Job Description
JOB DESCRIPTION AND PERSON SPECIFICATION
JOB TITLE: Head of Finance
REPORTS TO: Country Director, Ethiopia
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REPORTING TO POSTHOLDER: Deputy Head of Finance (x1), Senior Finance Officer (x2)
LOCATION: Addis Ababa, with periodic field travel
DURATION & HOURS: Three years, fixed term renewable
SALARY: 3997 GBP (Three Thousand Nine Hundred Ninety Seven pound sterling) per month
PURPOSE OF THE ROLE
Farm Africa is a UK-headquartered INGO established in 1985, with operations in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and DRC.
Farm Africa has been working in Ethiopia for forty years. In order to continue delivering programmes on time and on budget, it is essential that we have high-performing teams supporting them. In addition, our two support teams are Programme and Corporate Services (covering HR, Procurement, IT, and Logistics).
The Head of Finance for Ethiopia, leads the Ethiopia Finance team and is the most senior finance position in Farm Africa Ethiopia. The role is part of the Ethiopia Senior Management team, reports directly to the Ethiopia Country Director, and is technically the focal person to the Head Office Finance Team based in London, UK.
The role has overall responsibility for managing Farm Africa Ethiopia's financial performance. This includes maintaining effective financial controls and compliance in accordance with organisational policies and regulatory requirements in Ethiopia and the UK. It also includes responsibility for budgeting and reforecasting, the monthly internal reporting cycle, annual accounts and audit processes in Ethiopia.
The role will require close collaboration with the Country Director and
SMT colleagues acting as a key finance business partner to support informed decision-making. More specifically, the Head of Finance will work closely with the Head of Programmes to ensure that Programme Management is enabled to deliver high-quality programmes on time and on budget.
The Head of Finance also works closely with the Head of Corporate Services to ensure that support teams work together effectively to help make our processes work more efficiently and to solve problems quickly and effectively to ensure smooth delivery of programmes.
KEY TASKS & RESPONSIBILITIES
Overall finance responsibilities
Ensure the completeness and accuracy of all financial information and records for Farm Africa Ethiopia;
Ensure effective financial control is maintained at all times at the country office and all field offices;
Undertake regular visits to field offices to review financial management practices, provide support to field finance staff and confirm compliance with financial controls;
Business partner to the Country Director and other members of the Ethiopia senior management team;
Act as the main liaison between the Ethiopia finance team and the UK head office finance team;
Ensure strong and effective working relationships with the other teams within Farm Africa Ethiopia (programmes, and corporate services) based on a spirit of collaboration and collective responsibility.
Financial transactions
Approve purchases, staff advances and expenses, where required, in accordance with Farm Africa financial policies and delegated authority limits;
Review and approve payment vouchers in accordance with Farm Africa’s financial policies;
Sign cheques and authorise bank transfers in accordance with authorised bank mandates.
Financial accounting
Ensure month-end process is completed on time (in accordance with the Farm Africa financial calendar) and accurately, by managing the overall process, making decisions as appropriate, and providing additional capacity and support where necessary;
Review and sign off all monthly balance sheet reconciliations, ensuring that control accounts are fully reconciled and other balance sheet account balances as appropriately analyzed, supported and validated;
Ensure that all statutory and tax obligations in Ethiopia (including VAT, withholding tax, payroll income tax and pension contributions) are correctly calculated, filed and paid on time, and manage relationships with the relevant revenue and tax authorities;
Oversee payroll processing, and ensure that fixed asset registers are maintained accurately and verified regularly;
Manage Farm Africa Ethiopia’s bank and cash management, including overall responsibility for managing all banking relationships, reviewing monthly cash forecasts and cash transfer requests to the UK head office, and overseeing all cash transfers between the Ethiopia country office and field offices.
Financial reporting
Ensure internal monthly financial reporting, including Budget Monitoring Reports, is completed accurately and circulated to budget holders on time (in accordance with the Farm Africa financial calendar);
Review and sign off all financial reports to donors developed by the Programme Managers with support from Finance Managers for Country Director approval and submission, ensuring that reports are correct, in the required format, and agree to underlying transaction records.
