Director - Finance and Operations

Jhpiego is an international, non-profit health organization affiliated with The Johns Hopkins University. For 40 years and in over 155 countries, Jhpiego has worked to prevent the needless deaths of women and their families.

Jhpiego Corporation has been providing technical support to the Ministries of Health in partner countries across the globe for the past 40 years in a variety of technical areas including cervical cancer treatment and prevention, community health, HIV and AIDS, maternal and newborn health, health workforce capacity development (both pre-service and in-service), family planning, malaria, and IPC/WASH.

The Global Reach II project is a five-year global HRSA-funded project, which started in October, 2021. It employs an iterative approach based on a country’s needs, informed by clients and beneficiaries, targeting high-priority populations and low-coverage and poor-performing areas to achieve HIV epidemic control. In Sierra Leone, Global Reach II works with government and builds local capacity to identify and implement proven solutions where they exist and develop innovative solutions to overcome persistent barriers that affect HIV services. Global Reach II will develop the capacity of the interdisciplinary health workforce to provide quality, client-centered care, ensuring that individuals will be informed and empowered to access services, receive high-quality care, adhere to treatment and remain in care, ultimately contributing to achievement of HIV epidemic control in Sierra Leone.

Job Overview:

Jhpiego seeks a Director – Finance and Operations to provide financial and, operational management for the Jhpiego Sierra Leone country program. The Jhpiego country program has multiple projects that work to accelerate reductions in maternal, newborn, and child mortality and morbidity by increasing the capacity of the Government of Sierra Leone institutions and local organizations to introduce, deliver, scale up, and sustain the use of evidence-based, quality maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) services, malaria, voluntary family planning (FP), reproductive health (RH) care for adults and the youth, and HIV prevention and treatment.

The Director – Finance and Operations (DFO) will oversee financial, operational and administrative matters within Jhpiego Sierra Leone.  The DFO will supervise financial staff and ensure adherence to Jhpiego and funder policies and procedures.  They will be accountable to perform and ensure management of financial systems, develop budgets for country office operations, generate financial reports, administer subawards, use of information technology, and procurement, including management of vendors, monitor project supply chain and inventory systems and supervise supporting finance staff in remote offices.   The position will play a key role directing program operations, work with local partners to build their capacity, and provide expert sub-grant management.

The Director – Finance and Operations (DFO) will ensure compliance with Jhpiego and Johns Hopkins University operational policies and regulations, as well as compliance with all donor rules and regulations for financial management and reporting.  They will ensure all staff follow United States Government (USG) cost principles, including GAAP accounting rules and grants contract management.  The DFO will serve as the primary finance and operations liaison with the Jhpiego Baltimore office and other partners in the Sierra Leone country program.  As a member of the senior management team the Finance and Operations Director will contribute to the Country Office’s strategic leadership.  Additionally, the Finance and Operations Director will develop, implement and strengthen Jhpiego’s in-country financial and operational processes.

