Background Upemba National Park:

Upemba National Park covers an area of approximately 13,600km2 of spectacular wilderness in Katanga Province of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Upemba with legal protection since 1939, is one of the oldest parks in Africa. The park is linked to Kundelungu National Park and a number of game reserves, together forming a massive mosaic of protected areas.

Upemba boast a wide diversity of habitats, including a full transitional gradient from highland steppe through miombo woodland to both wooded and grassland savannah. There are numerous rivers, waterfalls, wetlands and gallery forests. The Lufira River and Lake Upemba, both within park boundaries, form a critical watershed for the region as well as the source of the mighty Congo River. The park’s wildlife populations suffered during the Congo war, and subsequent neglect and illegal poaching enabled bushmeat hunting to further decrease wildlife numbers. Nevertheless, many species remain and the park is a refuge for the last savannah elephants in Katanga as well as the last zebras in DRC. Other notable species include endemic Upemba lechwe, roan antelope, black sable, buffalo, leopard, giant ground hornbill and many other bird species.

In 2017, the Congolese Wildlife Authority (ICCN) signed a Private-Public Partnership with Forgotten Parks delegating management responsibility to Forgotten Parks for the next 15 years. Under this agreement, Forgotten Parks is responsible for the management, monitoring and protection of Upemba, as well as for developing sustainable financing mechanisms to meet the on-going management costs.

The Upemba National Park operates in close collaboration with African Parks (AP), through a strong and structured cooperation framework under the Incubator Program (IP), ensuring coordinated planning, technical support, and strategic alignment in all areas of park management and development.

Position Summary:

The CFO is a hard-working team player, able to succeed in a multicultural environment, under demanding field conditions.

The CFO will be responsible for Finance (treasury, controlling, management reporting, accounting, taxes, insurances, ERP and compliance), and support to the Human Resources and Procurement functions of Forgotten Parks.

The position will hierarchically and functionally report to the Executive Director of Forgotten Parks and Park Manager of Upemba, in close collaboration with the audit and finance committee.

The main duties and responsibilities

Assure Upemba National Park / Forgotten Park’s financial sustainability
Ensure sound management of accounting systems and procedures
Ensure timely completion of all accounting & finance activities, such as regular accounting entries, timely closing of the monthly & yearly accounts, cash forecasts, budgets and forecasts, annual budgeting, etc
Ensure compliance with the standard operating procedures (SOPs)for financial analysis and reporting on a monthly basis to meet internal and external legal and regulatory requirements
Identify and ensure compliance with all relevant Government laws and regulations, in particular for corporation and withholding tax ad VAT and identify applicable tax rates and reliefs
Develop, track and monitor annual and monthly budgets and expenditures and provide timely and accurate information and analysis to the Executive Director and the Board of Forgotten Parks
Develop and update annually a multi-year business plan built on the strategic long-term objectives and priorities as set by the Board and the Executive Director
Coordinate internal audits, external/statutory audits and audits of donors and financial institutions where applicable
Ensure a robust treasury management process with daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annually reporting, while managing the banking relations
Undertake field visits to validate systems and procedures followed, comment on data integrity and train partner/community on applicable accounting and reporting skills
Ensure that major financial risk issues and gaps in systems as highlighted in the internal / external audit are addressed in cooperation with the Internal Control department and the finance and audit committee
Manage project finances and prepare periodic financial reports for institutional and philanthropic donors
Ensure adequate internal controls are in place and organisational resources appropriately safe guarded, all in accordance with the relevant SOPs.
Implement relevant accounting standards, audit standards and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and maintain current knowledge and understanding of accounting and tax regulations, laws, industry trends, practices
Ensure that a proper ERP system is in place to support the business and compliance requirements
Ensure a solid procurement management with the appropriate checks and balances supported by a pragmatic authority matrix allowing to comply with the EU regulations and our SOPs.
Supervise and continuously enhance an equitable and compliant human resources management process covering the whole human capital value chain, including job management, talent acquisition, compensation & benefits, training & development, and employee relations in close collaboration with the Head of Human Resources Department
Oversee the successful implementation of the business strategy with fellow management team members
Assess existing management deficiencies and develop improved systems for efficient and effective service delivery
Advise the Executive Director on all probable risk situations and implications thereof regularly
Further develop Upemba’s nature based finance strategy and support the roll out of alternative sources of financing for the park, such as carbon credits and biodiversity credits (in the form of ‘Verifiable Nature Units’).
Requirements

5-10 years of experience in finance at senior management level
Proven track record in an operational and commercial working environment
Experience in meeting private sector performance objectives
Proven experience at both managing and working in a team
Master’s degree in Economics / Finance / Business Administration
Qualified CPA, CA, CGMA. CIMA, ACCA
Experience in developing and/or implementing standard operating procedures, staff training, rolling out new accounting system, internal audit and grant/funding management & reporting in industrial and commercial environment
Experience in developing and/or managing support services such as Human Resources, Procurement, etc. in industrial and commercial environment
Willingness and ability to live and work in demanding field conditions in eastern DR Congo (Grand Katanga)
Fluency in spoken and written French and English
Preferred

Working experience in Africa preferred or in other developing countries
Private Sector experience preferred
Also

Have a passion for conservation and development work, and what Upemba and the Green Alliance is striving to achieve
Have common sense and be a creative thinker; not afraid to try something new
Able to motivate and inspire others, and keen to share knowledge and skills
Have a very high level of personal and professional integrity and trustworthiness
Have a strong work ethic and require minimal direction
Work well independently as well as part of a team

Please send your application including a cover letter and a chronological CV in PDF format. The cover letter will be used to judge the quality of your application.