Head of Finance

Job description

Job Description

JOB TITLE: Head of Finance

TEAM/PROGRAMME: Zambia Country Office Senior Management Teamm

LOCATION: Lusaka, Zambia

GRADE:  NAT  1

POST TYPE: 2 years fixed term, renewable

Safeguarding:

Save the Children does not tolerate any form of exploitation, abuse, or harassment against any person. It is the responsibility of all employees and representatives to protect all people who come in contact with our organization. Save the Children commits to applying the same standards to all its employees and subject them to the same processes regardless of their position, influence, or reputation within or outside of the organization.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Save the Children International’s Diversity Policy, aims to promote equal opportunity in employment and to ban any kind of discrimination based on sex, age, social class, disability, HIV status, religion, race and ethnicity.

ROLE PURPOSE: 

As a member of the Senior Management Team (SLT) in Zambia the Head of Finance shares in the overall responsibility for the direction and coordination of the Country Office (CO). The Head of Finance in his/her capacity is responsible for finance administration, fiscal management, financial and grant reporting in both emergency and development programming contexts.

SCOPE OF ROLE: 

Reports to: Country Director

Dotted reporting line to 

Staff directly reporting to this post: 2

Direct: Finance Manager, and Finance Coordinator

Indirect: Support Service Coordinator; Budgeting and Partnership Officer; Finance Officer.

Budget Responsibilities: $9.2m

Role Dimensions: Partners Finance Leads, Bank Relationships Manager; Regional Finance Director; Regional Financial Planning and Analysis lead; Regional Control and Compliance Lead

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, contribute to:

Leadership of the Zambia Country Office.
Support the development of an organizational culture that reflects our dual mandate values, promotes accountability and high performance, encourages a team culture of learning, creativity and innovation, and frees up our people to deliver outstanding results for children and excellent customer service for our members and donors
Help design and implement a coherent organizational structure that is consistent with agency practices and appropriate to program needs
Help establish, maintain, and improve active and regular working relationships with: host government authorities, partner agencies including humanitarian and development donors, and local and international NGOs
Ensure Zambia Country Office complies with all Save the Children’s Quality Framework Essential Standards and Standard Operating Procedures
Ensure that all required support is provided promptly, at scale and in line with the rules and principles during emergencies, working closely with the Regional Office

Planning and Budgeting

Assist the Country  Director (CD) in the management /administration of the Country Office resources and its sub-office(s) including

(a) The formulation of country work program and resource allocation,

(b) Providing effective support and guidance to the Senior Leadership Team and other key program staff during planning and allocation exercises;

(c) Monitoring implementation of donor agreements and resource utilization. Highlight variances, provide analyses and recommend resolution or reallocation of resources

Work along with the SLT in developing plans to meet funding and programming needs. This includes diversification of funding resources
Identify and effectively manage all key risks, especially financial, related to delivering the Country Office program.  Develop mitigation plans at proposal stage
Ensure correct level of budget authority exists within Country Office
Manage financial aspects of budget development for new proposals
Ensure appropriate and adequate emergency finance and grants procedures are detailed in the Country Office Emergency Preparedness Plan in order to enable rapid scale up
Ensure budget holders understand their responsibilities (e.g., through training)
Ensure sub-office(s) receive adequate support to operate efficient accounting systems, including timely receipt of monthly budget variance analysis by budget holders, timely answers to queries and scheduling tasks and deadlines

Financial Accounting, Reporting, and Control

Manage the Country Office financial systems and provide the SLT and all budget holders a monthly update on the budget variance analysis
Ensure with the SLT that systems are in place for the control of all assets, funds, equipment, property, and facilities; submit timely financial reports to Centre, Regional Office and donors as required
Ensure that effective systems are put in place, and regularly reviewed, to allow adequate financial management and control including:
Annual accounts and tax statement preparation;
Accounting and management information systems;
Cash and cash flow management and control in particular gain/losses on currency exchange;
Financial procedures during emergency responses, including meeting all relevant responsibilities in the Rules and Principles for Emergency Response;
Expenditure procedures, especially around procurement;
Documentation of all controls and procedures;
Finance training for staff in the field and partners as necessary;
Availability of funds for sub-office(s) and the Country Office
Monitor accurate and timely submission of financial reports and attachments to members, donors and government regulatory agencies
Ensure quarterly effort reporting is prepared with major variances discussed with Regional Office and Centre
Coordinate submission of control reports, respond to findings and recommend resolutions or action plans
Lead and participate in the development of finance policies and procedures to be able to maintain a well-financially controlled environment in both development and emergency contexts
Coordinate and assist CD during any internal or external audits
Ensure monthly financial reviews (MFRs) are prepared, reviewed with SLT, and submitted to Regional Office regularly

