The role of the Financial Control Manager (CO facing) is crucial for ensuring Save the Children International's financial control framework operates effectively. This involves identifying and addressing control and compliance issues through high-quality reviews and analysis. The manager engages with country, global, and member teams to develop action plans aimed at minimizing financial risks. A key objective is driving the standardization and automation of financial control processes, embedding best practices, and supporting professional development across finance teams. The role also leads global donor audits, ensuring accurate reporting, minimizing disallowances, and developing action plans to address audit findings.
Role Purpose
To provide leadership and expertise in performance of quality reviews and analysis of Country Office (CO) balance sheet control accounts and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), ensuring timely identification, resolution and escalation of financial control issues through collaborative action planning with country, global, and member teams. It also involves supporting financial control and compliance processes, preparing KPI reports and risk commentary, and strengthening the skills of teams through training and development, thereby contributing to the charity's aim of achieving financial integrity and compliance.
Principal Accountabilities
- Lead team of Financial Control Officers & Advisor.
- Perform quality reviews and analysis of high-risk country financial returns and KPIs to identify and escalate financial risks. Ensuring accounts are being matched on a timely basis and reallocations minimized.
- Work with country, global and members teams to develop an action plan to address/minimise financial risks weaknesses.
- Support the Quarterly Review Report (QRR) financial control and compliance process; prepare KPI reporting and risk commentary for discussion with Finance SMT and IP SMT.
- Manage updates to CO Finance Manual on QF and other financial control and compliance guidance materials.
- Support with training and strengthening skills of country and global teams in financial control and compliance.
Experience and Skills
Essential
- Experience of leading a team, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous learning.
- Excellent analytical abilities to identify financial control weaknesses and develop appropriate action plans.
- Meticulous attention to detail to ensure accuracy and reliability in financial reporting.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills to effectively engage with country, global, and member teams, and to manage relationships with auditors.
- Ability to develop pragmatic solutions to complex financial issues and compliance challenges and of driving standardisation and automation.
- Experience in developing and documenting financial policies, procedures, and training materials to support organisational financial competence and compliance.
- Aptitude in providing training and guidance to finance teams to embed best practice financial controls.
- Ability to adapt and take on new challenges in a dynamic organisational environment.
- Self-motivated with good time management skills and ability to prioritise workload, anticipate requirements, work to tight deadlines and communicate decisions on a regular basis.
- Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office suite, particularly Excel and in other financial software.
Desirable
- Experience in operating within the charity or non-profit sector, with an understanding of charity accounting and financial regulations.
- Experience of working in a large global multi currency organisation.
Education and Qualifications
Essential
- Accounting qualification or equivalent or relevant experience.
Key Relationships
Internal (excluding direct team and manager):
- Finance Operations, IT, FP&A, Advocacy Offices, Treasury, Country Offices, IP Finance
External:
