African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP)
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Role Overview
AFIDEP is seeking to recruit an experienced Head of Finance and Operations (HoFO) to join its Senior Management Team. The HoFO is a critical leadership role responsible for the financial health, operational efficiency, and regulatory compliance of the Institute across all its country offices and programmes.
The successful candidate will be a strategic, results-oriented leader who combines deep technical expertise in finance and accounting with the ability to manage diverse operational functions — including administration, procurement, ICT, and facilities — and to lead and develop a multifunctional team. The HoFO will serve as the Institute's primary financial steward, ensuring that resources are managed with rigour, transparency, and accountability to donors, the Board, and the communities AFIDEP serves.
This is a senior leadership role. Candidates must demonstrate both the strategic vision to drive institutional financial planning and the operational rigour to ensure robust systems, controls, and compliance across a complex, multi-donor, multi-currency environment.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Financial Leadership
**Institutional Financial Strategy: **Contribute to the development of AFIDEP's institutional strategic plans, translating organisational priorities into multi-year financial plans and resource frameworks.
**Annual Planning & Budgeting: **Lead the annual institutional planning and budgeting process, including financial resource allocation, cash flow projections, and cost recovery planning across all projects and country offices.
**Resource Mobilisation Support: **Contribute to institutional resource mobilisation efforts by developing budgets for new grant proposals, reviewing donor agreements for financial feasibility, and advising on cost structures and indirect cost recovery rates.
**Financial Performance Oversight: **Monitor and report on financial performance against approved plans and budgets; provide the Executive Director and Senior Management Team with timely, actionable financial analysis and risk insights.
Policy development and implementation oversight**: **Lead the development, review and execution of financial management, grant management, cost allocation, procurement, and related policies for input by the Senior Management Team and approval by the Board.
Financial Management & Reporting
**Finance & Accounting Operations: **Oversee all finance and accounting functions, including general ledger management, accounts payable and receivable, payroll, bank reconciliations, and month-end and year-end close processes.
**Treasury & Cash Management: **Manage treasury operations including foreign currency management, banking relationships, investment of institutional reserves, and maintenance of adequate liquidity across all country offices.
**Financial Reporting: **Ensure the preparation and timely submission of accurate financial reports for the Board, Executive Director, donors, and statutory authorities, in compliance with applicable accounting standards (IFRS) and donor requirements.
**Board & Audit Committee Engagement: **Present financial reports, budget updates, and risk assessments to the Board and Finance/Audit Committee on a regular basis; serve as a trusted financial adviser to Board-level governance structures.
**External Audits: **Coordinate and manage the annual external audit process, maintaining audit-readiness throughout the year and implementing audit recommendations in a timely manner.
**Payroll & Tax Compliance: **Ensure accurate and timely payroll processing and compliance with statutory deductions, tax obligations, and labour law requirements in Kenya and Malawi, and any other jurisdictions where AFIDEP operates.
Grants & Donor Compliance
**Grants Management: **Provide oversight of the full grants management lifecycle — from award acceptance and budget activation through expenditure tracking, financial reporting, and grant close-out — ensuring strict adherence to donor-specific financial requirements.
**Donor Compliance: **Extensive experience managing finances in a complex multi-donor environment, with knowledge of the requirements of bilateral, multilateral and private foundation donors.
**Sub-Grantee Management: **Oversee financial due diligence, contracting, monitoring, and capacity building for sub-grantees and implementing partners.
**Donor & Partner Relations: **Maintain strong, trust-based financial relationships with donors and partners, managing financial queries, facilitating donor financial reviews, and proactively communicating on budget variances or compliance matters.
Risk Management & Internal Controls
**Internal Control Environment: **Design, implement, and continuously improve financial and operational internal controls to safeguard institutional assets, prevent fraud and conflict of interest, and ensure compliance with applicable policies, laws, and regulations.
**Asset Management: **Maintain an accurate and up-to-date institutional asset register; ensure appropriate insurance coverage for all institutional assets and operations.
**Risk Management: **Lead the identification, assessment, and mitigation of financial and operational risks; maintain the institutional risk register and report risk status to the Senior Management Team and Board.
**Audit & Compliance Oversight: **Provide administrative line management to the Audit and Compliance Officer, supporting the effective functioning of the internal audit function while safeguarding its independence. Ensure timely implementation of internal audit recommendations.
