Senior Manager, Financial Planning and Operations

About the role

Spark MicroGrants believes in a world where everyone lives with dignity and determines their own positive future. Spark has worked in 1000+ villages in 6 countries and has pioneered a community-driven development model in sub-Saharan Africa. Spark works with NGO and Government partners to scale the model's adoption and impact on rural communities—on their own terms. Our model combines facilitated community meetings with a small, discretionary grant to catalyze local action and institution building.

The Senior Manager, Financial Planning and Operations will bridge the gap between high-level vision for new partnerships and funding relationships and the creation of realistic budgets, reports, and financial narratives that meet donor needs and clearly communicate the relationship between outcomes and funding. This role is an individual contributor and a hands-on producer of value-added financial analysis, modeling, and reporting, reporting directly to the CFO. The incumbent will collaborate with senior leadership and work extensively with the fundraising team on donor and Board deliverables, helping the organization and its stakeholders understand the financial impacts of new projects and partnerships. They will also lead enterprise functions including risk management and cash forecasting, and key aspects of financial operations on behalf of the CFO.

Responsibilities

• Financial reporting, analysis, and scenario modeling in support of fundraising:
  • Model the cost of new projects, programs, and partnerships and build repeatable tools and processes to increase efficiency in generating external-facing budgets.
  • Own financial processes for donor budgets, including templates, guidelines, metrics, and analysis.
  • Collaborate with program and functional teams to provide value-added analysis and model future scenarios.
  • Lead financial due diligence responses and ensure adequate policies and practices are in place to satisfy key donor expectations and deliverables.
• Annual budget, forecasting, and actual versus budget analysis:
  • Forecast quarterly, annual, and long-term revenue and cash flows, and model alternative scenarios in support of budgeting and strategic planning processes.
  • Ensure effective and timely tracking of forecasted revenues, cash flows, and donor restrictions.
  • Provide financial guidance to global support functions, including Operations, Fundraising, Executive, and Innovation teams, and execute the annual budget process together with these teams.
  • Provide reporting and analysis in support of the monthly Budget vs. Actual (BVA) process and quarterly forecasting updates.
• Financial support to the Innovation team on proposals, pilot projects, and research:
  • Work with the Chief Innovation Officer to model new opportunities and provide budgeting, reporting, and analysis of pilot projects.
  • Support the implementation of new processes and systems required to accommodate new workstreams and coordinate the handover of expanding programs to the core finance team.
  • Provide financial support for Social Return on Investment calculations and other financial metrics that aid decision-making on resource allocation.
• Build organization-wide financial reporting and optimize finance tools:
  • Work closely with the Head of Finance and CFO to design and build financial reporting models to meet internal and external needs.
  • Ensure optimal use of current NetSuite reporting tools to meet customer needs.
  • Use AI effectively and responsibly to help the finance team become more efficient.
  • Create effective materials to report financial status and forecasts to the internal Executive Committee, Board, and Board Finance Committee.
  • Implement financial processes, reporting, templates, and budgets in support of new grants and projects before handing off to the Country Finance team.
• Risk Management:
  • Implement enterprise risk tracking and action registers.
  • Coordinate enterprise insurance policies and other risk mitigations.
  • Work with Country Finance Managers and the Head of Finance to ensure appropriate funds are available in each region.
  • Lead the development of key global policies and procedures, including those related to risk management, treasury, and legal.
• US & Global Operations:
  • Lead the implementation and effective use of operations dashboards, metrics, and global procedures.
  • Coordinate US Operations, including financial operations, procurement, and compliance with state and federal regulations.
  • Lead strategic Finance and Operations projects and cross-functional initiatives.

Requirements

• Education:
  • Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics, Business Administration, or a related field.
  • MBA or Professional accounting certification (CPA or equivalent) is desirable.
• Experience:
  • 5-10+ years of progressively responsible experience in financial analysis, budgeting, and reporting, preferably in an NGO or international development context.
  • Experience designing and creating value-added reporting for internal and external stakeholders.
  • Proven experience implementing useful financial tools and improving the timeliness, accuracy, and usefulness of financial information.
  • Experience with non-profit programs, grants finance, and donor budgets is highly desirable.
  • Proficiency with NetSuite, Google Workspace, business intelligence tools, and strong Excel/Google Sheets skills.

Skills

• Strong analytical and judgment skills: ability to estimate and perform detailed analysis, recognizing patterns in data to support financial decisions.
• Excellent execution skills: ability to complete tasks efficiently and set up processes for future efficiency.
• Financial tools and systems: early adopter of new technology, using AI effectively in day-to-day work.
• Adaptability: enjoys new projects and challenges, finding solutions proactively.
• Strong communicator: translates financial concepts for non-financial audiences and provides clear explanations.
• Strategic thinking with the ability to support organizational growth and change.
• Solutions-oriented, proactive, and detail-oriented while also capable of high-level summarized analysis.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, multi-country environment.
• Committed to Spark’s mission and values.
• Willingness to travel to Africa periodically.

Pay

The preliminary salary range for this role is approximately $70,000 - $100,000, with final compensation based on experience and skills.

Benefits

• 100% employer-paid health insurance premiums for employees and 50% coverage for dependents.
• 401(k) plan with a 3% employer contribution.
• Generous paid leave.
• Professional development stipend.

Schedule

Due to coordination with the fundraising team, this role requires availability on US East Coast time schedules. The incumbent must also be available to meet with teammates in Africa during cross-over time zones. The role is based in the US, with a preference for New York or other remote locations on the East Coast.

Three-month probation period with learning and performance objectives.