• Oversee overall financial system implementation including controls and standards.  Review and maintain strong system of internal controls to ensure accurate financial reporting.  Monitor and adapt in-country financial system to optimize financial transaction processing and required financial reporting. Supervise Finance Manager on financial/accounting aspects of his/her work.  Review monthly financial reports submitted to Baltimore office.
• Monitor burn rates and expenses for all programs in collaboration with Jhpiego Baltimore staff. Responsible for verifying all in-country expenditures and developing projections and other financial reports for management decision making. 
• Ensure financial integrity of the data, QBE due diligence review and follow-up.
• Ensure timely, accurate and complete documentation which support financial transactions, to be uploaded and maintained in a financial accounting and bookkeeping system (QuickBooks)
• Assure the integrity and effective performance of financial operations, and prepare monthly reports.
• Manage all sub-grants, ensuring compliance with Jhpiego policies and procedures and reporting of sub-awardees, and building their capacity as needed.
• Collaborate with the Jhpiego Sierra Leone Country Director to support program staff in developing work plans and annual budgets for program activities and local office costs. 
• Support assessment and capacity building strategies for local civil society organizations in the areas of finance and operations.
• In accordance with Sierra Leone DOA, reviews all in-country Jhpiego-issued contracts, leases and MOUs.  Reviews and provides feedback on award documents, modification and other binding documents issued by others to Jhpiego.
• Ensure adherence to all financial, personnel and administrative policies and procedures, including conformity to local laws and requirement across all projects.
• Oversee project’s day-to-day cash needs, petty cash payments, procurement, salaries, contracts, sub-grants, district offices start-up, IT systems, consultant payments for the country program.
• Review/process invoices and policies and procedures not part of cash management.
• Overall responsible for smooth functioning of district offices.  Work with staff to oversee safety and security aspects of Jhpiego’s operations. Establish good communications and emergency response systems for all offices and staff.  Work with the HR office to ensure that Jhpiego is compliant with all local safety regulations.
• Works with the Country Director and other senior staff to ensure compliance with local laws and requirements especially related to payroll and income tax, VAT, social security, registration of Jhpiego in Sierra Leone with various statutory bodies.
• Provide guidance to all project teams regarding the financial requirements of the project and office operations in compliance with the donor, Johns Hopkins University, and Jhpiego procedures and policies.
•  Ensure appropriate and adequate vendor management practices by conforming to and applying the guidance provided as per the Jhpiego Procurement Manual and Finance and Operations Manual
• Review monthly payroll reports to ensure accuracy, completeness and validity of staff Level of Effort, Gross Salaries and Deductions.
• Ensure appropriate Finance Managers lead the development, monitoring, and review of all project budgets; review monthly financial analysis and budget vs. expense reports to determine reasonableness of variances and take appropriate actions, as required.
• Provide guidance, monitoring and support to project teams, including procurement for goods and services, logistical support for local and international travel (including expense reports) for staff and consultants, contracts development and management and maintenance of office inventory.
• Facilitate the work of internal reviews and external audits and ensure that financial records are properly maintained and readily available during audits.
• Ensure Jhpiego SL registrations and all in-country technical services contracts are tracked properly, are valid, up to date and renewed on timely manner when needed.
• Provide financial reports, including pipeline analysis and quarterly project reports, as requested by the donors.
• Mentor, support, supervise and manage a team of highly qualified staff and align their efforts with project goals to ensure rapid and sustainable results.

• Master’s degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Finance, Accounting or relevant field and ten years of finance and administrative experience
• Full or part professional Accounting qualification e.g. ACCA, CIMA or equivalent
• At least 10 years of experience managing finances with focus on financial analysis, financial reporting, cash flow analysis, budget development and forecasting, preferably on international health projects
• At least seven years of experience providing financial planning and management, human resources and procurement for projects, preferably in Sierra Leone.
• Five or more years of senior-level work experience with USG or other donor-funded projects
• Previous direct supervisory experience of professional and support staff in finance, procurement, IT, operations
• Demonstrated experience organizing resources and establishing priorities
• Subcontract or sub agreement financial management experience
• Knowledge of financing mechanisms – Fixed Amount Awards (FAA), contracts and grants and their relevant terms and conditions
• Experience developing and/or implementing finance and accounting policies, procedures and systems
• Experience hiring and supervising personnel
• Excellent diplomacy skills and a proven ability to establish and maintain interpersonal and professional relationships with USG donors, host-country counterparts and representatives from other key stakeholders such as NGOs, CSOs, and the private sector
• Excellent skills in facilitation, team building, and coordination
• Ability to coach, mentor and develop financial and administrative capacity of project staff
• In depth knowledge financial software applications, databases and spreadsheets, including QuickBooks Enterprise, and Microsoft Office
• Ability to travel nationally

Note: All staff members of Jhpiego, regardless of the level of their responsibilities are expected to:

• Model the mission and values stated above
• Contribute to the knowledge sharing and transfer process
• Make responsible decisions that result in time and cost containment and clear accountability
• Participate in multiple teams, adopt team spirit, take responsibility for action items assigned and provide feedback as needed
• Multitask, be able to manage competing priorities and be able to prioritize in order to meet program and/or organizational objectives.

Qualified persons are required to send their Curriculum Vitae (CV) and application letter to:  SL-Recruitments@jhpiego.org

Deadline for the submission of applications: December 31, 2022.

For further information about Jhpiego, visit our website at www.jhpiego.org

Note: The successful candidate selected for this position will be subject to a pre-employment background investigation.

Jhpiego is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer