Chief Financial Officer - NGO - AfricaInternational Nonprofit Organization - Multi-Country Operations (Africa)
This search is being conducted on a confidential and exclusive basis. The identity of the organization will be disclosed at a later stage of the process.
Role Summary
The Chief Financial Officer is accountable for the administrative, financial, and risk management operations of the organization, including the development and execution of a long-range financial and operational strategy, and the ongoing development of control systems designed to preserve organizational assets and ensure accurate reporting. As a core member of the senior leadership team, the CFO serves as a strategic partner to the CEO, Board, and country leadership, translating the organization's growth ambitions into sound, scalable financial stewardship across a complex, multi-country portfolio.
This is a builder's role: the successful candidate will combine strategic and systems-level thinking with the hands-on ability to create, structure, and scale financial infrastructure that does not yet fully exist - rather than stepping into a fully established function.
Tasks
Strategy:
- Serve as strategic thought partner to the CEO and senior leadership on financial strategy, organizational sustainability, and long-term growth.
- Own the organization's multi-year financial strategy, including scenario modeling, capital planning, and resource allocation frameworks.
- Translate organizational strategy into financial plans, metrics, and targets that drive accountability across the organization.
- Engage the Board Finance Committee on short-, medium-, and long-term financial plans and projections.
- Represent the organization to financial partners, institutional donors, auditors, and relevant government bodies - including at high-level donor and networking events.
- Support due diligence and financial structuring for new awards, partnerships, and geographic expansion.
- Drive investment readiness and diversification of the funding base, including exploration of non-donor / self-generated revenue mechanisms.
Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A):
- Lead enterprise-wide budgeting and forecasting across departments and country offices.
- Develop forward-looking financial models and activity-based analyses to inform leadership decisions.
- Build financial dashboards and KPI frameworks giving leadership and the Board timely visibility into performance.
- Oversee cash flow planning, cash and investment management, banking relationships, and financing strategy.
- Prepare financial proposals and budgets for grant and contract bids alongside the Programs team.
General Accounting & Risk:
- Provide executive oversight of the accounting function across all operating countries, including fund and grant accounting and donor compliance.
- Drive harmonization and continuous improvement of finance processes, including automation and digitalization.
- Coordinate external audits across jurisdictions and ensure statutory/regulatory compliance as the organization scales into new geographies.
- Design and maintain internal control systems that support growth without compromising integrity.
- Lead or co-lead cross-functional initiatives such as ERP implementation or shared services model development.
- Manage the direct report relationship with the organization's senior in-country Finance lead.
RequirementsRequirements
- 8+ years of progressive financial leadership experience, including senior/C-suite level experience in a nonprofit or social enterprise context.
- Significant experience in nonprofit fund and grant accounting, multi-donor compliance, and donor reporting - U.S. grant landscape experience is particularly valuable given that most donors are U.S.-based. Additional experience across the private, profit-making sector is highly regarded.
- Demonstrated experience designing or transforming financial systems/processes across a multi-country organization.
- Strong financial modeling, scenario planning, and analytical capabilities, with the ability to translate complex financial information into clear executive-level insight.
- Significant professional experience across East and/or Central Africa; candidates currently based anywhere in Africa or in the United States (including diaspora candidates open to relocating) will be considered.
- Demonstrated leadership ability and experience building/managing finance teams across distributed geographies.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills, including board-level and donor-facing presentation.
- A genuine "builder" mindset - comfortable operating with ambiguity, creating structure from scratch, and working in a lean, agile, fast-moving environment.
- Willingness and availability to travel approximately 25-30% of the time for leadership, board, and funder engagements across Africa.
- CPA, MBA, or equivalent advanced qualification.
BenefitsWhy Apply
- A true builder's mandate: the opportunity to design and stand up a modern financial function from the ground up, rather than inherit an already fully-formed structure.
- Scale and impact: the chance to help take the organization from a ~$10-15M/year operation to a ~$100M platform over six years, backed by a major incoming funding commitment already in motion.
- A genuine seat at the table: direct reporting line to the CEO, full C-suite membership, and real influence over the organization's strategic direction - not just its accounting.
- Visibility and ambassadorial exposure: representing the organization with major institutional donors, at high-level conferences, and with the Board.
- Mission-driven work with tangible, on-the-ground outcomes for underserved communities across Africa and beyond.
- A genuinely flexible working environment: long-term remote or hybrid at a program office of your choice, with relocation covered - not a temporary arrangement.
- A lean, agile, non-bureaucratic culture where new ideas can move quickly and individual contributions are highly visible.
- Competitive nonprofit-sector compensation plus full medical coverage for employee and family, a professional development stipend, and 31 days of paid time off.
Contract
- Attractive compensation package.
- Benefits: comprehensive medical coverage for employee and family; professional development stipend; 31 days of paid time off per year.
- Work mode: hybrid based at one of the organization's offices with relocation costs covered, or fully remote
- Location: Africa or US-based (excluding North Africa)
- Reporting line: reports directly to the CEO; member of the senior leadership team.
- Direct report: the organization's senior in-country Finance lead.
