Job Vacancies Whole Child International, August 2010

Job Vacancies Whole Child International
Whole Child International works in existing children’s institutions to improve the quality of care and help prevent the bleak outcomes that await most children raised in the world’s orphanages.
Position: Chief Financial Officer
Closing Date: Thursday, 07 October 2010
Location: United States of America (the) – Los Angeles

Term of Reference
The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) will have the strategic vision and practical abilities to help the organization successfully manage its growth and success. The CFO will be responsible for the overall policy and management responsibility for the finance and accounting functions for the organization. S/he will provide effective management and oversight of the organization’s finances, and will provide high quality timely financial reporting and oversight, and risk management approaches, and to ensure that the organization adequately meets its regulatory and fiduciary obligations. The CFO will also provide support and infrastructure to programs and the overall organization.
The CFO reports to the CEO and supervises an administrative assistant in the United States. The CFO collaborates with the Director of Programs to ensure that program decisions are based on sound financial information and to develop operating budgets. The CFO will also establish working relationships with finance and operations staff in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Haiti, as well as any other countries where the organizations works.
This is a business management position that requires exceptional flexibility to meet the unique needs of this ambitious organization. The CFO is expected to help build an organization that can meet the needs of its constituency and manage public development grants in compliance with institutional requirements. The CFO will be the primary person in management who ensures that the organization meets its funding commitments and operational goals.
The CFO will play the lead role in establishing the organization’s financial operating systems, reporting templates and schedules, interpreting financial requirements of grant agreements, and training staff to comply and support the financial component of the organization.

Essential Job Functions/Expected Outputs:
The CFO is responsible for many areas across the spectrum of the organization’s needs, including but not limited to, general controllerships, reporting, treasury and budget functions, financial systems development, staff training, and management.

Policy and Systems Development
* Review financial practices and identify needs, and make recommendations for developing financial management systems (budget tracking, reporting, tools, control mechanisms, SOP’s, etc)
* Create and maintain financial management systems, policies and procedures; provide training and tools as necessary; ensure adequate compliance with policies and procedures.
* Contribute to the development of other related operational policies and procedures, such as procurement.

Risk Management
* Conduct regular reviews of all spending and revenues to minimize organizational financial risk
* Estimate impact of proposed initiatives, expenditures, and/or policy changes on organization and relationships to linked budget items or assumptions
* Ensure adequate internal controls exist and are appropriately exercised
* Serve as strong voice in risk assessment on all significant expenditures, initiatives and programs
* Ensure organization has adequate insurance coverage
* Manage legal resources to ensure that organization has the appropriate levels of legal protection; and review all contracts for legal and financial risk.
* Ensure the organization is in regulatory compliance at all times

Controllership
* Ensure that all policies and procedures are in compliance with WCI funding source policies, procedures, and requirements.
* As required establish finance and supporting function policies, systems and procedures, and directs or performs their development, documentation, and implementation.
* Manages the finance department activities and schedules to meet the financial reporting requirements and deadlines specified by New York and donors.
* Identify requirements for and develop reporting formats to aid in the management of country operations and grant expenditures.
* Provide CEO and key staff with monthly actual-to-budget expenditure reports and analysis for all grants and Unrestricted funds.
* Ensure that on a monthly basis balance sheet reconciliations are completed on a timely basis and those final reconciliations and trial balances are reviewed with the Country Director.
* Closely monitor all financial activities, and keep the CEO advised of all situations which have the potential for a negative impact on internal controls or financial performance.
* Direct the preparation of, and approves all donor financial reports in respect to accounting, legal and contractual requirements and ensures the review of such reports by the CEO prior to submission.
* Develop, schedule and perform or supervise the completion of country internal control audits, and initiates actions necessary to correct internal control weaknesses.
* Facilitate and co-ordinates external, internal, donor or government audits.
* Research and maintain current knowledge of host government (Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Haiti) requirements related to financial matters and ensures compliance with tax regulations and other legal requirements.

Treasury
* Maintain all office bank relations and bank account activities including negotiation of fees, interest and currency exchange rates.
* In compliance with donor policy and US and international /host-country laws establish country policies regarding cash holding limits, cash movements and foreign currency holdings.
* Oversee the timely preparation, review and approval of all monthly bank account and cash reconciliation’s.
* Establish host – country policies on advance payments, credit terms, and use of bank payment instruments.
* Design, implement, and monitor systems, procedures and reporting necessary to maintain on current basis accurate forecasts of cash requirements for meeting future spending, including commitments entered into and which obligate WCI to future spending.
* Supervise the preparation of Cash Transfer Requests to host-countries and ensure that appropriate balances are maintained to facilitate grant implementation.
* Ensure the development and implementation of a plan to minimize the country’s foreign exchange exposure to currency gains and losses.
* Supervise the collection of contractual and other receivables.
* Provide reconciliations and oversight as needed; manage expense reimbursement process; reconcile credit card accounts and other invoices; reconcile bank accounts.

