About IRRI

Job Purpose

Under the general supervision of the Manager – Regional and Country Offices Financial Operations, the Senior Business Partner – Regions is responsible for providing financial information to donors, budget holders, IRRI Management and all other stakeholders by providing financial information in a timely and accurate manner and in compliance with the Institute’s, CGIAR’s and donors’ guidelines. As the primary individual responsible for the supervision of the financial analysis of hosted Regions and Country Offices’ funds, the Senior Business Partner – Research will provide strategic support to IRRI Management, Platform Leaders, Cost Centre Leads, and budget holders, in general, by proactively monitoring financial activities and financial reporting specific to hosted Regions and Country Offices and clearly communicating results of the analyses including financial and business advisories that are critical to the responsible leads’ decision-making purposes.

This position will be based at the IRRI Headquarters, Los Baños, Philippines and may only be filled by permanent citizens of the Philippines.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Serve as the Headquarters focal person for all Finance and finance-related concerns of all Regional and Country Offices hosted by other CGIAR organizations.
• Provide exceptional business advisory and support for the financial activities of the hosted Regional and Country Offices.
• Ensure that hosted Regional and Country Offices finance activities adhere to institutional financial compliance and reporting requirements
• Provide optimal customer service to ensure that hosted Regional and Country Offices finance facilities are up-to-date and aligned with IRRI’s business strategies.
• Develop and deliver training programs to stakeholders for enhanced understanding of grant requirements and Institute policies and procedures from a financial perspective.
• Ensure the proper review and validation of all country-level payment transactions, guaranteeing the accuracy of accounting entries and the completeness of records.
• Develop new measures and procedures to enhance the quality of services provided to both internal and external stakeholders.
• Coordinate and collaborate with hosted Regional and Country Office budget owners regarding the overall financial management of the grants/projects/ budgets under their leadership and/or responsibility, and proactively identify issues pertaining to their funds and recommend timely solutions.
• Coordinate with CGIAR Organizations the status and utilization of the hosted Regional and Country Offices funds or funds payable to them.
• Coordinate with external and internal auditors during project audits and ensure prompt response to queries for smooth and timely audit fieldwork.
• Work with the MIS team, through the Finance Transformation Team, for system improvement and functionality testing.
• Ensure that all legitimate transactions are properly recorded and that all financial reports are accurately prepared and submitted to stakeholders and donors on time.
• Ensure global synchronization of Accounts Payable services, advising on and ensuring the implementation and functionality of appropriate internal controls, maintaining the integrity of financial data, ensuring that these internal controls adhere to international best practices and align with CGIAR Financial Guidelines.
• Ensure alignment between Finance Headquarters and hosted Regional and Country Offices Finance guidelines, policies and procedures thru regular reviews
• Provide support to hosted Regional and Country Offices in the financial management aspect of the projects/tasks under their leadership/responsibility.
• Closely monitor and analyze hosted Regional and Country Offices budgets spending and recovery (as applicable) patterns and communicate the same to budget owners for a more reliable budget profiling.
• Ensure full understanding and compliance of hosted Regional and Country Offices of the terms and conditions of the projects located in their areas as predetermined in the signed contracts for efficient implementation of grants.
• Review and analyze transactions for the timely recording of financial reports, provided by CGIAR organizations hosting the Regional and Country Offices, into the ERP system, as applicable.
• Proactively and closely monitor, reconcile, validate and analyze financial transactions and reports.
• Payable transactions related to hosted Country Office operations are thoroughly reviewed and validated, including the accuracy of accounting entries and allocations, according to agreed schedules, to achieve zero reported irregularities in all disbursements.
• Develop and deliver training programs to stakeholders for enhanced understanding of grant requirements and Institute policies and procedures from a financial perspective.
• Ensure that all provisions are compliant with Institute policies and procedures, and operations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, CPA, with at least 5 years working experience in accounting, auditing, financial management, budgeting, or related field
• Master’s degree in Accounting, CPA, with at least 3 years working experience in accounting, auditing, financial management, budgeting, or related field

Skills Required

Mandatory

• CPA with a comprehensive understanding of the end-to-end finance process, budgeting and costing
• Has extensive knowledge of accounting systems, bookkeeping and financial reporting
• Must be highly analytical and stakeholder service-focused with exceptional problem-solving and organizational skills
• Ability to communicate professionally, positively, and effectively with a variety of individuals integral to the position
• Ability to quickly learn and grasp the implications of the financial terms and conditions for each managed project
• Can work with minimal supervision
• Proficient in using MS Office and has relevant experience in computerized financial systems and flexibility to adapt new software applications
  

Preferred

• With deep knowledge and understanding of the end-to-end finance process, budgeting, costing, donor regulations, and financial compliance requirements

IRRI offers a highly extensive employee benefits package inclusive of globally-covered medical insurance, retirement plan, life and accident insurance and other allowances.

Join our team and be part of our story!

Please note only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
This position will remain open until filled.