JOB SUMMARY:

The Head of Support Services provides strategic leadership and oversight of INARA’s global finance and operational support systems across all country operations and legal entities. The role ensures strong financial management, compliance, internal controls, budgeting coherence, donor financial accountability, and organizational financial sustainability.

The post-holder serves as the central finance oversight function between Headquarters and Country Offices, ensuring that financial systems, reporting processes, fund management, and accounting practices operate in alignment with donor requirements, organizational policies, and applicable regulatory frameworks.

The role also supervises finance staff across country operations, supports organizational audits and compliance obligations, oversees financial systems optimization, and strengthens institutional financial management capacity across the organization.

Key Responsibilities

Key responsibilities include and may not be limited to:

Financial Planning and Budget Oversight
The Head of Support Services leads organizational budgeting processes and ensures financial planning aligns with operational realities and strategic priorities.

Tasks:

Review and consolidate annual organizational budgets and donor project budgets from all country operations
Ensure consistency between programmatic plans, operational priorities, and financial forecasts
Validate budget assumptions including exchange rates, inflation projections, staffing costs, and operational estimates
Review cost allocations across grants, shared costs, and general organizational operations
Support Country Offices and program teams in developing realistic and compliant donor budgets
Ensure budget structures align with donor regulations and internal financial controls
Monitor overall organizational financial sustainability and resource allocation
Key Competencies:

Strong financial planning and budgeting expertise
Advanced analytical and forecasting skills
Understanding of donor budgeting requirements
Strategic financial oversight capacity
Fund Management and Financial Oversight
The role oversees organizational fund management processes and ensures financial liquidity and accountability across all operations.

Tasks:

Oversee inter-office fund transfers and HQ financial allocations
Review and approve fund requests from Country Offices
Monitor cash flow, liquidity, and financial reserve levels
Monitor foreign exchange exposure and associated financial risks
Ensure donor funds are utilized in accordance with approved budgets and restrictions
Track organizational spending thresholds and authorization compliance
Support the CEO on high-level financial decision-making and risk management
Key Competencies:

Strong treasury and cash-flow management skills
Financial risk management expertise
Understanding of multi-country fund management
Strong attention to accountability and financial control
Expenditure Management and Internal Controls
The Head of Support Services ensures organizational expenditures comply with internal policies, donor regulations, and approval frameworks.

Tasks:

Review expenditures above approved authorization thresholds and submit to the CEO for final approval where required
Review complex procurement packages including competitive bidding documentation and vendor justifications
Ensure expenditures comply with donor restrictions and organizational policies
Monitor implementation of internal control procedures across all country operations
Identify and address financial control weaknesses and operational risks
Ensure procurement and expenditure documentation is audit-ready and properly archived
Key Competencies:

Strong internal control and compliance knowledge
Procurement and donor compliance understanding
Risk identification and mitigation skills
Attention to detail and accountability
Accounting, Reconciliation, and Financial Systems Oversight
The role ensures the accuracy, integrity, and efficiency of organizational accounting systems and financial records.

Tasks:

Oversee organizational accounting and bookkeeping processes across all country operations
Ensure financial entries, reconciliations, and classifications are accurate and completed on time
Review month-end and year-end closing processes
Conduct periodic spot checks of financial records and supporting documentation
Ensure bank reconciliations and petty cash reconciliations are completed accurately and on schedule
Supervise organizational use of QuickBooks Online (QBO)
Coordinate with system consultants on QBO structure optimization and reporting systems
Maintain oversight of chart of accounts, donor classes, and financial coding structures
Key Competencies:

Advanced accounting and bookkeeping knowledge
Strong financial systems management skills
QBO proficiency and oversight experience
Strong reconciliation and audit trail management skills
Financial Reporting and Donor Compliance
The role oversees organizational financial reporting processes and ensures compliance with donor and regulatory requirements.

Tasks:

Consolidate financial data from all country operations into organizational financial reports
Review and validate donor financial reports prior to submission to the CEO and donors
Ensure financial reports meet donor formatting, compliance, and deadline requirements
Review budget versus actual (BvA) reports and variance explanations
Provide structured feedback to Country Offices on reporting quality and compliance gaps
Ensure consistency between programmatic implementation and financial reporting
Support donor financial reviews and due diligence processes
Key Competencies:

Strong donor financial reporting expertise
Financial analysis and variance interpretation skills
Understanding of humanitarian donor compliance frameworks
Strong organizational and coordination skills
Audit, Compliance, and Organizational Risk Management
The Head of Support Services leads financial compliance and audit coordination processes across all INARA operations.

Tasks:

Maintain and update financial policies, SOPs, and internal control frameworks
Coordinate external audits including donor audits, IRS filings, and independent organizational audits
Ensure implementation and follow-up of audit recommendations
Oversee submission of IRS Form 990 and other compliance-related financial filings
Support compliance across INARA’s legal entities and jurisdictions
Identify organizational financial risks and recommend mitigation measures
Ensure compliance with donor regulations, anti-fraud standards, and applicable legal requirements
Key Competencies:

Strong audit and compliance management experience
Knowledge of nonprofit regulatory frameworks
Risk management and governance expertise
Strong policy development and implementation skills
Systems Strengthening and Capacity Building
The role strengthens organizational financial systems and supports finance staff development across all operations.

Tasks:

Supervise and support Country Finance Leads and finance staff across all country operations
Conduct finance staff performance evaluations and capacity development planning
Organize training workshops and refresher sessions on financial procedures and systems
Identify inefficiencies within financial systems and recommend improvements
Support automation and financial process optimization initiatives
Strengthen organizational financial documentation and reporting systems
Promote standardization of financial practices across all country operations
Key Competencies:

Leadership and staff management skills
Capacity building and mentoring experience
Systems improvement and problem-solving skills
Strong coordination and communication abilities
Key working relationships

CEO: Primary line manager and final financial approval authority
Country Directors: Coordination on budgets, expenditures, and operational finance oversight
Country Finance Leads: Technical supervision and financial management oversight
Partnerships & Development Department: Coordination on proposal budgets and donor financial reporting
Program Teams: Budget planning and financial monitoring support
Auditors and External Consultants: Compliance, audit, and systems coordination
SMT: Strategic financial planning and organizational decision-making
THE POST-HOLDER WILL BE EXPECTED TO DEMONSTRATE MEASURABLE PROGRESS AGAINST THE FOLLOWING WITHIN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS:

The post-holder will be expected to demonstrate measurable progress against the following within the first six MONTHS:

Reporting validation process fully established and adhered to across all active country operations
Zero reports submitted to Partnerships & Development without completed quality review
SMT action tracker operational and actively maintained, with no overdue items going unescalated
Entity documentation archive created and populated for all INARA legal entities
Coordination gaps between Country Offices, Finance, and Partnerships & Development visibly reduced
Positive feedback from Country Directors, Finance, and the CEO on coordination quality and turnaround times
Requirements & Qualifications

Qualification

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or related field
Professional accounting qualification preferred
Experience

Minimum 7 years of progressive finance and operational management experience
Experience in humanitarian or nonprofit sector finance management
Experience managing multi-country financial operations
Strong knowledge of donor compliance and nonprofit financial systems
Experience with QuickBooks Online and financial reporting systems

Interested candidates are invited to submit their CV and a cover letter outlining their qualifications and motivation for the role to INARA Recruitment. Please include the position title " Head of Support Services" in the subject line of your email.