Posted on October 16, 2012

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Chief Financial Officer

IPA applies rigorous research techniques to develop and test solutions to real-world problems faced by the poor in developing countries. We operate on the belief that innovative action driven by evidence of what works accelerates the eradication of global poverty, and we partner with frontline organizations to develop and test solutions to poverty through randomized evaluations. Combining technical rigor, immediate policy interest, and solid grounding in the needs of the poor, our work helps practitioners and donors better allocate their resources and improve their operations.

Position

The CFO will be responsible for developing and implementing the finance and investment strategy and global financial operations of the organization. S/he will manage a dedicated and growing team of professionals who attend to the day-to-day financial business of the organization, strengthen the organization’s financial health and management and lead the development of effective systems, to allow the organization to manage its growth and to produce high quality research and scale-up programs in a cost-effective manner.

Responsibilities

Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Strategy & Financial Operations Oversight

• Identify key strategic finance issues faced by IPA and develop a plan to address them, including key finance investments needed to provide state of the art research services and scalable programs
• Make actionable recommendations to the Executive Director and the Senior Leadership team on overall strategy, budget and financial operations and oversight
• Participate in key decisions pertaining to operating model, strategic directions and operational execution, including the development of IPA direct and indirect cost structure
• Lead the strategic and action planning for the Finance and Grants Teams, including the setting of milestones and targets to achieve the identified priorities

Executive Leadership

• Serve as a member of the Senior Leadership Team and Officer of the Corporation, and regularly engage with the Audit and Finance Committee of the IPA Board of Directors
• With the rest of the Leadership team, work to continuously build understanding and support for IPA’s core mission to foster effective collaboration across the organization
• Together with the Senior Leadership Team, identify and address cross-functional organizational priorities and build appropriate organization-wide processes and systems
• Represent IPA to financial partners, including financial institutions, foundation executives, auditors, as well as IPA partners and affiliated researchers

Finance and Grants Team Leadership

• Lead and oversee the Finance and Grants Teams and provide mentorship and capacity development to staff
• In partnership with the Financial Controller, review and establish the internal structure of the Finance and Grants divisions, to ensure effective coordination and timely financial oversight

Financial Planning, Forecasting and Reporting

• Develop and utilize forward-looking, predictive models and activity-based financial analyses to provide insight into the organization’s operations and business plans.
• Oversee the organization’s budgetary planning and cost management in relation with strategic priorities, and the development of long- and short-range financial plans
• Regularly assess organizational performance against the budget and strategy
• Oversee the production of monthly reports at all organizational levels, including financial statements and cash flow projections for use by Executive and Board management

Financial Processes, Policies and Systems

• Working with other IPA teams, establish financial oversight and financial accountability mechanisms throughout the organization
• Together with the Financial and Traveling Controllers, lead the development and documentation of clear financial policies and procedures at all organizational levels, and ensure that those are communicated and implemented throughout the organization
• In coordination with Finance, Legal, HR, Operations and Country Offices, oversee the development and management of compliance protocols in line with IPA’s growing and diversified pool of donors and stakeholders
• Remain up to date on nonprofit finance and audit best practices and state and federal compliance regarding nonprofit financial operations
• Identify the need for, and oversee the implementation of appropriate organization-wide systems that respond to IPA’s needs and make financial operations more efficient, while ensuring that they are used effectively

Desired Qualifications

The CFO will be a seasoned and mature leader with at least 10-12 years of broad finance experience. S/he will ideally have experience managing finance (accounting, budgeting, control, and reporting) for a complex nonprofit with multiple funding sources including multilateral (e.g. World Bank) and government (federal and state) grants, cooperative agreements and contracts (including USAID, MCC, etc) and an affiliate structure with diverse program areas delivered globally.

The CFO will have the following experience and attributes:

• Demonstrated leadership ability, team management, interpersonal and communications skills
• A Bachelor’s degree is required and graduate level training is preferred with preference given to candidates with an CPA, MBA, MPP, MPA or PhD
• At least four years’ experience as CFO or equivalent, preferably in a nonprofit organization with an overall organizational budget of at least $10 million
• Experience working with a Board of Directors and a Financial and Audit committee
• A sound understanding of financial management and significant experience in, and knowledge of nonprofit accounting, including sophisticated fund and grant accounting, compliance, and reporting
• Knowledge of the Office of Management and Budget Circular A133 audit
• Direct knowledge of and experience with financial systems appropriate for large organizations
• Excellent analytical and abstract reasoning skills, plus excellent organization skills
• Demonstrated experience and interest in building systems and processes for a growing organization
• Experience with an organization working in developing countries preferred
• Steadfast commitment to the mission of IPA, evidence-based policy making and the belief that systemic change can make a difference

Application Instructions

Please send an email to jobs@poverty-action.org and copy jobs-hr@poverty-action.org following these instructions exactly:

In the subject line: Copy exactly the following position line: 100688IPAUSA, Chief Financial Officer (CFO)