Our mission is to provide education and health interventions to impoverished students and communities in Kenya. We believe that simply being born into poverty should not dictate the end of an individual's story.

Deputy Director - Finance and Administration

Job TypeFull Time

QualificationBA/BSc/HND , MBA/MSc/MA , Professional Certificate

Experience5 years

LocationNairobi

Job FieldFinance / Accounting / Audit

Job Summary:

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the Deputy Director in charge of Finance & Administration will oversee finance, administration, procurement, and logistics functions for LUH-Africa, ensuring effective and compliant financial management and operations to support the seamless implementation of program activities. The Deputy Director will provide strategic oversight across these functions, lead collaboration between technical and operations staff, and ensure strong financial reporting, analysis, internal controls, and organizational compliance.

Main Duties & Responsibilities:

Financial Management

• Oversee the organization's budget, ensuring that financial resources are allocated appropriately, and monitoring spending to stay within the approved budget.
• Oversee and review cash projections for all programs and administration, ensuring projections are accurate, reasonable, and aligned with organizational funding needs prior to submission to management.
• Collaborate with LUH-Africa management to develop budgets, financial strategies, and long-term financial plans to support the organization's goals and objectives.
• Provide oversight to ensure the accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of organizational financial information and the effective implementation of cost control.
• Review financial reports and statements prepared by the finance team and present relevant financial information, findings, and recommendations to management and other stakeholders.
• Review and interpret expenditure analyses prepared by the finance team, identify significant trends and variances, and present relevant findings and recommendations to management.
• Conduct a final financial review of expenditure vouchers of KES 100,000 and above, including programmatic and non programmatic expenditures, to ensure that expenses are reasonable, allowable, allocable, adequately supported, and within the approved budget.
• Review and approve fund requests to ensure appropriate documentation, budget availability, compliance, and accountability

Grants/Resource Mobilization

• Provide financial input, budget development support, and financial compliance guidance for funding proposals and resource mobilization activities led by the Chief of Staff and Development team.
• Oversee grant financial management and reporting, including budget monitoring, expenditure tracking, donor compliance, and timely preparation of grant financial reports.
• Oversee fund-based accounting to ensure revenues and expenses are accurately tracked by grant, program, and funding source.

Procurement

• Coordinate and oversee program tendering and procurement activities, ensuring strict compliance with procurement policy and donor regulations.
• Chair all Procurement committee meetings.
• Oversee all contracts, monitoring, and market surveys for large procurements
• Ensure procurement of goods and services is carried out and documented in compliance with local laws and the organization's policies and procedures.

Quality Assurance and Compliance

• Serve as management’s advisor on processes and compliance in finance, administration, logistics, and procurement.
• Serve as the primary point person for coordination of internal and external audits.
• Monitor finance, administrative, procurement, and logistics assess operational risks, and propose mitigation strategies
• Ensure that appropriate checks and balances (separation of duties) are maintained and that staff carry out responsibilities in line with the approved schedules and budgets.
• Ensure that financial transactions, including payroll and remittances to local authorities, are carried out and documented in compliance with LUH-Africa policies and procedures.
• Ensure all financial reporting to management is timely, accurate, complete, and compliant with organizational and donor requirements.
• Responsible for providing training and capacity-building to staff, partners, and service providers on compliance with LUH-Africa’s rules, regulations, and processes.

Tools and Systems

• Lead the development and review of customized manuals, policies, and procedures relevant to finance, procurement, and logistics.
• Ensure that adequate internal controls and risk management procedures are in place and oversee its implementation.
• Ensure staff follow best practices in file management across finance, administration, procurement.
• Ensure that the programs’ team is well supported in budgeting and activity planning.

Personnel Management and Cross-team Coordination:

• Line manage finance, procurement, logistics and admin.
• Establish strong relationships with stakeholders, including service providers.
• Provide financial guidance and support to program teams in budgeting and activity planning.

Reporting and communication

• Provide regular updates and reports to the management on financial and administrative matters.
• Oversee the finance reporting cycle and ensure required reports are completed accurately and within established timelines.
• Promote transparency and open communication within the organization, ensuring that relevant information is shared with stakeholders.
• Review financial reports prepared by the finance team before submission to management and provide interpretation or recommendations as appropriate.

Capacity Building, Collaboration and Learning

• Training of programme staff, enumerators and any government officials engaged in Light Up Hope-Africa’s programmes on admin policies and procedures.
• Manage and regularly update a repository of all admin reports.

Light Up Hope Code of Conduct and Associated Policies

• Adhere to the standards of conduct outlined in Light Up Hope’s Code of Conduct and its Associated Policies
• Support and promote the standards outlined in Light Up Hope’s Code of Conduct and its Associated Policies to the various stakeholders.

Accountability:

• Promote and ensure compliance with the organization’s policies, guidelines, and quality criteria.
• Ensure that all staff are familiar with the principles underpinning accountability and quality standards.

Reporting

The Deputy Director Finance and Administration will report to the Chief Operating Officer and collaborate closely with the Deputy Director, Programs, and other members of the leadership team.

Education

• At a minimum, a university degree in Business, Management, Finance, Accounting, or an appropriate field. A master's degree is highly preferred.
• A certified public accountant (CPA K) is a strong added advantage.

