Senior Manager, Finance at Aga Khan University (AKU)

Job Description

Senior Manager, Finance at Aga Khan University (AKU)

• The Senior Manager of Finance – AKU Academics operations will be responsible for leading the finance section of AKU-Kenya (General Accounting, Treasury, Fixed Assets, Student Finance, Budget & Planning, External Audits and Grants functions) AKU Kenya. In addition, he/she will also be responsible for coordinating and leading (i) annual planning and budget exercises and (ii) annual statutory audits for AKU Kenya, AKU Uganda, and AKU Tanzania.
• In addition, he/she will work closely with the Regional Director of Finance to oversee the finance functions of AKU Tanzania and AKU Uganda.

Key Roles and Responsibilities 

• Work closely with the Deans, Directors, and Administrative Management of AKU East Africa to ensure the availability of financial information to facilitate decision making i.e. Financial Reports and related analysis.
• Coordinate and lead the preparation of annual budgets and financial forecasts of AKU East Africa.
• Lead preparation of feasibilities of new programs and proposals along with AKU leadership.
• Lead preparation of timely monthly, quarterly, and annual financial and statistical reports of AKU East Africa entities.
• Lead preparation of monthly funding requests for East Africa Projects to ensure the working capital needs of the University are adequately met.
• Oversee the Grants section within Finance functions.
• Work closely with Deans and Directors to develop financial plans for the grant proposals.
• Lead reviews of the grant proposals from financial and compliance perspectives. This includes reviewing contracts, compliance sections, and financial reporting requirements.
• Review grants and compliance reports and give feedback to the PI, Deans, and Directors.
• Make sure that best practices are followed for the grant financial management, granting agency policies, and signed contracts.
• Lead external grant audits as per the granting agency’s signed agreement.
• Manage the Finance section of the AKU Kenya ensuring a strong control environment for efficiencies, integrity, and accountability.
• Collaborate, design, implement, and review finance systems, policies, and procedures to ensure continuous improvement and contemporary relevant practices.
• Ensure AKU-Kenya monthly and annual financials are closed within the stipulated timelines and accuracy.
• Oversee the accounts payable and treasury sections of AKU Kenya making sure financial books are maintained as per the IAS, IFRS, and institutional policies. This includes (i) accruals of liabilities (ii) grants accounting (iii) fixed asset register (iv) cash flows and bank reconciliations (v) construction project accounting (vi) tuition fee receivables etc.
• Make sure that AKU Kenya complies with local tax laws.
• Oversees students’ accounting section of AKU Kenya, including (i) recognition of tuition fee income (ii) recovery from students (iii) tuition fee aging schedules.
• Lead AKU-Kenya external audit. Work as coordinator for the annual external audit of AKU-Tanzania and AKU-Uganda.
• Manage performance appraisal of AKU- Kenya Finance Staff.

Relevant Experience and Qualifications 

• Qualified Accountant – ACCA, CPA (Kenya), ACA, ACMA, CIMA;
• Master of Commerce degree or equivalent.
• 5+ years of experience in a large organization (100+ employees) with exposure to financial planning, reporting, analysis, construction and grant budgets and day-to-day accounting functions.
• Supervisory skills/experience of managing a team of 10+ people.
• Prior experience in either a University or an Academic setup will be an added advantage.
• Excellent command of verbal and written English.
• Strong command over MS Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)
• Ability to multi-task.
• Open to traveling within the region.
• Excellent people management skills.
• Strong knowledge of IFRS and IAS and their application.

Senior Manager, Finance at Aga Khan University (AKU)