We don’t just talk, we do. Lead the change with us.

At the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, we work with political leaders around the world to drive change. We help governments turn bold ideas into reality so they can deliver for their people. We do it by advising on strategy, policy and delivery, unlocking the power of technology across all three. And by sharing what we learn on the ground, so everyone can benefit. We do it to build more open, inclusive and prosperous countries for people everywhere.

We are a global team of nearly 800 changemakers, operating in more than 30 countries, across five continents. We are political strategists, policy experts, delivery practitioners, technology specialists and more. We speak more than 45 languages. We are working on over 100 projects, tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges. We’re all here at TBI to make a difference.

In a world of ever more complex challenges, we believe diversity of background and perspective is a strength. We pride ourselves on a culture that values and nurtures difference. We are dedicated to unlocking potential, not only for the countries we work in but also for each of our team members. No matter where you’re from or who you are, if you’re passionate about the transformative power of progressive politics, we invite you to build a better future with us.

Role Summary

Role and Responsibilities

As TBI grows, we are evolving our global operating model to best support the delivery of our mission, establishing empowered regional hubs to run our operational functions across Legal, Finance, Security, IT and People. These hubs are in Singapore (Asia), Nairobi (Africa), Abu Dhabi (Middle East and Eastern Europe), and London (Western Europe), with Washington DC (Americas) being the newest.

Reporting to the new Director of Operations (Americas), the Finance Manager (Americas) will be based full-time in Washington DC and will develop and deliver our Americas Finance operating model and ensure all finance systems and processes perform at the highest levels of professionalism and capability in accordance with global and, where relevant, local policies and standards.

As a new role in the startup of our operational hub in the Americas, this will need a highly commercial and entrepreneurial approach to establishing a cost-effective, future-proof and scalable model. The focus of the role will change over time, requiring a hands-on and problem-solving approach from the outset to best support our growth in the region, before shifting to more steady-state operations to facilitate the successful delivery of all our client-facing and other teams in the region.

Responsibilities will include:

Functional Leadership

• Develop and deliver an Americas operating model for the Finance function, implementing the relevant systems, policies and processes, and aligning with other operational functions (Legal, Security, IT and People)
• From the point of start up, ensuring the delivery of timely, effective and quality support to local and regional stakeholders across the Finance function
• Collaborating with our global Finance team in London, counterpart Finance Managers in other regions, and as part of the global community of operational roles
• Identify, assess, and inform regional leadership of any internal and external finance matters that may impact operations at an organizational level, recommending interim or permanent solutions wherever possible and applicable
• Lead or collaborate with others on special projects and other operational assignments as directed by regional leadership

Systems, Policies and Processes

• Ensure the implementation of global policies and standards for Finance across the region and any relevant local variations
• Providing dedicated financial support to leadership and budget holders within the regions, including cost modelling and forecasting and variance and performance analysis
• Prepare accurate, timely, and user friendly monthly financial information and analysis to leadership and budget holders
• Running relevant financial processes (e.g. approvals, accruals, prepayments, balance sheet and cash reconciliations) and continually improving internal financial controls and procedures

Regional Growth

• Support leaders in the region and across the organization to establish TBI’s presence in new countries, including the financial aspects of end-to-end program activation (and, where relevant, closure) and support on regional procurement and negotiations by providing financial analysis and ensuring contracts are compliant with TBI and donor regulations
• Financial training and onboarding for new programs/ staff within the region, operationalizing new country programs in accordance with all global/ local policies and standards to facilitate the successful delivery of our teams from the outset

Person Specification

We are looking for an outstanding individual with a proven track record of leadership and delivery in the public or private sectors. All candidates will be required to have relevant experience in a financial leadership role and working across multiple national or sub-national geographies in the region and working on multiple projects simultaneously. Above all, we are looking for individuals with high levels of enthusiasm, resilience, adaptability and a can-do attitude, as much of the early work will take a hands-on approach to get our regional operations from start up to steady state.

Candidates should also be able to demonstrate the majority of the following:

• Qualified CPA with experience working internationally and, preferably, working knowledge of accounting for donor funds
• Must be able to take ownership and manage their own workflow with minimal input from management, set their own goals and plan how to achieve them
• Dynamic, confident candidate who can articulate financial information and analysis verbally and by written presentation
• Outstanding leadership and management skills and proven experience in influencing, coaching and delivering change through others, including demonstrated experience collaborating with and providing advice to senior leaders and stakeholders
• Highly commercial and entrepreneurial, with experience in navigating growth and ambiguous environments and managing up and across a hierarchy
• Creative, proactive and highly organised, and excited by the opportunity to build something new
• A personal passion for social impact, politics, and government bringing demonstrable expertise in public policy or administration, international development or another similar field
• Business fluency in English required, additional languages relevant for the Americas preferred
• Willingness to travel across the Americas region, sometimes at short notice
• Candidates must have the right to work in the USA and be able to work in-person in Washington DC

Closing Date:

2024-05-17