AFRICAN SCHOOL OF GOVERNANCE FOUNDATION (ASGF)

The ASG Foundation is a not-for-profit foundation established by Prominent African Leaders to facilitate the establishment and financing of the African School of Governance, and to incubate and champion other initiatives designed to advance transformative governance and leadership in Africa. The Foundation is an established organisation with a Guardian and a Governing Council that comprises of distinguished leaders from across the African Continent and beyond. It is registered and headquartered in Rwanda.

The ASGF received funding from Mastercard Foundation towards financing of activities to establish the Africa School of Governance (ASG). The African School of Governance is a distinctively African, globally leading, independent graduate professional school established to impact governance and public policy across the continent and improve the lives of citizens across a wide range of outcomes.

The purpose of the ASGF is to establish, support, and mobilize financing for the African School of Governance, and to incubate and champion other initiatives designed to advance transformative governance and leadership in Africa.

The core objectives of ASGF include the following.

1. The custodian of the vision of the African School of Governance (ASG) and any other beneficiary decided in accordance with ASGF regulations and relevant laws;

2. Support the vision and mission of the ASG;

3. Mobilise financial and other endowments to support the development and advancement of the ASG;

4. Engage and mobilise world leaders, policymakers, philanthropists, and researchers to promote and advance the mission of the ASG;

5. Manage the financial and in-kind resources for the ASG; and

6. Incubate and support other initiatives considered essential to develop and advance transformative African governance and leadership.

The ASGF seeks to build an ASG institution that is financially sustainable and independent through investment income from the endowments, and income from activities of the ASGF.

JOB DESCRIPTION

JOB DETAILS

JOB TITLE: Finance and Administration Manager

REPORTS TO: Executive Secretary

JOB REF: ASGF/HR002

DEPARTMENT/UNIT: Finance and Administration

Job / Role Purpose:

The Finance & Administration Manager has the prime responsibility for ensuring that the resources of ASG Foundation are managed in such a way as to effectively accomplish results at operational level.

The role is responsible and accountable for the day-to-day financial management and reporting of ASG Foundation’s financial performance, and for supporting effective administration at ASG

Foundation to ensure that all financial management and administrative activities support ASG Foundation’s overall strategic performance and achievement of its objectives.

Key duties and responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Stakeholder Management

•  Support the Foundation in shaping strategy and planning, implementation of ASG Foundation priorities, ensuring that the desired results are clear and that resourcing implications are fully considered.

Financial planning, Budgeting and Budget control

• Provide leadership for financial management at the Foundation and ensure proper financial planning and budgeting for Foundation resources, as well as budget controls to ensure that resources of the Foundation are utilised effectively and efficiently to achieve the desired results with available resources.
• Setup financial management systems to facilitate tracking and accountability for other sources of funds sourced by the Foundation.

Accounting and Financial reporting

• Lead the development and implementation of proper accounting processes, systems and books of account.
• Provide regular financial reports and financial statements as required in ASG Foundation Charter and requirements of ASG Foundation funding agreements.

Resource mobilisation and fundraising

• Provide technical support to the ASGF management team and Council in shaping the resource mobilisation strategy and support implementation of resource mobilisation plans to raise resources for the Foundation.
• Coordinate the setup of the grants management system to guide management of any grant funding received by the Foundation

Compliance and internal controls system

• Lead the implementation of a robust internal control system to safeguard the resources available to the Foundation.
• Promote and oversee the full compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, as well funding requirements of the Foundation, and achieve value for money in utilisation of Foundation resources.

Risk Management

• Lead the development of an appropriate risk management framework for ASG Foundation.
• Conduct periodic risk identification, mitigations and monitoring of the identified risks to minimise their impact on the operations of the Foundation.

External audits

• Provide leadership in coordinating and facilitating all external audits and will support the Program manager/ team leader to ensure that audit recommendations are followed up and addressed timely.

Administration

• Support the planning and conduct of administrative tasks at ASG Foundation, including overseeing procurement and human resource management at the Foundation.

Team Leadership

• Supervise and mentor the accountants, administration staff and other team members.
• Provide training and guidance to the accounting team on accounting policies and procedures.
• Perform other work-related ad hoc duties as may be requested by the Executive Secretary from time to time.

Expected Outputs/ Deliverables

• Technical advice to ASGF Management team and Council
• Robust internal control system, procurement, HR and administrative guidelines and tools
• Proper accounting tools and financial reporting system
• Draft budgets for the Foundation
• Monthly Financial reports
• Contracts and agreements
• Negotiations with vendors
• ASG Foundation Payroll
• Monthly Tax returns and other compliance reports
• Efficient ASGF stakeholder engagement
• Regular Audits
• Proper record keeping (Accounts, HR, procurement, administration)
• Representation of the Foundation
• Risk management framework and tools

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Educational Requirements

• A master’s degree in accounting/ finance or business administration, or a related field from a recognised institution.
• Bachelor’s degree in commerce, accounting, business administration or a related field with honours from a recognised institution.
• Full professional accountancy qualification (for example CPAR, ACCA etc).

Related Job Experience

• Minimum of 8 years progressive experience in financial management in medium to large size donor funded organisations. At least 5 years’ experience in a supervisory role.
•  Proven expertise in developing and implementing financial controls and processes.
•  Demonstrable experience in managing grants and knowledge of donor funding rules and regulations.
• Demonstrated ability to manage grant operations.

• Extensive knowledge of international financial reporting standards and other accounting best practice.
• Comprehensive knowledge and experience in budgeting and forecasting for business operations.
• Reasonable experience in financial management systems development donor reporting.
• Familiarity of usage of databases and Microsoft Office.
• Proven experience to manage and engage teams for delivery of results.

Required Technical Knowledge/Skills

• Project management
• Proposal writing
• Planning and Budgeting
• Finance and accounting
• Report writing
• Grant management
• Results monitoring
• Knowledge of multiple donor funding requirements

Required Behavioural Skills

• Excellent leadership and management skills.
• Effective communication skills
• Attention to detail and proactive problem-solving
• Problem-solving and conflict-resolution skills
• Ability to prioritize and multi-task
• Ability to use computers (e.g., MS Office) and education management systems
• Interpersonal and stakeholder engagement
• Innovativeness
• Integrity and self-drive
• Transparency and accountability
• Fluent English required, fluent French desirable

Terms of Employment and Remuneration

• You will sign an employment contract with the ASG Foundation and be a member of leadership team of the ASG Foundation.
•  The work will be carried out in Kigali, Rwanda (There may be instances where local/international travel is required).
• Competitive salary with comprehensive healthcare.