Job Description
Southern Africa Regional Finance Officer
Organization Profile
Room to Read's mission is to provide under-privileged children with an opportunity to gain the lifelong gift of education. The organization was founded on the belief that education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty and taking control of ones own life. We currently work in Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Zambia – countries with a desperate lack of resources to educate their children. In 2007, we began our expansion into Bangladesh.
Room to Read is a results-driven organization that seeks to intervene early in a child's life to provide ongoing educational opportunities in their communities. We are non-governmental, non-religious and work with many local NGOs and community based organizations to implement our programs. We have developed a successful approach to building educational infrastructure and opportunities which consists of:
- Partnering with communities to build schools through challenge grants
- Establishing bi-lingual libraries
- Publishing local language children's books
- Establishing computer and language labs
- Providing long-term scholarships to girls
Since our inception, Room to Read's worldwide team has impacted over 1.7 million children by constructing more than 440 schools, establishing over 5,100 libraries, publishing 226 new children's book titles in 11 local languages, and putting over 4,000 girls onto long-term, holistic scholarships. We are one of ten non-profits to have won the Fast Company / Monitor Group Social Capitalist award five years in a row and have been featured in a variety of media including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and PBS.
Room to Read has an annual budget of approximately US$22 million, and our global staff numbers over 175; both of these figures will continue to grow rapidly in 2008. Our global headquarters is located in San Francisco, our Asia Regional Office is located in New Delhi, and we have program offices in Colombo, Ho Chi Minh City, Kathmandu, Lusaka, New Delhi, Pretoria, Phnom Penh, and Vientiane. Our long-term goal is to help 10 million children to gain the lifelong gift of education.
Position Overview
The Southern Africa Finance Officer will work closely with the Chief Financial Officer of Room to Read in San Francisco, CA, USA (the Global Office), as well as the Southern Africa Country Directors and Southern Africa Country Finance Officers. This position will report to the Southern Africa Regional Director.
This position's primary responsibilities will include providing capacity building / extensive training to personnel in countries in the areas of strategic planning, project management, finance, accounting, audit, and administrative initiatives.
Duties & Responsibilities
- In collaboration with Country Directors, create, implement and analyze annual budgets and program goals for each country and the region as a whole ensuring alignment with organizational strategies and priorities
- Review monthly accounting reports submitted by Country Directors to ensure accurate and timely reporting to enable decision making
- Travel regularly to the countries we operate in Southern Africa to train in-country staff on accounting topics and other reporting requirements
- Design and facilitate in-house employee training modules on subjects such as donor report writing, time management, accounting, budgeting, etc
- Work with Country Directors to manage the organization's legal and compliance issues for international corporate and charitable registrations in each country
- Ensure that proper financial and accounting controls and procedures are in place and maintained at individual sites
- In conjunction with the Country Directors, ensure compliance with the financial policies and guidelines of Room to Read
- In conjunction with the Country Directors, ensure compliance with local financial and legal regulations (e.g., taxation)
- In conjunction with the Country Directors, ensure compliance with the financial reporting requirements of Donors
- Provide the Global Office with all necessary financial and other information for the region and countries
- Prepare budget updates, working with the Southern Africa Regional Director, Country Directors, and others
- Manage regional financial and accounting processes and meet reporting requirements
- Plan, perform, and supervise annual in-country office audits
- Ensure that internal control weaknesses and inefficiencies have been identified and communicated to senior management, with adequate recommendations, in a timely manner
- Offer constructive analysis and appraisal of company policies, procedures, financial/accounting and operational reports, system of internal controls, and efficiency of operations
- Work with external audit firms as needed
Qualifications
Required
- Qualified accountant (ACA,ACCA,CPA or equivalent) or relevant degree
- 5 years experience in accounting and audit in an international NGO environment
- In depth knowledge of financial and accounting systems, financial reporting and administrative management
- Detail oriented and extremely organized
- Experience implementing financial control systems
- Adept at using Excel and other Microsoft Office applications
- Written and spoken English
- Training/capacity building and management skills and experience
- Results oriented; commitment to quality and efficiency
- Willing and able to work in a fast-paced, growth-oriented environment
- Flexible attitude towards changing priorities and ability to multi-task
- Strong initiative and leadership skills
- Team player
- Excellent interpersonal and relationship building skills
- Effectiveness in working in a non-profit organization that is focused on maintaining high quality work and a low overhead
- Prior experience in a fast-paced, growth-oriented global or regional organization
- Proven track record of achieving results
- Ability to juggle multiple priorities simultaneously and take initiative
Preferred
- QuickBooks skills
- Knowledge of US GAAP/GAAS
- Ability to implement new software packages in country and project locations
To be successful as a member of the Room to Read team, you will also:
- Have a passion for our mission and a strong desire to impact an up-and-coming non-profit organization
- Be an innovative and creative thinker - you are not afraid to try something new and inspire others to do so
- Have a very high level of personal and professional integrity and trustworthiness
- Have a strong work ethic, take initiative, and require minimal direction
- Work well independently as well as part of a team
- Thrive in a fast-paced and fun environment
Compensation
The salary range for this position will be determined based upon the experience of the candidate hired. Benefits including health and a retirement plan are also provided. Additional benefits include a unique opportunity to be part of an innovative, meaningful, and rapidly growing organization that is changing the world through the lifelong gift of education.
Application Procedure
Please send a cover letter and resume by email with "Southern Africa Regional Finance Officer" in the subject line (no letters, calls, faxes, or drop-ins) to ruth@actionappointments.co.za. Due to high applicant volume, you may not receive a response from Room to Read. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
Room to Read is an equal opportunity employer committed to identifying and developing the skills and leadership of people from diverse backgrounds.
