Senior Programme Finance Specialist

Job Summary

The Senior Programme Finance Specialist is a senior technical and advisory role within the Programme Finance Unit. Reporting to the Manager, Programme Finance, the role ensures consistency, compliance, and quality across the Foundation’s grant finance portfolio, while consolidating financial data and generating insights that support the Programme Finance unit, CFO, EXCO, and Board.

The position bridges operational delivery and strategic oversight by guiding Programme Finance Specialists, standardising processes, and providing expert responses to complex funder requirements. While maintaining responsibility for a selected portfolio to remain grounded in programme realities, the role leads on unit-wide reporting, systems innovation, and compliance assurance. This strengthens SFA Foundation’s reputation as a trusted pan-African science funding institution committed to ecosystem strengthening.

SFA Foundation is committed to fostering a culture grounded in Respect, Accountability, Diversity,  Equity  &  Inclusion  (DE&I),  and  Excellence. We seek individuals who embody these values in their work and interactions.

Job Details

Key Responsibilities

Unit-Wide Functional Support

Reporting & Analytics 

• Consolidate programme finance data, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and timeliness of unit-wide reports and dashboards.
• Translate detailed financial data into insights that inform Manager decisions and support overall reporting.
• Maintain standard reporting methodologies, templates, and analytical tools across all portfolios.

Systems & Process Improvement

• Lead operationalisation of the unit’s automation and workflow efficiency projects, aligned to SFA Foundation’s enterprise systems.
• Develop, update, and enforce Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the grant’s lifecycle
• Champion continuous process improvement, benchmarking against international best practice in grant finance
• Provide technical leadership on dashboard design, burn-rate analysis, and cost recovery tracking.

Compliance & Quality Assurance 

• Conduct quality assurance reviews on a rotating sample of grant files, reports, and transactions across all portfolios. 
• Ensures adherence to funder rules and regulations.
• Supports fraud/risk investigations and complex compliance issues.

Capacity Building & Risk/Audit Coordination

• Coordinates internal, funder audit and helps coordinate unit inputs and ensures audit readiness.
• Maintain the unit’s risk register and track the implementation of audit recommendations. 
• Maintains the standard capacity building records for grantees done by the Programme Finance specialists.

Expert-Level Support

• Provide authoritative guidance to Programme Finance Specialists on complex funder requirements and financial structuring.
• Draft high-quality responses to funder queries and due diligence requests, escalating to the Manager as needed.
• Support the Manager in funder engagement by modelling financial implications of compliance scenarios and funding changes.
• Mentor and build the technical capacity of Programme Finance Specialists, promoting consistency and peer learning.

Portfolio Management

Directly manage a selected portfolio of grants, delivering the full grants finance lifecycle:

• Pre-award due diligence and budgeting.
• Awarding and contracting.
• Implementation monitoring, financial analysis, and compliance oversight.
• Reporting, audit, and close-out.
• Ensure strong business partnering with programme teams and grantees to align financial delivery with programme objectives.
• Support institutional efforts to strengthen African research ecosystems through sound financial stewardship and capacity building of grantees.

Requirements

Academic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, or a related field.
• Master’s degree desirable.

Professional Qualifications

• Full professional qualification in CPA-K or ACCA

Experience

• Minimum of 7 years relevant experience in financial management, with at least 5 years in programme finance/grants accounting or funded projects.
• Proven track record in science funding institutions, research consortia, or ecosystem-strengthening programmes.
• Proven experience in sub-grantee management, capacity building, and financial reporting.
• Strong working knowledge of financial management systems and grants accounting.
• Experience working with grant systems with a passion for exploring and optimising their functionality.
• Proven ability to manage compliance with major funders (e.g., Wellcome, Gates, FCDO, Mastercard Foundation).
• Advanced proficiency in Excel and financial analysis tools, dashboards.

Knowledge, Skills and Attributes

• In-depth knowledge of funder regulations and grant compliance frameworks.
• Strong analytical and systems skills; proven ability to lead process improvements.
• Excellent problem-solving, advisory skills, and communication abilities.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to guide peers.
• High integrity, accuracy, and ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Ability to mentor and promote knowledge sharing within teams.

Leadership Competencies

• Technical authority in grants finance and compliance, with contextual understanding of science funding.
• Ability to influence peers and promote consistency across portfolios.
• Strong problem-solving, judgement, and advisory capacity.
• Systems thinker with the ability to integrate tools and processes.
• Commitment to values-based leadership (Respect, Accountability, DE&I, Excellence).

Organisational Values

All SFA Foundation staff are expected to uphold and demonstrate the organisation’s core values in the execution of their duties:

• Respect: Demonstrates cultural sensitivity and professionalism in all interactions.
• Accountability: Takes ownership of responsibilities and follows through on commitments.
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI): Committed to inclusive practices and equitable decision-making.
• Excellence: Strives for continuous improvement and consistently delivers high-quality outputs.

About Company

Science for Africa Foundation

https://www.scienceforafrica.foundation

Science for Africa Foundation (SFA Foundation) is a pan-African, non-profit, public charitable organisation created to support, strengthen, and promote science and innovation in Africa.