Job Level: Finance Officer (100%)

Location: Geneva Office-based role, two days per week working from home

Reporting to: Head of Finance (Geneva based)

Job Status: Permanent

Starting date: ASAP

Application Deadline: 29 January

Interview Dates: Week of 17 and 27 February

About Oak Foundation:

Oak Foundation commits its resources to address issues of global, social, and environmental concern, particularly those that have a major impact on the lives of the disadvantaged. Through our grant-making, we support others to make the world a safer, fairer, and more sustainable place to live. With offices in Europe, India, and North America, we make grants to organisations in approximately 40 countries worldwide.

Background:

Oak Foundation is recruiting an experienced finance officer to join its finance team. In collaboration with our programme staff, the staff member will perform financial due diligence on grant applications that our partners submit, and monitor the reports of existing projects. In addition, the officer will support the continued automation and simplification of our processes.

We are looking for someone who is adaptable and can work collaboratively with our programme colleagues. An ideal applicant has experience working in a modern digital environment and has collaborated with IT to ensure process projects deliver organisational efficiency. The role will support a global finance team.

Main responsibilities include:

1. Financial due diligence of grants:

The finance officer will use technical financial expertise to provide input and recommendations as a partner to programme staff, based on financial review and analysis of grantee partner applications and reports.

This includes:

• assessing the level of financial risk associated with grants within the organisation’s risk management framework;
• examining and analysing accounting records, financial statements, and other financial reports of partner organisations to develop an understanding of, and document trends, costs, revenues, and financial commitments and obligations;
• collaborating with programme staff on all financial aspects of grant applications and progress reports, including providing subject matter expertise on elements of financial due diligence carried out by programme staff (e.g., budget reviews, cost analyses, and reliance);
• identifying and documenting financial issues associated with grant applications and following up with programme officers and partners;
• carrying out compliance checks;
• providing input on the financial capacity building of partners;
• setting standards for financial reviews, including documenting, categorising, and analysing issues, and developing consistent approaches, ensuring harmonisation within the finance team;
• supervising more extensive assessments of partners carried out by external consultants; and
• liaising with auditors regarding queries related to the financial due diligence process.

1. Enabling process improvement

The finance officer will:

• collaborate on enhancing business processes to facilitate automation and digitalisation; and
• aid in creating dashboards for grant budget analysis, and assist IT in automating the due diligence process, as requested by the Head of Finance and IT.

1. Other

The finance officer will:

• represent the finance team on internal working groups (e.g., process improvements, system developments, foundation-wide initiatives);
• design, support, deliver and/or organise financial trainings for programme officers;
• represent Oak in networks and communities of practice relevant to operations, finance, and administration within the philanthropy sector; and
• undertake special projects and other relevant duties as required.

Position requirements:

• University degree and accountancy qualification, part-qualified will be considered (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CIA etc.).
• Five or more years of experience (mid-career).
• Experience in accounting, financial reporting, and financial analysis, including a strong understanding of reporting standards and compliance requirements for not-for-profit organisations.
• Experience in the management of and contribution to automation and IT projects preferred.
• Experience in a variety of environments and international settings desirable.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively in a team and independently.
• Proven service orientation and ability to build relationships with internal and external partners.
• Excellent problem-solving, analysis, and synthesis skills.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English, French and/or Spanish desirable, and other languages a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to juggle multiple priorities and meet strict deadlines.
• A positive and proactive work ethic.
• Experience with Salesforce, Excel, and other Office tools (e.g., Sharepoint, Powerpoint).
• Committed to Oak’s organisational values .
• The right to live and work in Switzerland.

How to apply

Your covering letter should highlight the experience that makes them best qualified for the position. In the spirit of making this process as fair as possible for all, please note that we will run applications through AI-checking software. Please note that we will only be contacting shortlisted candidates.

By submitting your application, you confirm that you have read and understood our job applicant’s data privacy notice .

Oak Foundation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, as detailed in our child safeguarding policy . We expect all staff to share this commitment. Please note that the successful candidate will undergo reference checks and be required to provide a police record prior to starting employment.