, planning & forecasting, monitoring and reporting.
7. Capability building: Support production of a local finance improvement plan and its implementation. Improve the standards of financial awareness and financial management locally, for example, by providing support in understanding and interpreting management information, partner evidence and accounting standards and explain rationale to non-finance staff. Deliver finance training to non-finance staff and actively facilitating the continuing up-skilling of all staff, as part of the embassy’s L&D offer.

This role is expected to evolve through time as the financial integration project beds in. Therefore, some of the key responsibilities may change over time depending on internal directions or changes in HQ.

Resources managed:

The resource holder will lead on the oversight of management of a £200m+ annual ODA budget and £4m+ Operational budget, reporting to the Head of Delivery.

The role holder will have two direct line management responsibilities of two HEO Finance officers. Coaching and mentoring colleagues of all grades, including G6 TLs on programme and operational finances and overall delivery is also an essential part of the job. 

• Qualification: Applicants must be member of one of the five Consultative Committees of Accounting Bodies [CCAB] i.e. ACCA; CIPFA; ICAEW; ICAI or ICAS; or CIMA; or hold and MBA and is studying towards a CCAB qualification; or a European or international equivalent qualification; or someone who has undergone a period of equivalent structured training and accreditation in a specialist area of finance (e.g. investment finance or treasury management).
• Work Experience: A minimum of 10 years’ experience, preferably in the aid sector/ development agencies and with experience in managing teams.
• Decision Support: business partnering engagement through providing professional advice and guidance on management information and financial aspects of business, projects and policy, investment decision making, risks and its management and value for money.
• Risk management and counter fraud: raising risk management awareness and supporting the business to identify and manage organisational and programme risks and design controls accordingly.

Language requirements: 

Language: English and Amharic

Level of language required: Fully-operational