Experience

• Minimum of five (5) years of experience in management roles of progressive responsibility, overseeing project finance and accounting for donor funded projects.
• Experience working within the NGO sector is a must.
• Demonstrated experience in financial management tasks such as developing/updating budget projections.
• Demonstrated recent experience overseeing procurement of goods and services.
• Prior experience supervising staff.
• Experience handling or overseeing internal and external audits

Skills

• Strong leadership and supervisory skills.
• Strong project management skills
• Strong systems and strategic thinking skills and ability to set up strong management systems, processes, and tools.
• Good understanding of standard Microsoft Office programs such as Word, Excel, and Outlook, and finance/accounting software used to track transactions.
• Ability to communicate/collaborate effectively across cultures and project functions, including with team members based in other countries.
• Critical thinker and self-starter, able to work with minimal supervision and within established deadlines.
• Demonstrated experience of working with computerized accounting systems such as Quickbooks
• Willing to perform assigned and additional duties and work under unpredictable conditions.
• Professional fluency in English

• Oversee the organization's budget, ensuring that financial resources are allocated appropriately, and monitoring spending to stay within the approved budget.
• Oversee and review cash projections for all programs and administration, ensuring projections are accurate, reasonable, and aligned with organizational funding needs prior to submission to management.
• Collaborate with LUH-Africa management to develop budgets, financial strategies, and long-term financial plans to support the organization's goals and objectives.
• Provide oversight to ensure the accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of organizational financial information and the effective implementation of cost control.
• Review financial reports and statements prepared by the finance team and present relevant financial information, findings, and recommendations to management and other stakeholders.
• Review and interpret expenditure analyses prepared by the finance team, identify significant trends and variances, and present relevant findings and recommendations to management.
• Conduct a final financial review of expenditure vouchers of KES 100,000 and above, including programmatic and non programmatic expenditures, to ensure that expenses are reasonable, allowable, allocable, adequately supported, and within the approved budget.
• Review and approve fund requests to ensure appropriate documentation, budget availability, compliance, and accountability
• Provide financial input, budget development support, and financial compliance guidance for funding proposals and resource mobilization activities led by the Chief of Staff and Development team.
• Oversee grant financial management and reporting, including budget monitoring, expenditure tracking, donor compliance, and timely preparation of grant financial reports.
• Oversee fund-based accounting to ensure revenues and expenses are accurately tracked by grant, program, and funding source.
• Coordinate and oversee program tendering and procurement activities, ensuring strict compliance with procurement policy and donor regulations.
• Chair all Procurement committee meetings.
• Oversee all contracts, monitoring, and market surveys for large procurements
• Ensure procurement of goods and services is carried out and documented in compliance with local laws and the organization's policies and procedures.
• Serve as management’s advisor on processes and compliance in finance, administration, logistics, and procurement.
• Serve as the primary point person for coordination of internal and external audits.
• Monitor finance, administrative, procurement, and logistics assess operational risks, and propose mitigation strategies
• Ensure that appropriate checks and balances (separation of duties) are maintained and that staff carry out responsibilities in line with the approved schedules and budgets.
• Ensure that financial transactions, including payroll and remittances to local authorities, are carried out and documented in compliance with LUH-Africa policies and procedures.
• Ensure all financial reporting to management is timely, accurate, complete, and compliant with organizational and donor requirements.
• Responsible for providing training and capacity-building to staff, partners, and service providers on compliance with LUH-Africa’s rules, regulations, and processes.
• Lead the development and review of customized manuals, policies, and procedures relevant to finance, procurement, and logistics.
• Ensure that adequate internal controls and risk management procedures are in place and oversee its implementation.
• Ensure staff follow best practices in file management across finance, administration, procurement.
• Ensure that the programs’ team is well supported in budgeting and activity planning.
• Line manage finance, procurement, logistics and admin.
• Establish strong relationships with stakeholders, including service providers.
• Provide financial guidance and support to program teams in budgeting and activity planning.
• Provide regular updates and reports to the management on financial and administrative matters.
• Oversee the finance reporting cycle and ensure required reports are completed accurately and within established timelines.
• Promote transparency and open communication within the organization, ensuring that relevant information is shared with stakeholders.
• Review financial reports prepared by the finance team before submission to management and provide interpretation or recommendations as appropriate.
• Training of programme staff, enumerators and any government officials engaged in Light Up Hope-Africa’s programmes on admin policies and procedures.
• Manage and regularly update a repository of all admin reports.
• Adhere to the standards of conduct outlined in Light Up Hope’s Code of Conduct and its Associated Policies
• Support and promote the standards outlined in Light Up Hope’s Code of Conduct and its Associated Policies to the various stakeholders.
• Promote and ensure compliance with the organization’s policies, guidelines, and quality criteria.
• Ensure that all staff are familiar with the principles underpinning accountability and quality standards.

• Strong leadership and supervisory skills.
• Strong project management skills
• Strong systems and strategic thinking skills and ability to set up strong management systems, processes, and tools.
• Good understanding of standard Microsoft Office programs such as Word, Excel, and Outlook, and finance/accounting software used to track transactions.
• Ability to communicate/collaborate effectively across cultures and project functions, including with team members based in other countries.
• Critical thinker and self-starter, able to work with minimal supervision and within established deadlines.
• Demonstrated experience of working with computerized accounting systems such as Quickbooks
• Willing to perform assigned and additional duties and work under unpredictable conditions.
• Professional fluency in English

• At a minimum, a university degree in Business, Management, Finance, Accounting, or an appropriate field. A master's degree is highly preferred.
• A certified public accountant (CPA K) is a strong added advantage.
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience in management roles of progressive responsibility, overseeing project finance and accounting for donor funded projects.
• Experience working within the NGO sector is a must.
• Demonstrated experience in financial management tasks such as developing/updating budget projections.
• Demonstrated recent experience overseeing procurement of goods and services.
• Prior experience supervising staff.
• Experience handling or overseeing internal and external audits