Job description

About iNKOMOKO

Inkomoko supports entrepreneurs to grow their businesses in order to improve livelihoods and to create thriving communities. 

Founded in 2012, they have worked with more than 40,000 entrepreneurs across East Africa, including thousands of refugee entrepreneurs, resulting in thousands of new jobs. They provide a combination of training, consulting, access to finance, and market-level systems change. They are the largest lender to refugee entrepreneurs in Africa, and seek both social impact and financial sustainability.

Inkomoko has +200 staff in 18 offices across Rwanda, Kenya, and Ethiopia. Through their 2030 strategic plan, they are expanding to 5 additional countries to serve more than 500,000 entrepreneurs with their services and growing a $30M loan fund for direct investments into entrepreneur clients.

About the role

Inkomoko seeks an experienced CFO with background in both nonprofit finance/microfinance and lending operations to guide its financial strategy and policies in the coming years of rapid growth and complexity. This is a new position for the organization, and will take over segments of responsibilities previously managed by the current COO and Finance Director. As a new C-level position for the organization, the right candidate will significantly elevate the financial operations and should have vision for a thriving finance department within a growing company. 

As part of Inkomoko’s Executive Team, the CFO will participate in shaping the strategic direction of the organization, executing strategy, leveraging best practices, managing organizational transformation and growth and enhancing a high-performance, results-driven culture that develops leaders across the organization.

The ideal candidate will be data driven and strategic, as well as a hands-on operator with experience in scaling a financial operation through significant growth. Above all, they will be passionate about Inkomoko’s mission.

This role reports to the Chief Operating Officer and can be based out of Rwanda, Kenya or Ethiopia.

Key Responsibilities:

Finance and Investment Strategy 

• Serve as a partner to CEO/COO founders and Board, leading highly experienced executives on the finance and leadership teams to formulate short and long-term financial strategies in accordance with organizational-level strategies and goals.
• Develop financial model(s) including multi-year forecasts to ensure the company meets its strategic goals while maintaining long-term financial health.
• Lead financial benchmarking exercises to ensure the company continues to adopt best practices for efficiency and effectiveness.
• Participate in company policy development as a member of the Leadership Team, and lead company policy related to all financial matters.
• Work closely with the Senior Leadership to provide strategic financial analysis across all functions of the organization and provide advice to support modeling and program-related decisions as the organization continues to rapidly scale.
• Drive alignment with the finance and audit committees of the Board of Directors with long-term financial plans and projections, investment policies, and a governance structure that ensures fiscal compliance in alignment with Inkomoko by-laws.
• Responsible for the company's financial condition; decide how to invest the company's assets in consultation with the Board, taking into consideration return, risk and liquidity. Oversee and determine the capital structure of the company.
• Engage with strategic partners and represent the company in financial and business conversations.

Finance Operations & Reporting

• Have overall financial management responsibility including the review and approval of monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reporting materials and metrics for the CEO/COO and Board of Directors. 
• Develop processes and relationships across the organization to ensure budget buy-in and compliance by all functions.
• Partner with the Senior Leadership to evolve the finance function as the organization grows and scales; understand the infrastructure and system requirements at both the country and regional levels.
• Enforce sound business and financial systems policies, procedures and internal controls; ensuring the accuracy of accounting and financial procedures while remaining compliant with global nonprofit best practices and all local requirements in the multiple countries of Inkomoko’s operations.
• Plan, implement, and manage all internal and external financial reporting and compliance activities of Inkomoko, including financial audits, tax & legal compliance, business planning, budgeting, forecasting and investor and donor reporting.
• Construct and monitor reliable control systems and ensure that record keeping meets the requirements of different stakeholders; ensure compliance with all regulatory tax laws and company policies in each of Inkomoko’s countries of operation.
• Ensure timeliness, accuracy, and completeness of financial and management reporting for, management, donors and Inkomoko’s board of directors; oversee the preparation and communication of monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reports.

Risk Management & Compliance

• Develop a deep and detailed understanding of business, strategy, and culture. Be a trusted business partner and guide the organization to take the appropriate amount of risk and build a healthy risk culture.
• Identify, manage and mitigate business risks and those related to enterprise risk management, reporting on them and maintaining adequate internal controls to mitigate risks at Inkomoko
• Responsible for ensuring the risk and compliance management framework is embedded and operational.
• Ensure compliance with accounting regulations and financial reporting mandates and be involved in various non-financial strategic decisions.
• Develop and implement policies and procedures to minimize operational risks and maximize return on investment.

Leadership and Team Development 

• Promote and foster a culture of professional growth of a highly qualified team of finance professionals through effective feedback, succession planning, coaching, and professional development in alignment with Inkomoko’s values and belief in justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion; contribute to further building the finance team and designing its structure to support scale.
• Conceptualize and analyze problems and solutions in a constructive, collaborative manner and leverage the expertise of the staff to improve the organizational systems and processes.
• Provide strategic leadership to the finance department by setting goals, developing strategies, and ensuring the strategies are executed effectively.
• Establish a rhythm of frequent and highly proactively communication with the senior leadership to facilitate seamless operations and effective thought leadership, articulate concepts to both finance and non-finance audiences.
• Create, implement, and maintain a continuous improvement and control plan for overall business operations, while supporting the finance team to meet business needs.
• Foster a culture of transparency and accountability in the finance department and across the organization.

Does it sound like you? 

• 15+ years of progressive financial management responsibility in a fast-growing organization with at least 5 years in an executive leadership position.
• MBA or other advanced degree in a relevant field preferred, strong preference for CPA. Any other professional qualification is a plus as well.
• Solid business acumen with experience leading lending operations in a banking finance set-up going through intensive scaling/growth.
• Ability to balance best practices with risk tolerance in pursuit of the company’s social mission.
• Proven track record of leading and managing global finance teams within dynamic, medium-sized, growth-stage organizations with multiple revenue streams.
• Strong experience in leading finance strategy and operations across multiple countries, reporting to the CEO or Board of Directors.
• Significant experience in project planning, budgeting fund and grant accounting, compliance, and reporting; fluency with complex bi-lateral funding agency reporting requirements preferred.
• Adept at presenting financial information to leadership, the CFO possesses strong quantitative and analytical skills.
• High energy, maturity, and leadership with the ability to serve as a unifying force and to position financial discussions at both the strategic and tactical levels.
• Excellent interpersonal, leadership, and communication skills – approachable, honest, transparent, and able to build relationships with consensus and inclusion.
• Highly detailed, action, and results oriented. Sincere commitment and skills to work inclusively with diverse groups.
• Ability to travel locally, regionally, and internationally with limited advanced notice.
• Experience in East Africa required
• Passion for Inkomoko’s mission to impact communities through private sector development

Persons of all genders, races, sexes, orientations, age, and identities are encouraged to apply.