Johannesburg Metropolitan Area
Motivated, energetic, resourceful, innovative and diligent English speaking development and humanitarian aid senior management professional with over 15 years experience in conflict and post conflict countries looking for a challenging position. Successfully designed, implemented, managed and monitored programs with budgets exceeding USD100million. Positive energy and ability to see the overall picture, balanced with the details, enable successful launching of new projects while maintaining the ongoing success of existing programs. Experience in South Sudan, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Zambia, Malawi and South Africa. Built strong multi-cultural teams for programs with several field offices, financed by different donors. Created work environments of mutual trust, respect and dignity. Forged excellent working relationships with colleagues, partners, staff, donors and government representatives. Received outstanding performance reviews. Skills are staff training, mentoring and capacity building; donor and government liaison and compliance; internal controls; audit preparation; financial and cash management; budgetary controls and reporting; subgrant management; procurement, logistics and operations; personnel management; security and risk assessments; IT systems; MEAL. Highly motivated, results oriented and a problem solver. Belief in teamwork and collaboration to build strong and efficient teams who produce results. Always open to new ideas and innovations. Energetic and capable leader with an analytical mind working with initiative and attention to detail and accuracy. Culturally sensitive, flexible and resilient. Acutely aware of the importance of security and the safety of the entire team. Comfortable working in conflict environments and living in compounds with limited movement and curfews. Undertakes regular field visits and has a high work ethic and dedication to the success of the program. Thrives when working with teams on innovative solutions to deliver successful outcomes. Competent to give recommendations on strategic financial and operational decisions and risk assessments. Adheres to a strict code of ethics to ensure proper systems and internal controls are implemented and complied with. Accustomed to maintaining and updating country specific manuals and handbooks ensuring they comply with local legislation and culture. Versed in recruitment of staff and periodic performance appraisal processes to ensure that staff are recognized for their achievements and given the opportunity to set goals for the future.
Mercy Corps acts on behalf of displaced and disenfranchised people. With funding from multiple donors including the United Nations (UN), Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), UK Department for International Development (DFID), Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC), and Private Foundations, Mercy Corps empowers people to recover from crisis, build better lives and transform their communities. With emphasis on conflict-affected youth, women, and internally displaced people (IDPs), Mercy Corps champions relief and recovery approaches. The Finance Director is a member of the senior management team and is responsible for all aspects of financial management of the South Sudan country programs. Working collaboratively with the Country Director, the Finance Director ensures compliance with internal policies as well as donor regulations. The Finance Director provides reports and assistance to ensure that financial resources are used efficiently and effectively. • Recognizes opportunities for innovative action and creates an environment of empowerment. • Sets direction by prioritizing to achieve objectives and contribute to country-wide strategy development. • Consistently demonstrates flexibility, resilience and composure, even under difficult circumstances. • Maintains high ethical standards and treats people with respect and dignity. • Demonstrates an awareness of personal strengths and development needs. • Interfaces with donor representatives to convey information about programs. • Communicates with partners, as well as sub-grantees. • Creates a sustainable work environment of mutual respect. • Contributes to team-building efforts and ensures the integration of all team members into the decision-making processes. • Maintains banking relations and • Plans and monitors country cash flow requirements • Provides monthly management reports • Develops annual budgets and implements grant budgeting and forecasting systems • Supervises 9 staff.
In October 2013 the five year US$75 million USAID funded Democracy and Governance program, Systems to Uphold the Credibility and Constitutionality of Elections in South Sudan (SUCCESS), was awarded to DI. • In June 2014 given the task of setting up the program and facilities as all staff had been on evacuation status since December 2013 • The main components of this award are conflict mitigation through peace building, constitutional reform, elections, civil society strengthening and political parties training. There is a $20 million sub-grant component included in the award • As a member of the senior management team, I control of all aspects of: o Financial management o Treasury, Banking and Cash management o Risk assessments o Office administration and Personnel management o Compliance with local labour and taxation laws and regulations o Review and approval of sub-grant proposals and budgets with continuing financial and programmatic assistance to sub-grantees during the life of their sub-grant o Liaison with both USAID and US Embassy on program implementation and activities.
NDI has a $102 million, multi-year, multi-donor program which covers our main office in Kabul as well as 7 field offices and a subgrant to a partner organisation specializing in election monitoring. We have 200 Afghan staff and 7 expatriate staff. The main thrust of the program is political party training. Young members of all the political parties attend trainings to learn how to attract voters and overcome the apathy of the general public to actually voting in an election. The other main facet is the training of the provincial councils to listen to their constituents and provide the services that are required. An over-arching facet of both programs is the empowerment of women. As NDI is a democracy and governance NGO we train participants on good governance, transparency, democratic principles and gender equality. As a member of the senior management team I have 18 staff reporting to me through 4 managers. I control the translation, IT, procurement, administration, HR, finance and accounting teams. I also form part of the team that devises the grant proposals and budgets for submission to donors and control the monthly budget to actual expenditure analysis.
NDI has a $61 million multi-year program which covered both Sudan and South Sudan until January 2012 when we closed our Khartoum office. The funding now covers South Sudan only. We have an office in all ten state capitals with our main office being in Juba. This funding is for voter education and domestic monitoring of the elections and referendum for unity or separation. The other facet of this program is the building of capacity amongst the nascent CSOs (Civil Society Organizations). In a country with a literacy rate of 15% and very limited infrastructure this education was extremely important. Our program runs until 31 January 2014 when new donor funding is expected as there are supposed to be elections in 2015. As a member of the senior management team in South Sudan I was responsible for the entire financial, accounting, administration and operations function of all 10 field offices. This included reconciliation of advances given to our field staff to implement activities, HR, cash management, banking, foreign exchange, procurement, inventory and asset management, payroll, timesheets, employee benefits, small grant and subgrant management and systems training.
RTI had close to a $1 billion program in Iraq that concentrated on local and provincial councils training. There was also a PRT (Provincial Reconstruction Team) component whereby RTI placed advisors in the disciplines of Public Finance, Municipal Engineering and Governance with these teams. This project ran until 31 December 2008 and had 115 international staff and 700 professional Iraqi staff. As a member of the senior management team in Iraq and head of human resources, I was responsible for financial backup; payroll and HR. Specific responsibilities included payroll, all staff hiring, benefits, salary adjustments, timesheets, performance appraisals, local and international travel arrangements and reconciliations, liaison with US Embassy and USAID regarding general program evaluation.