PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Unit-Wide Functional Support
Reporting & Analytics
Consolidate programme finance data, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and timeliness of unit-wide reports and dashboards.
Translate detailed financial data into insights that inform Manager decisions and support overall reporting.
Maintain standard reporting methodologies, templates, and analytical tools across all portfolios.
Systems & Process Improvement
Lead operationalisation of the unit's automation and workflow efficiency projects, aligned to SFA Foundation's enterprise systems.
Develop, update, and enforce Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the grant's lifecycle
Champion continuous process improvement, benchmarking against international best practice in grant finance
Provide technical leadership on dashboard design, burn-rate analysis, and cost recovery tracking.
Compliance & Quality Assurance
Conduct quality assurance reviews on a rotating sample of grant files, reports, and transactions across all portfolios.
Ensures adherence to funder rules and regulations.
Supports fraud/risk investigations and complex compliance issues.
Capacity Building & Risk/Audit Coordination
Coordinates internal, funder audit and helps coordinate unit inputs and ensures audit readiness.
Maintain the unit's risk register and track the implementation of audit recommendations.
Maintains the standard capacity building records for grantees done by the Programme Finance specialists.
Expert-Level Support
Provide authoritative guidance to Programme Finance Specialists on complex funder requirements and financial structuring.
Draft high-quality responses to funder queries and due diligence requests, escalating to the Manager as needed.
Support the Manager in funder engagement by modelling financial implications of compliance scenarios and funding changes.
Mentor and build the technical capacity of Programme Finance Specialists, promoting consistency and peer learning.
Portfolio Management
Directly manage a selected portfolio of grants, delivering the full grants finance lifecycle:
Pre-award due diligence and budgeting.
Awarding and contracting.
Implementation monitoring, financial analysis, and compliance oversight.
Reporting, audit, and close-out.
Ensure strong business partnering with programme teams and grantees to align financial delivery with programme objectives.
Support institutional efforts to strengthen African research ecosystems through sound financial stewardship and capacity building of grantees.
PERSON SPECIFICATIONS
Academic Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in finance, Accounting, or a related field.
Master's degree desirable.
Professional Qualifications
Full professional qualification in CPA-K or ACCA.
Experience
Minimum of 7 years relevant experience in financial management, with at least 5 years in programme finance/grants accounting or funded projects.
Proven track record in science funding institutions, research consortia, or ecosystem-strengthening programmes.
Proven experience in sub-grantee management, capacity building, and financial reporting.
Strong working knowledge of financial management systems and grants accounting.
Experience working with grant systems with a passion for exploring and optimising their functionality.
Proven ability to manage compliance with major funders (e.g., Wellcome, Gates, FCDO, Mastercard Foundation).
Advanced proficiency in Excel and financial analysis tools, dashboards.