Finance & Awards Reporting

Monitor completion of financial reports for grants/contracts. Ensure proper accounting and closing of books upon receipt of completed reports and documents from  sub-office(s) and partners
Provide guidance to finance and non-finance staff and coordinate efforts to ensure compliance with donor agreement requirements and conditions. Work with budget holders to estimate funds request on a timely basis to ensure resources are in place for carrying project activities ;and that reporting requirements and deliverables are met
Ensure Country Office treasury operations are adequately managed
Ensure that donor financial reports are align with donors requirement
Prepare monthly financial and analytical report and ensure submission of all required reports with RO
Prepare audited financial statements after the year end organize all statutory and donors audit as per set time frames

Staff Management, Mentorship, and Development – Finance

Responsible for appropriate staffing within Finance
Responsible for making sure all Finance staff understand and are able to perform their roles in an emergency
Manage Finance and Support Services team; define expectations, provide leadership and technical supports needed, and evaluate direct reports regularly
Responsible for the recruitment, training, and promotion of staff as appropriate and ensure availability of appropriate professional development opportunities for staff;
Manage the performance of all staff in the Finance and Support Services work area through staff development strategies and Performance Management Systems.  Establish result based system and follow up
Develop staff through the following methods
Effective use of the Performance Management System including the establishment of clear, measurable objectives, ongoing feedback, periodic reviews and fair and unbiased evaluations;
Coaching, mentoring and other developmental opportunities;
Recognition and rewards for outstanding performance;
Documentation of performance that is at standard and above and less than satisfactory, with appropriate performance improvements/work plans

Risk Management

Produce Quarterly Risk Management Register in consultation with SLT in accordance with the SCI Quality Framework Essential Standards
Undertake the financial risk assessments of all new partners and monitoring of on-going risk in coordination with SLT
Support CD and SLT in keeping analysis of the internal and external risks and threats and appropriate mitigation measures up to date

SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS (our Values in Practice)

Accountability:

Be accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities – giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved

Ambition:

Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves (and their team), takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages others to do the same
Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
Future orientated, thinks strategically.

Collaboration:

Builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, members and external partners and supporters
Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to

Creativity:

Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
Willing to take disciplined risks

Integrity:

Honest, encourages openness and transparency

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:

Qualified finance professional preferred (recognized accounting qualification such as CIMA, ACCA, CPA) with experience of operating in a global and complex organization
Recommended a minimum of 10 years senior management experience in an International NGO environment, including experience in the development of strategic and operational support services plans and their implementation in a professional work environment over a sustained period of time
Ability to plan and organize a substantial workload that includes complex, diverse tasks and responsibilities in both development and emergency contexts
Willingness and ability to dramatically change work practices and hours, and work with incoming surge teams, in the event of emergencies
Demonstrated credibility with colleagues and stakeholders at all levels of an organization
Excellent oral and written communication skills in English
Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to demonstrate skills in leading a multi- disciplined team through a period of change
Leadership skills, including the ability to supervise and motivate qualified professional staff with strong personal value systems
Analytical, decision making and strategic planning skills and the ability to handle multiple priorities
Ability to coach, mentor, delegate appropriately and provide developmental guidance to supervised staff
Team building skills
Competent level skills in core IT applications, particularly MS Office
A commitment to the values and principles of SC
Experience working to developing countries
High level of commitment to the principles of development and to the organizational and programmatic goals of Save the Children

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

QUALIFIED APPLICANTS SHOULD ONLY ATTACH A COVER LETTER AND AN UPDATED CV.

The closing date for receipt of applications is Wednesday 22nd October 2025. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Save the Children reserves the right to re advertise if suitable applicants are not found.

Save the Children is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer that does not engage in any practices which discriminate against any person employed or seeking employment based on race, colour, religion, gender, national or ethnic origin, age, marital status and we will never ask that you pay for anything as part of the selection process or thereafter