Finance Manager – Ventures and Innovation

Location: United States, with preference for Portland or Washington, DC. Remote start anticipated, permanent remote possible.
Position Status: Full-time, Regular
Minimum Starting Salary: $64,000 USD Annually, DOE

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.

Program/Department Summary

Mercy Corps Ventures (MCV) invests in and fuels high-impact enterprises that increase the resilience of people and communities in frontier markets. Founded in 2015 as the impact investing and innovative finance division of the global development agency Mercy Corps, we’ve supported 30+ early-stage ventures to scale and raise over $125 million in follow-on capital. Our portfolio centers around solutions that build climate resilience and financial resilience, so those living in frontier markets can withstand disruption and plan for the future.

Mercy Corps’ Innovation team aims to spark and support the scaling of innovative models for social impact to address some of the world’s most pressing problems in a sustained manner. We focus on use of technology, catalytic partnerships, learning and adaptation. The Innovation team at Mercy Corps drives the identification, acceleration and development of Breakthrough Solutions, those disruptive initiatives designed to solve major challenges at scale. The Innovation team drives an agency-wide vision which enables the evolution of internal systems and approaches in support of agile programming, scale, and partnerships.

General Position Summary

The Finance Manager – Ventures & Innovation (FM) oversees the strong financial management of MCV and specific innovative initiatives. MCV is anticipating accelerated growth of both the investment portfolio and team in the short and long term. The FM will play a key leadership role within MCV by establishing the policies & procedures that enable and enhance this growth, in conjunction with other departments. And will help set direction and approach for financial oversight of several complex enterprise models while contributing to strategy development for both MCV and Innovations.

The FM will manage Ventures and Innovation budgets and oversee financial management planning and systems for dynamic growth. The FM will ensure that all financial reporting and grant compliance standards are met for MCV initiatives and for a portfolio of initiatives within the Innovation department, which span multiple grants, earned income revenue, investments, and contracts. The FM is responsible for reviewing and reporting accurate and timely financials, oversight of grant and corporate compliance issues, preparing proposal budgets, and all back office finance management and task completion. They will surface insights and lessons learned to help inform ongoing evolution and healthy financial performance of these models. The initiatives that the FM oversees may change over time.

The FM will work with senior leadership across the Program, Finance and Executive teams to identify and implement revised courses of action for streamlining finance, procurement and accounting workflows in support of the agency’s overall Innovation goals and enhance efficiencies for all teams.

Essential Job Responsibilities

General Responsibilities:

MERCY CORPS VENTURES FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT (70%)

• Financial management and planning in support of strategic growth including developing annual, quarterly and monthly budgets, BVA maintenance, and forecasting
• Manage administrative & finance functions of Mercy Corps Ventures investments and program activity: grants management, approval authority maintenance, proposal development, financial review of timesheets, purchase requests, procurement and consultant contracts, and payments
• Enhances approaches for MCV financial management for growth and supervises all MCV finance-related workflows
• Lead the preparation of required financial reports and payment requests to funders in coordination with International Finance and HQ Finance officers, as needed
• Support the financial and administrative procedures required to allocate internal funds for projects, including budget review and assistance with ongoing budget management
• Manage and support audits in coordination with relevant Finance and Compliance team members
• Conduct financial and portfolio management of MCV’s investment vehicle in coordination with accountants and controller
• Coordinate investment transactions with treasury and accounts payable
• Manage digital assets/ cryptocurrency investments, holdings and governance in coordination with the Senior Managing Director and treasury
• Contributes to MCV strategy development
• Ensure financial resources are used in compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies and procedures

INNOVATION STRATEGY and SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT (30%)

• Support strategic visioning and provide financial and operations oversight for innovative initiatives, oversees financial modeling process for innovation/enterprise at various stages of growth
• Lead sprint sessions, time-bound consultancies and other initiatives to fill finance-related gaps for Innovation portfolio initiatives
• Support the financial and administrative procedures required to allocate internal funds for innovation projects to MC country offices, including budget review and assistance with ongoing budget management
• Coordinate with HQ Regional Finance Officer (RFO-MCG) and International Finance Officer (IFO-MCE) in preparation of required financial reports and payment requests to donor agencies, as needed
• Support with management of audits in coordination with RFO, IFO and other relevant Finance and Compliance team members
• Monitor grant reporting and compliance with various HQ and field offices as needed
• Develop annual budgets with Departmental budget holders, and develop and implement Department and grand budgeting and forecasting systems with Team Leads
• Contribute to Innovations strategy development
• Serve as the financial review function for procurements and other expense reviews for which the FM is authorized, and provide guidance related to Mercy Corps’ policies

Supervisory Responsibility

None. This position will oversee special consultancies or short term hires. MCV is a dynamic, growing team and there is potential for this role to assume supervisory responsibility in the future.

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Both Senior Director, Mercy Corps Ventures and Vice President, Innovation

Works Directly With: Mercy Corps Ventures and Innovation teams, Chief Operating Officer, HQ Regional Finance Officer (RFO-MCG) and International Finance Officer (IFO-MCE) (with authority for technical financial matters), International Finance, Corporate Accounting, Treasury and Human Resources teams of both MC HQ Portland and MC Europe, and leaders of select innovative initiatives

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

• MA/MFIN OR EQUIVALENT IN ACCOUNTING OR FINANCE OR CPA PREFERRED
• At least 5+ years of progressive financial management experience
• Experience in financial management for growing enterprises or investment vehicles strongly preferred
• At least 2+ years of experience in grant management, including compliance with donor regulations
• Demonstrated experience and skill with budget preparation, analysis and management
• Experience preparing and presenting financial reports with proven ability to translate technical financial data into informative reports
• Strong accounting skills, including management of the general ledger, journal entries, payables and balance sheets
• STRONG RELATIONSHIP-BUILDING AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS; SUCCESS WITH GEOGRAPHICALLY DISPERSED AND CULTURALLY DIVERSE STAKEHOLDERS A DEFINITE PLUS
• Proven ability to prioritize workload and function effectively, to work well under pressure, and meet demands and deadlines with minimal supervision
• Proven track-record helping lead change management processes and/or supporting innovative social-impact models for growth
• Expertise with MS Office Suite

Success Factors

This successful Finance Manager will exhibit a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, support a culture of inclusivity and make effective communication a priority in all situations, including with partner organizations and donors. They will have excellent attention to and comprehension of details, while being equally adept at visualizing and engaging with the “big picture”. They will embrace both the responsibility to help adjust and build systems for the future and the small day to day tasks that keep things running. They will effectively synthesize information and draw meaningful conclusions. They will proactively identify and negotiate win-win solutions and support successful change processes.

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Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in the USA, with a preference for Washington, DC, or Portland, OR.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.