The Pharo Foundation

Position: Finance and Human Resources Manager - Homosha

Job Time: Full-Time

Job Type: Contract

Place of Work: Homosha, 40 kms from Asosa city, Ethiopia

Posted date: 10 hours ago

Application Deadline: Mar, 12/2022 (8 days left)

Company Overview

The Pharo Foundation (the ‘’Foundation”) is a privately funded entrepreneurial organization that runs philanthropic programs as well as a for-profit arm, Pharo Ventures. The Vision of the Foundation is an economically vibrant and inclusive Africa. The Mission is to achieve the Vision by investing in the human and physical capital of Africa, with a strong focus on job creation.

Established in 2011 as a UK-based non-profit, the Foundation has since made a strategic shift to directly design and implement its own programs to ensure greater engagement with communities, better results, and increased accountability. The Foundation has carried out numerous projects in East Africa, with a focus on Ethiopia and Somaliland, and is now expanding operations in Rwanda and Kenya. The key strategic pillars for the philanthropic side of the Foundation are education, health, water, and agriculture.

At the end of 2019, the Foundation also started its Pharo Ventures franchise to prioritize sectors where the Foundation believes a real impact can be made by establishing self-sustaining businesses, which focus on the job and economic value creation.

The Pharo School Homosha is currently one of our largest education projects, located in the Benishangul Gumuz regional state of Ethiopia. Extending over 3.4 hectares, the school is the first of its kind in the region; a modern fully-fledged campus with a 240 girls’ boarding capacity, aiming to offer the best educational opportunities to bright, driven girls from across the region.

Our focus on female education is in recognition of the challenges faced in accessing education, which prevents children from unlocking their full potential. This shapes Pharo School Homosha’s vision of achieving all-around academic and personal development of girls to reach their highest potential and become future leaders and role models.

Headquartered in the UK (London), the Foundation has an operational head office in Kenya (Nairobi) with country offices in Ethiopia (Addis Ababa and Assosa), Somaliland (Hargeisa), and Rwanda (Kigali).

Position Summary

The Finance and Human Resources Manager will be responsible for the smooth and effective operations of the school by leading the planning, development, coordination, and implementation of all statutory/legal, HR, finance/accounting, controlling, enhancing internal control procedures, organizational policies, and gathering, analyzing and accurately presenting data related to the school’s financial operations. The right candidate will be passionate about their work and find fulfillment in making a real impact.

Role: Finance and Human Resources Manager

Location: Homosha, 40 kms from Assosa city

Contract Type: Permanent

Reporting to: Head of School

Functional Relationships: Finance and Admin Manager, Human Resources Manager, Finance Officer, Human Resources Officer Addis Ababa, Facility Director, Homosha.

External Relationships, among others: Tax office, Banks and other related service providers.

Direct reports: Finance and Procurement Officer, HR Assistant, Storekeeper, Finance Assistant/Cashier

Key Duties and Responsibilities

1. Financial Management

• Maintain the integrity of the organization's financial and accounting systems by working closely with the Head of School and senior school personnel, adhering to Ethiopian legislation as well as the organization's rules and procedures.
• In coordination with the Country Office Finance and Administration Manager, continuously assess and implement new robust and rigorous financial systems inside the school.
• Support budget preparation for the school.
• Prepare monthly fund requests in collaboration with the Head of School.
• In coordination with the senior school team, report to management any deviations from the budgeted amount and the reasons for such deviations.
• Work closely with the country office Finance and Administration Manager to complete monthly bookkeeping within agreed timelines.
• Prepare management reports for senior school staff and make sure they are tracking their budget and taking action as needed.
• Develop procedures and systems to enhance the school's inventory, monitoring, reporting, and documentation processes, as well as to retain accurate and accessible records of the fixed assets and property of the school.
• Support the procurement team at the school with the preparation of the procurement plan and the actual procurements.
• Organize and facilitate the yearly inventory of fixed assets and supplies.
• Oversee and coordinate the school's yearly audit, as well as support the Country Office finance team throughout the audit period.
• Manage all aspects of the school's financial needs and day-to-day financial data input on an emergency or as-needed basis to guarantee smooth day-to-day operations.
• Ensure document completeness, proper authorization, compliance to policies and procedures, reasonability of costs, and generally all school staff uphold accepted accounting practices.
• Provide ongoing assistance, coaching, and training to the employees under his or her supervision.
• Develop a Financial Procedures Manual for The Pharo School in coordination with the Country Office finance team.
• Prepare official letters and contracts, and maintain an organized filing system for all correspondence.
• Perform other accounting and administrative duties as required

Human Resources Management

• Responsible for building a competent Human Resources Department at the school and ensuring that the Pharo School adheres to all HR rules set out by the country's labor laws.
• Facilitate the continual development of new policies and procedures to ensure that the Pharo School is a leader in nurturing a positive work environment that promotes cooperation, excellence, and continuous improvement.
• Maintaining safe, accurate, and complete HR personnel records, as well as up-to-date staff manuals, rules, and procedures.
• Responsible for providing advice, support, and direction on all HR recruitment and HR compliance matters to the Head of School and Senior Management Team.
• Other duties as assigned by the line and functional managers.

Qualification Requirements

• The ideal person should have a university degree in accounting and /or finance. Postgraduate qualifications such as an MBA shall be an added advantage.
• S/He must possess a minimum of ten (10) years related professional experience, preferably with an international organization; Six (6) of these must have been in finance leadership roles.
• Professional membership in the fields of accounting and finance will be an advantage.
• Non-for-profit experience is a plus.
• Experience in handling financial management and budget monitoring software.
• Very good planning & organizational skills.
• Fluency in spoken and written Amharic and English.

Personal Attributes

• Great attention to detail and a flexible approach to work.
• High level of commitment and self-motivation.
• High professional and ethical standards.
• Positive outlook and outgoing personality with solid interpersonal and diplomatic skills.
• Structured and process-oriented.
• Excellent time management skills with the ability to balance multiple priorities.
• Motivated to learn and perform and not afraid to ask questions.
• Willing to challenge the status quo and add value by introducing positive change.
• Excellent communicator and comfortable working in a team environment.
• Demonstrate the ability of strong communication skills in English verbally and in writing

How to apply

Applicants should send a detailed CV and Covering Letter, a 1000-word essay: What experience have you gained that makes you the most qualified candidate for the role? What major challenges would you envisage in Finance and Human Resource Management in the school and how would you contribute to resolving these using your experience? and One-page list of five references with current addresses, phone numbers, and email contacts via email: recruiting.et@pharofoundation.org

Note: Indicate “Finance and Human Resources Manager - Homosha” in the email subject line. Review of complete applications will be on a rolling basis. In the event that we identify an outstanding candidate early in the search process, we reserve the right to appoint before the deadline. For this reason, we encourage interested candidates to apply at the earliest possible time. Send the information listed below, as a single PDF file. Due to the high volume of applications, we regret that we will only be able to contact shortlisted candidates.