Ensure that expenditure forecasts and cash requests are reasonable, adequately supported, and based on the best available information;
Ensure the Farm Africa Ethiopia’s annual financial accounts are prepared, reviewed and filed within the required deadlines, and comply with all applicable accounting standards, Farm Africa’s policies, statutory requirements and other relevant regulatory obligations.
Financial strategy
Understand, and act as the senior finance focal point and spokesperson to the rest of Farm Africa Ethiopia, the organisation’s financial model and performance including finance managers working with programme managers as one unit;
Oversee the effective use, integrity and security of Farm Africa Ethiopia's finance systems (including SUN), and lead improvements to finance systems and processes across the country and field offices;
Ensure that overhead cost recovery is maximized, where permissible, in accordance with donor grant conditions and Farm Africa’s cost recovery policy, while ensuring that all costs remain reasonable, eligible and adequately supported.
Budgeting and forecasting
Support the Head of Programme and business development team when necessary in preparing fully costed budgets for submission alongside project proposals to donors, ensuring that budgets are based on credible assumptions, comply with donor guidelines, and are prepared on a full cost recovery basis where permitted.
Lead and coordinate the annual budgeting and forecasting process for Farm Africa Ethiopia, ensuring effective engagement of Finance and Programme teams, timely completion of budget submissions, and regular monitoring of performance against approved budgets.
Review and sign off annual budgets for the Ethiopia country office and all projects for submission to the Head of Programmes and approval by the Country Director, in accordance with the internal annual budget timetable, ensuring that budgets are based on the best available knowledge, realistic assumptions, and comply with internal guidelines and relevant donor requirements.
Review and sign off for the Head of Programmes and approval by the Country Director, all budget re-forecasts and revisions prior to submission to donors or head office team in the UK.
Audit and compliance
Lead and manage the audit of Farm Africa Ethiopia’s annual accounts, acting as the key liaison between the finance team and the audit team;
Ensure compliance with applicable ACSO requirements, including adherence to the 20 / 80 regulation, and act as the point of contact for ACSO finance queries;
Ensure all donor audits and financial reviews are managed effectively, working with the relevant Programme Manager and Finance Manager to prepare for the audit and providing support to the Country Director in the event that the audit identifies any issues requiring management’s attention;
Manage any internal audits in Farm Africa Ethiopia as per the annual audit plan agreed by Farm Africa’s Board of Trustees in the UK;
Ensure that all audit recommendations are acted upon in a timely manner and updates are provided to the UK finance team for onward reporting to the Board of Trustees;
Establish and maintain a strong internal control and risk management environment, including the prevention and detection of fraud, bribery and corruption, and ensure that any suspected cases are reported and escalated promptly in line with Farm Africa's policies and donor requirements;
Provide financial oversight and capacity support to implementing partners and sub-grantees, including due diligence, financial monitoring visits and review of partner financial reports;
Ensure compliance with all Farm Africa financial policies and procedures, review and update local policies to ensure they remain accurate, and continually appraise our internal processes and ways of working to identify opportunities for improvement (i.e. working more efficiently with less process and bureaucracy whilst maintaining sufficient control).
Team leadership and cross-team collaboration
Ensure strong and effective working relationships with the other teams within Farm Africa Ethiopia (programmes, and corporate services) based on a spirit of collaboration and collective responsibility - meet regularly with the Head of Programmes and Head of Corporate Services to co-ordinate programme delivery and support, and ensure that issues are resolved quickly and practically with the aligned aim of high-quality programme management and delivery;
Line-manage the deputy head of finance and two senior finance officers;
Recruit, supervise, appraise and develop finance staff in the country and field offices, setting clear performance objectives and ensuring adequate coverage, segregation of duties and succession planning;
Build the financial skills and capacity of programme staff;
Work with the Ethiopia Senior Management Team to address organization-wide issues and engage in support to other African Country Offices as required;
Uphold Farm Africa's safeguarding, code of conduct and whistleblowing policies, and promote a culture of integrity, accountability and zero tolerance of fraud, sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment;
Other duties as requested by the Country Director.
