Finance Manager

About Common Wellbeing

Common Wellbeing centers on foundational elements essential for wellbeing, encompassing Ethica Farms—an expanding agricultural venture—and the Common Wellbeing Foundation, which spearheads health initiatives in Zambia.

Role Overview

The Finance Manager will oversee all financial and accounting operations of Common Wellbeing in Zambia. This hands-on position involves managing daily accounting functions, leading accounting personnel, ensuring accurate bookkeeping, financial reporting, controls, payments, payroll, tax compliance, and stepping in directly for accounting tasks as required.

Additionally, the role entails elevating the finance function by building robust budgets and forecasts, monitoring financial performance, managing cash flow, conducting financial analyses, and supporting strategic decision-making.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage the finance and accounting activities for Common Wellbeing.
• Ensure timely and precise bookkeeping and financial record maintenance.
• Prepare and verify reconciliations, journal entries, payments, receivables, payroll, and month-end statements.
• Maintain the general ledger with proper transaction recording and allocation.
• Produce monthly management accounts and financial statements.
• Oversee accounts payable and receivable, ensuring proper controls over payments and collections.
• Manage cash flow and banking relationships.
• Lead the annual budgeting process and maintain ongoing financial forecasts.
• Analyze actual financial outcomes versus budgets and forecasts.
• Create financial models and scenario analyses as needed.
• Provide actionable financial insights and advice to management.
• Supervise and collaborate with accounting staff while maintaining hands-on involvement.
• Partner with the Managing Director of Ethica Farms on financial oversight, including monitoring revenue, costs, margins, profitability, inventory, working capital, and cash flow.
• Develop and oversee budgets and forecasts for Ethica Farms.
• Enhance understanding of product costing and unit economics.
• Support inventory accounting and control efforts.
• Offer financial analysis to aid decisions on investments, expansion, and pricing.
• Collaborate with the Foundation Director on financial management, budgeting, and forecasting.
• Track program and organizational spending relative to budgets.
• Manage accounting for grants and restricted funds.
• Prepare donor budgets and financial reports.
• Ensure expenditures are accurately recorded and allocated to programs and funding sources.
• Analyze program costs, efficiency, and sustainability.
• Prepare monthly financial reports for management and the Board, including presentations on financial performance, forecasts, cash status, risks, and issues requiring attention.
• Maintain strong financial controls and segregation of duties.
• Ensure compliance with Zambian tax laws and statutory, regulatory, and financial reporting requirements.
• Prepare or oversee tax filings and statutory submissions.
• Coordinate annual external audits and provide necessary documentation.
• Manage relationships with auditors, banks, tax advisers, and other financial service providers.
• Maintain up-to-date financial policies and procedures.
• Supervise corporate administration tasks such as insurance, contracts, records, asset management, and procurement controls.
• Oversee HR administration including employment documents, payroll coordination, leave tracking, onboarding, offboarding, and HR policies.
• Ensure organizational administrative systems and processes are efficient and effective.

Qualifications and Experience

• Professional accounting certification such as ACCA, CIMA, CA Zambia, or equivalent.
• A minimum of seven years progressive finance and accounting experience.
• Strong practical accounting capabilities and comprehensive understanding of the full accounting cycle.
• Experience preparing monthly accounts, reconciliations, financial statements, and management reporting.
• Proficiency in budgeting, forecasting, cash flow oversight, and financial analysis.
• Ability to interpret financial data and provide practical recommendations.
• Track record of working with senior management to inform business decision-making.
• Clear communication skills to convey financial information to non-finance staff and Boards.
• Commercial finance expertise, especially in agriculture, FMCG, manufacturing, or distribution sectors, is highly advantageous.
• Experience with nonprofit, donor-funded, or grant-financed entities is beneficial but not mandatory.
• Solid knowledge of Zambian tax, statutory, and regulatory frameworks.
• Advanced skills in Excel and financial modelling.
• High integrity, sound judgment, and strong accountability.

Candidate Attributes

The ideal candidate will adeptly balance detailed accounting responsibilities while synthesizing financial data to extract insights. They will maintain accuracy and control in accounting processes while enhancing budgeting, forecasting, and cash flow management to empower informed decision-making. Comfort with the varied financial demands of both a growing commercial farm and a health-focused foundation is essential. Ownership, attention to detail, and the ability to provide management with clear, actionable financial information are key traits sought.