Budget
* Assist with the preparation and revision of program and grant proposals and budgets.
* Assist in the preparation and maintenance of the organization’s Operating Budget.
* Prepare the annual and monthly cash budgets based on approved funding.
* Present and facilitate the review of actual to budget expenditures with the CEO and Program Director.

Human Resources
* Develop and maintain a staffing strategy. Review needs and design staffing structure. Analyze staffing capacities vis-à-vis organizational directions and provide recommendations on staffing relationships.
* Review and harmonize all JD’s, ensuring consistency and relevance to the organizations directions.
* Design a Performance Management process to ensure best performance and communication. Provide recommendations about capacity building and how to build and structure appropriate skills sets for each position and the team. Develop and maintain a performance management process.
* Review personnel policies and update as needed, ensure that staff have easy access to all HR-related information and serve as a specific point of contact for guidance, questions, and advice.
* Manage payroll, timesheets, recruitment, hiring, dismissal; upkeep of personnel files, and due diligence to guard against legal action.
* Select and maintain cost effective compensation and benefits packages consistent with organizational values and retention strategy
* Support Country Lead’s to implement Whole Child friendly personnel policies as much as possible in host countries.
* Post open positions, track applicants, source, conduct reference checks, contact candidates who were not selected, and help coordinate the use of temporary employees.

Reporting
* Deliver superior financial management reporting, analysis and solutions; create, analyze, monitor, and present financial reports in a timely manner; pro-actively identify potential financial issues and develop and recommend possible resolutions; report significant changes or exceptions (revenue or expense) to the executive management team; support the organization with ad hoc financial analyses and insights.

Contracts Management
* Assist in the selection and management of all vendors; put in place processes and controls to ensure that all vendors are selected and managed appropriately to their contracts
* Analyze, and develop/modify the purchasing function for national office and for national purchasing needs
* Manage all leases
* Assist country offices with facilities matters

Board relations
* Manage all leases Produce and present regular financial reports for Board review.
* As needed, serve as secretary for Board meetings.
* Assist CEO with Board relations, including documentation and information dissemination.

Information Technology and Systems
* Develop and implement an IT strategy; stay abreast of innovations and changes in technology that might impact the organization
* Support organization through the cost effective use of technology for international telecommunications
* Manage phone, internet and wireless device programs and accounts

Qualifications and Requirements
* A Bachelors degree in Accounting, Business Administration, Commerce or Finance with a recognized professional certificate in accounting such as CPA, or a Masters degree in Accounting.
* Minimum three years experience of managerial experience in the financial area of a non-profit organization or five years of managerial experience in finance in an international commercial organization.
* An integral understanding of the needs of U.S. – based nonprofits and requirements under 501(c)(3).
* Skill and experience in working in, building, and documenting a complex and shifting organizational structure.
* Experience developing and managing budgets for major public donors (USG, IADB, etc).
* Experience with program start-up.
* Experience working in grants management in the context of international development and/or emergency response a plus.
* Strong planning and analytical skills.
* Excellent organizational, problem solving and management skills.
* Experience with lease and contract administration.
* Human resource management experience, with knowledge of employee benefits, wage and hour, policy and employment laws a plus.
* IT management experience a plus.
* Computer proficiency including advanced knowledge of QuickBooks, Blackbaud, Financial Edge or equivalent as well as Excel and other management software’s.
* Experience in general office management and administration a plus.
* Experience in managing cash and budgets.
* Bi-Lingual proficiency in English and Spanish and/or French a plus
* Must be comfortable in being a proactive member of the top-management team. Must seek to identify and communicate potential problems and propose solutions to the level of management appropriate to effect solutions.
* Must be able to function effectively in a loosely structured, but complex work environment and to set appropriate priorities and deal effectively with numerous simultaneous requirements.
* Strong writing skills ranging from financial reporting, fundraising to marketing to internal and external communications a plus.

How to apply
Contact:
Please send résumé to the following email or postal address:
hr@wholechild.org

Whole Child International
11726 San Vicente Boulevard, Suite 222
Los Angeles, CA 90049
USA
310.820.0018 (phone)
* 310.820.8886 (fax)

Reference Code: RW_88PLPQ-94




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