Operations Management
**Administration & Facilities: **Provide strategic oversight of institutional administration, including facilities management, office operations, lease agreements, and vendor contracts across all AFIDEP offices.
**Procurement: **Ensure the development and consistent application of transparent, value-for-money procurement policies and procedures, including supplier prequalification, tendering, and contract management.
**ICT Governance: **Oversee AFIDEP's ICT infrastructure and systems, ensuring that technology investments support institutional effectiveness, data security, and business continuity.
**Policy and ****Systems Development: **Lead the continuous development, refinement, and upgrading of financial and operational management policies and systems to ensure robust, efficient, and audit-ready institutional infrastructure.
Team Leadership & Development
**Team Management: **Recruit, lead, mentor, and develop the Finance and Operations team across all AFIDEP locations, fostering a high-performance, collaborative, and learning-oriented culture.
**Capacity Building: **Build the financial management and operational capacity of non-finance staff across the Institute, ensuring that programme teams understand and adhere to financial and compliance requirements.
**Succession & Continuity: **Identify and develop internal talent to ensure continuity of key finance and operations functions and build organisational resilience.
Qualifications and Experience
Essential
**Education: **A Master's degree and Bachelor's degree in Commerce, Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a closely related field from a recognised university.
**Professional Certification: **A full, current professional accounting qualification is mandatory — CPA, ACA, ACCA, ACMA, CFA, or equivalent.
**Professional Membership: **Current membership in good standing with a recognised professional accountancy body (e.g. ICPAK in Kenya, ICAM in Malawi, ACCA, ICAEW, or equivalent).
**Senior Experience: **A minimum of 10 years' progressive professional experience in finance and operations, with at least 5 years in a senior, multifunctional leadership role — preferably as Head of Finance, Director of Finance and Operations, or equivalent — within an international NGO, research organisation, or development institution.
**Multi-Donor Environment: **Extensive experience managing finances in a multi-donor environment, with demonstrated hands-on familiarity with the financial regulations and compliance requirements of major international development
**Multi-Country & Multi-Currency: **Demonstrated experience managing financial operations across multiple country offices and currencies, including foreign exchange risk management and consolidated multi-currency reporting.
**People Leadership: **Proven ability to lead, manage, and develop high-performing, multifunctional teams; experience building team capacity and managing staff across geographically dispersed locations.
Financial Systems: Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central or a comparable ERP system, Microsoft Excel and financial modelling. Experience with Power BI or similar reporting tools would be an advantage.
**Regulatory Knowledge: **Working knowledge of statutory and regulatory environments in Kenya and/or Malawi, including NGO governance requirements, tax compliance, labour law, and relevant financial reporting obligations.
**Board-Level Communication: **Demonstrated ability to prepare and present complex financial information clearly and confidently to Board members, donors, and non-financial stakeholders.
Desirable
**Audit Management: **Experience managing internal and external audit processes, including donor financial reviews and statutory audits in multiple jurisdictions.
**ICT Governance: **Experience providing strategic oversight of institutional ICT infrastructure, systems security, and digital transformation initiatives.
**HR Administration: **Familiarity with HR administration, compensation and benefits management, and employment law compliance in East or Southern Africa.
**Grant Management Systems: **Experience with grants management platforms such as Salesforce, Fluxx, or similar tools.
**Procurement Systems: **Experience establishing or strengthening institutional procurement policies and supply chain management in an NGO context.
Competencies
The following competencies are integral to success in this role:
**Strategic Leadership: **Ability to think and plan strategically across a complex, multi-function portfolio; translate institutional strategy into operational and financial plans.
**Financial Acumen: **Deep technical mastery of financial management, accounting standards, and donor compliance requirements; ability to identify financial risks and develop practical solutions.
**People Management: **Commitment to developing others; ability to build cohesive, high-performing teams across functions and geographies, and to manage performance constructively.
**Communication & Influence: **Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to present complex financial and operational information clearly to diverse audiences, including Boards, donors, and programme colleagues.
**Integrity & Accountability: **The highest standards of personal and professional ethics; a visible champion for financial transparency and institutional accountability.
**Problem-Solving: **Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities; ability to diagnose complex operational and financial challenges and design pragmatic, sustainable solutions.
**Relationship Management: **Ability to build and maintain effective, trust-based relationships with donors, partners, auditors, and internal stakeholders.
**Adaptability: **Comfortable working in a dynamic, fast-paced environment; able to manage competing priorities and adapt approaches in response to evolving organisational needs.