Safeguarding & Code of Conduct Responsibilities:
Comply with and uphold Farm Africa’s Safeguarding Policy, Code of Conduct, and related policies at all times.
Treat all individuals and communities with dignity, respect, and fairness, promoting a safe and inclusive working environment.
Ensure that personal and professional conduct does not put beneficiaries, colleagues, or partners at risk of harm or abuse.
Recognize and report any safeguarding concerns, suspicions, or incidents in accordance with Farm Africa’s safeguarding and reporting procedures.
Maintain appropriate professional boundaries with beneficiaries, community members, and colleagues.
Ensure that communications, images, and information about beneficiaries are used responsibly and with informed consent.
Support the organization’s commitment to preventing sexual exploitation, abuse, harassment, and any form of discrimination.
Participate in safeguarding training and awareness activities as required.
Contribute to creating and maintaining a safe working environment for all staff, partners, and the communities we serve.
These essential functions are not to be interpreted as a complete statement of all duties performed. Employees will be required to perform other job-related duties as required. All work responsibilities are subject to having performance goals and/or targets established.
Job Requirements
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Essential
Desirable
Education & Qualifications
MSc Degree from recognized university / ACCA / CIMA qualified accountant
Good knowledge of different accounting systems
Knowledge of SUN systems
Experience
At least five years management experience in an organisation of similar size and complexity to Farm Africa Ethiopia
Knowledge of institutional donor as well as Federal/Regional Government and ACSO requirements
Proven experience of leading, developing and supervising a finance team, including staff based in field offices
Experience in the agriculture, rural development or natural resource management sector
Sound knowledge of Ethiopian tax, payroll and statutory compliance requirements
Experience of financial oversight of implementing partners or sub-grantees
Skills & Abilities
Excellent communication skills
Ability to present complex financial information clearly to a non-finance audience
A demonstrated commitment to providing high-quality support internally and to partner organizations and stakeholders – a proactive and innovative approach to problem-solving
Evidence of identifying and managing quality improvement initiatives
Excellent time management of self and team; able to multi-task and prioritise workload; works well under pressure; meets deadlines
Strong technical accounting knowledge
Advanced MS Excel skills
Strong pride in own work and the work of the team, sense of professionalism and attention to detail
Sound judgement, applying experience and knowledge to challenging decisions and acting in the best overall interest of the organisation - able to make tough decisions firmly and fairly
Diplomatic and patient style, able to effectively build and maintain relationships and explain positions.
Awareness of gender and diversity issues in the workplace, reflecting that in own behaviour
Fluent written and spoken English
Working knowledge of Amharic
Commitment to safeguarding and to Farm Africa's values, with high personal integrity and zero tolerance of fraud, bribery and abuse
Willingness and ability to travel periodically to field locations
Our Values
Investing in smallholder farming is the number one way to combat poverty in rural Africa. Farm Africa is a leading NGO specialising in growing agriculture, protecting the environment and developing businesses in rural Africa.
EXPERT: Expertise and insightful evidence-based solutions are at the heart of everything Farm Africa does.
GROUNDED: Our teams and partners work closely with local communities, engaging them in every level of decision-making.
IMPACTFUL: We deliver long lasting change for farmers, their families, and the environments they live in.
BOLD: We model innovative approaches and are not afraid to challenge strategies that are failing.
How To Apply
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should submit a CV and a cover letter explaining their suitability for the role, together with the contact details of three referees https://airtable.com/appgZjudHoHVWNBGA/shrKtqp07ZP7ngim1 by 2 October 2026, quoting “Head of Finance” in the subject line. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Safeguarding and Equal Opportunities
Farm Africa is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and to preventing sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. All appointments are subject to satisfactory references and background checks. Farm Africa values diversity and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates.
