Location: Nairobi, Kenya

 

SUMMARY

 

Arizona State University seeks qualified candidates to serve as Senior Finance and Administration Director on an anticipated USAID project supporting the next-generation expression of the Regional Leadership Centers (RLC) component of the Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI), the United States’ premier investment in young African leaders. As the on-continent component of the YALI program, in 2015 USAID launched four YALI RLCs at higher education institutions in Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, and South Africa. The RLCs have provided access to leadership and functional training to 22,000 young leaders aged 18–35 from 49 sub-Saharan countries in three tracks: business and entrepreneurship, public management, and civic leadership. YALI 2030 will build on the RLC foundation to create an expanded pan-African youth development model that will harmonize training curriculum, serve underrepresented/underserved youth, build alumni network capacity and professional development opportunities, and develop new program-related partnerships with the private sector and other stakeholders and donors. ASU has hosted YALI Mandela Washington Fellows annually since 2014, led public management cohorts at the East Africa Regional Leadership Center, collaborates with the Mastercard Foundation on an eLearning Initiative with African universities, implemented higher education projects for USAID with multiple universities on the continent, and maintains an African hub and a network of alumni through ASU-Thunderbird School of Global Management.

 

Reporting to the Chief of Party (COP), the Senior Finance and Administration Director will be responsible for the overall financial and administrative leadership of the YALI project.

 

This position is based in Nairobi, Kenya and is contingent upon award funding.

 

The Senior Director Finance and administration will be responsible for, in collaboration with the Chief of Party, the overall administrative, financial, and operational management of the project including but not limited to the below responsibilities.

​

​

Responsibilities

• Oversee, in collaboration with COP and DCOP Technical, project operations, finance and procurement, communications, human resources, and security.

• Establish and maintain cooperative relationships with key stakeholders, including government counterparts, grantees, and implementing partners.

• Assist the COP and DCOP to Provide leadership to develop, implement, and monitor the work plan.

• Liaise regularly with COP and senior technical staff on management and decision-making.

• Work closely with COP, technical staff, pertinent ASU home office staff and appropriate USAID staff when necessary to ensure project resources are effectively and efficiently budgeted, analyzed, disbursed, monitored and reported in achieving project objectives.

• Manage, supervise, and mentor the program’s operational, administrative, financial, and support staff.

​

Specific Duties

• Provide oversight of grant portfolio administration and procurement functions including technical review, budget review, capacity building in finance, administration of the grant, development of policies and procedures for grantees in HR/Admin/procurement.

• Ensure the appropriate segregations of duties are in place and managed for all transactions and disbursements in accordance with ASU policies and procedures.

• Ensure that proper processes, procedures and controls are in place so as to safeguard the assets of ASU and USAID Coordinates and consolidates the projection of biweekly cash requirements, monitoring cash flow and reconciles cash accounts in order to maintain appropriate cash balances for the multiple countries.

• Manage and monitor petty cash accounts.

• Manage and coordinate inventory control and tracking of project equipment in the head and regional offices including property logs, serial numbers and tags.

• Review the financial records, procedures and systems of contractors and sub-grantees when necessary to ensure compliance with the work orders.

• Prepare other financial and cost accounting reports, operations and analysis as required by management and ASU head office.

• Work closely with program logisticians to ensure contractual and financial integrity of project’s procurements, inventory control and tracking of project equipment

• Manage human resource activities and payroll administration.

• Provide oversight on ICT support both at the main office and in Regional offices.

• Closely monitor the project budget, targets and workplan Gantt chart to ensure strong alignment with technical work and timely and cost-effective implementation.

• As part of the senior management team lead the Finance, administration and operation team in work planning budgeting and timely reporting

 

Qualifications

• Bachelor degree (advanced degree preferred) in Finance, Business Administration, Management, or Accounting.

• Ten years of experience in Financial Management of USAID funded projects of $20m +.

• Experience managing subawards with international development programs and donor funds.

• Knowledge of USAID policies and business practices and direct experience managing the finances and administration of a USAID-funded project are required.

• Demonstrated effective interpersonal skills, leadership, creative problem-solving, and ethical management.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills.

• Fluency in written and spoken English, additional fluency in French preferred.

 

ABOUT ASU

Arizona State University is a public learning enterprise, and our mission is to collaborate with higher education and youth development systems around the world to transform the model for preparing learners to create solutions for global challenges. ASU began its own intentional redesign for access, excellence, and impact in 2002. Six years later, Newsweek hailed ASU as “one of the most radical redesigns in higher learning since the modern research university took shape.” By 2016 and again for the following seven years, U.S. News and World Report has named ASU the #1 innovative U.S. university. ASU ranks #1 in the U.S. and #2 globally for university impact on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Times Higher Education, 2022). ASU is eager to collaborate with and learn alongside youth development enterprises in emerging economies to meet shared and escalating challenges young people face globally. Since 2010, ASU has successfully implemented projects in the Middle East and North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean for USAID, the State Department, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, the Inter-American Development Bank, and private sector donors including foundations such as Mastercard and Gates. Through its University Design Institute, ASU is partnering with 90 institutions in 20 countries to assist universities that seek to catalyze lifelong learning and professional development for young leaders. Deriving from our call to “measure us not by whom we exclude but by whom we include and how they succeed,” positive youth development is core to everything ASU does to prepare young people to impact the equitable governance, prosperity, and resilience of their societies.

 

This job description summarizes the main duties of the job. It neither prescribes nor restricts the exact tasks that may be assigned to carry out these duties. This document should not be construed in any way to represent a contract of employment. ASU reserves the right to review and revise this document at any time.

​

ASU is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.

 

How To Apply: Qualified applicants should submit a CV and cover letter highlighting fit for the position to recruitment@broderickhaightconsulting.com with the subject line "ASU YALI Finance and Admin Director”

​