Reports to: Director General

Location: Cairo, Egypt

Main purpose of the position

The Director of Finance (DOF) is responsible for ICARDA’s Finance functions and serves as its Treasurer. The DOF will drive ICARDA’s strategic and operational Finance function, supporting scientific research outputs, outcomes, and the impact of ICARDA’s research portfolio. The DOF will provide focus and vision to identify areas for improvement and manage ICARDA’s financial risks. He/she will maintain a sound system of internal control that will ensure ICARDA optimizes its financial resources and provides all its stakeholders with value for money. The DOF will also oversee the Procurement and Digital Services Units.

About ICARDA

The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) is an international autonomous, non-profit research organization supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

ICARDA’s mission is to reduce poverty and enhance food, water, nutritional security, and environmental health in the face of global challenges, including climate change. We do this through innovative science, strategic partnerships, linking research to development, and capacity development that consider gender equality and the role of youth in transforming the dry areas. ICARDA works in partnership with governments, universities, civil society, national agricultural research organizations, other CGIAR research Centers, and the private sector. With its temporary Headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, ICARDA operates in regional and country offices across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. For more information: www.icarda.org.

All 12 CGIAR Centers are currently engaged in a transformation effort (the ‘One CGIAR’) that will help the CGIAR achieve better impact through more strategically integrated research, unified governance, an integrated structure, and new research modalities.

Main responsibilities

The role of the Director of Finance includes, but is not limited to:

Strategy & Planning

·       Promote innovation and excellence to support ICARDA’s organizational goals and strategy. Work with all stakeholders to assess, plan for and analyze ICARDA’s capacity to deliver its strategic goals.

·       Take part in a thorough and risk-based assessment of ICARDA’s challenges and opportunities in a dynamic and challenging environment and provide insightful analysis and recommendations to enhance ICARDA’s efficiency and effectiveness.

Delivery and Operations

·       Effectively and efficiently lead the management of ICARDA’s financial affairs from 2024 onwards, including financial data management.

·        Providing timely and accurate management reports, including financial analyses of ICARDA’s financial situation.

·       Ensure adherence to statutory financial reporting requirements, such as the International Financial Reporting Standards.

·       Develop, implement, and maintain sound financial accountability through an effective internal control framework, an anti-fraud policy framework, and a culture of effective compliance with financial and budgetary policies and procedures.

·       Develop, implement, monitor, and regularly report on sound cost accounting frameworks that ensure full-cost recovery of ICARDA’s research projects.

·       Effectively lead ICARDA’s treasury function, ensuring ICARDA meets its cash flow requirements and manages its liquid assets under established investment policies.

·       Develop and implement financial and treasury policies and procedures, monitor their effectiveness, and ensure compliance across ICARDA.

·       Lead the development of an annual and multi-year budget and financial plan for ICARDA; monitor budget expenditure and trends and recommend corrective measures to meet its financial goals

Asset Management

·       Manages asset management and disposition of inactive and obsolete assets by tracking inventory, costs, and disposition.

·       Perform expense management for asset disposals and maintains asset disposal records.

·       Develops asset management plans for all assets, assessing the need for renewals, new purchases, or disposals.

·       Manages lease and disposals for assets, including transition of assets between contractors and service providers.

·     Make recommendations regarding asset disposition and disposal procedures to senior management.

Relationships and Engagement

·       Function as the ICARDA focal point to the Secretary of the Audit, Finance, and Risk (AFRC) Committee of the ICARDA Board of Trustees.

·       Function as the Sanctions Compliance Officer and Chair of the Risk Management Committee and Sanctions Management Working Group.

·       Effectively manage relationships with both Internal and External Auditors.

Leadership

·       Effectively lead, motivate, and manage the performance of all finance, procurement, and digital/data services staff across ICARDA, ensuring that appropriate policies are developed and implemented and adherence to standards is made.

Requirements

Essential qualifications and competencies

·       A professional qualification such as ACA (minimum professional level), ACCA, CPA, CMA, or CFA.

·       An advanced university degree in financial management, accounting, business administration, economics, and/or a related field, or a bachelor’s degree or equivalent combined with longer work experience.

·       A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience, including in the public sector, at management levels, in formulating, planning, and implementing effective financial management strategies.

·       Ability to think strategically and pragmatically and to turn strategies into concrete actions.

·       Strong analytical skills, evidenced by demonstrated delivery of sound financial analysis, modeling, and forecasting.

·       Demonstrated ability to lead, inspire and effectively manage people in a multicultural work environment working in different time zones.

·       Excellent communication and people skills, including the ability to build trust and consensus and effectively manage working relationships.

·       Experience in implementation and maintenance of business and financial reporting tools using ERP systems.

·       Excellent English, both written and spoken.

Desirable qualifications and competencies

·       Experience in a publicly funded organization.

·       Management of grant funding and related donor relations.

·       Knowledge of the international sanction environment.

·       Experience in international treasury operations.

·       Experience in a research or development international, not-for-profit organization.

·       Knowledge of Arabic and/or French.

Benefits

Terms of appointment, salary, and benefits

The DOF is an internationally recruited position. ICARDA offers an attractive compensation package to the successful applicant, including a competitive salary, housing allowance, non-contributory retirement plan, medical insurance, 30 days of annual leave, five months of maternity leave, and 15 days of paternity leave. All benefits are denominated and paid in US Dollars. ICARDA will offer the successful candidate an initial contract of three years, renewable, subject to a continued need for the position and satisfactory performance. The first year will be a probationary period.