Financial Analyst

Position Title: Financial Analyst

GROUP: Program Delivery, Global Programs

Location: Arlington, VA or Little Rock, AR

Reports to: Whitt Masters, Senior Financial Manager, Global Programs

Position Summary

The Finance Analyst (FA) will be a core part of the Program Delivery team reporting to the Senior Financial Manager, Global Programs. The Finance Analyst will work in collaboration with Winrock teams, working across the entire portfolio, to develop financial tracking methodologies and coaching staff to deliver projects on time and on budget within a portfolio management context. The Analyst is responsible for developing tools and approaches and training staff on methodologies for sound financial management including tracking budget to actuals, accounting for exchange rate losses, and financial management corrective action plans for projects that are not tracking to committed budgets. The Analyst also creates, and reviews cost budgets for proposals and reviews budget modifications for major donors, as assigned.

In addition to financial oversight, the FA will work with both home office and regional finance, operations, and compliance teams, to identify risk areas and generate corrective actions for projects to meet Winrock’s rigorous standards. Moderate travel to the field (up to 20%) is expected to support projects and field finance staff.

Major responsibilities include:

Portfolio Budget Management

• Support annual budget and semi-annual forecasting processes under the supervision of the Senior Financial Manager.
• Monitor project revenue monthly and maintain a revenue pipeline for future years.
• Oversee corrective actions for reducing gaps in institutional budget variance.
• Assist with the development of forecasting and tracking tools for the field and home office.
• Report monthly to management and project teams with analysis of trends and recommended actions.
• Support analysis of Level of Effort (LOE) and billability tracking of staff in collaboration with Senior Directors.

Project Budget Management Support

• Under the supervision of the Senior Financial Manager, Global Programs, work with the Senior Directors and managers to develop tools and approaches for project financial management, monthly financial reporting, and home office review and field financial operations oversight.
• Develop financial/project budget management systems and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
• Standardize project working budgets in line with evolving Winrock policy and practice.
• Support NICRA adjustments at the project level.
• Liaise with field managers to ensure consistent support and guidance on financial management including compliance and/or donor requirements.
• Support effective, timely financial management, providing guidance and responding to requests from home office project teams (PO/PA) on questions/guidance related to expense request reimbursements, advance requests, vendor/consultant payments, ICR, and exchange rates.
• Troubleshoot/brainstorm with project teams on how to address budget shortfalls including budget realignments and justifications to donors, among others.

New Business Proposal Support

• Create and review cost budgets for proposals.
• Serve as proposal budget manager for selected proposals.
• Review and assist with budget modifications for major donors.
• Develop and apply standards and guidance for pricing across a range of donors.
• Develop innovative budget presentation models for non-traditional donors to ensure full cost recovery.
• Work closely with Winrock’s NB Support Unit, contracts, human resources (HR), cost and pricing, in-country project teams and other administrative support units to gather and input accurate cost information for NB proposals and processes.
• Develop costing/pricing strategies for specific proposals.

Financial and Operational Compliance Support

• Liaise with Winrock’s human resources and operations team (awards management, contracts, procurement, etc.) to provide guidance and ensure smooth implementation with field teams.
• Liaise with roving operations and finance specialists to provide high-quality review of field activities for compliance, uptake of recommendations, and follow-up for pending corrective actions.
• Liaise with Winrock’s risk and compliance staff as requested to investigate issues, provide support in preparation for audits, and support development of corrective actions post-audit.
• Work with regional and functional teams across multiple countries to develop finance systems, reporting, internal controls, and other operational solutions.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Public Administration or related field required. Master’s degree preferred.

Experience: Five to eight years of relevant professional experience (budgeting, contract administration, accounting, operations), and knowledge of government contracting and funding agency regulations, particularly USAID, USDOL and USDOS including CFRs, FARs, ADS, and travel regulations. Experience in international development strongly preferred.

Skills/Knowledge:

• Excellent data, numerical, spreadsheet, financial and analytical skill
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office, especially Excel, required
• Excellent organization and management skills, including an ability to coordinate a variety of tasks, meet deadlines, pay close attention to detail, and work effectively under pressure.
• Exceptional verbal, writing and editing skills in English required
• Team player with the ability to interact effectively with staff and representatives from other firms and government agencies
• Training and coaching skills
• Able to exercise tact, discretion, good judgment and maintain confidentiality.
• Project and proposal coordination experience highly desired.
• Experience working in developing countries and resource-constrained settings is desirable; desire to work in and partner with developing country organizations required.
• Demonstrated cross-cultural competency and ability to engage diverse field teams effectively.
• Second language, such as French or Portuguese, is a plus.