Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Position description

CorpsAfrica has retained Slesinger Management Services to recruit an experienced nonprofit accounting professional with strong financial management, leadership, and intercultural skills to serve as chief financial officer. This is an outstanding opportunity for a finance leader with a proven track record of creative problem-solving and change management to develop exceptional financial systems for a fast-growing, mission-driven, nonprofit organization that, in 2025, will have a budget of
$18 million, a staff of about 160 (7 in Washington, DC; the rest in 10 countries in Africa), and 470 fulltime volunteers, who form the essence of the organization.

Applications will be accepted until this search is completed. To see if the search is still active, please see www.SlesingerManagement.com.

The Organization

CorpsAfrica is a nonprofit organization that recruits and places ambitious, young Africans in rural, high-poverty communities in their own countries to apply their education, build their critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and venture beyond their comfort zones to learn about their countries and about themselves. They facilitate small-scale, high-impact projects identified by local community members, to fulfill key needs and whose impact and success can be carefully measured.

CorpsAfrica volunteers come from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and education. All volunteers must have a college degree or equivalent experience, and most volunteers join CorpsAfrica with experience in the social sector and in designing, implementing, and monitoring projects.

Currently, CorpsAfrica has 470 volunteers in ten countries that span the continent – Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda.

CorpsAfrica was founded in 2011 by Liz Fanning, a former Peace Corps volunteer who saw the need to create an African version of the Peace Corps, with Africans serving as volunteers within their own continent. Liz is CorpsAfrica’s CEO.

CorpsAfrica’s budget in 2025 is $18 million. Most funding comes from a multi-year grant from the Mastercard Foundation. CorpsAfrica is committed to diversifying its funding via grants from other foundations as well as corporations and individuals, plus government support from countries committed to strengthening Africa.

CorpsAfrica has grown rapidly since the Mastercard Foundation grant, totaling $60 million over five years, began in 2022. It now has a staff of 160, with 7 working from Washington, DC, and the rest spread among the 10 counties in Africa.

For this CFO job, there is a preference that the person be based in the Washington, DC, metro area (splitting time between days in the office and days working from home) and be able to travel to Africa from time to time. CorpsAfrica will also consider candidates who would work from any of the ten countries where the organization is active.

(Candidates must already have authorization to work in the desired country; CorpsAfrica is not able to sponsor anyone to obtain employment authorization.)

For more information about the organization, please go to www.CorpsAfrica.org.

The Position and its Principal Responsibilities

Reporting directly to the CEO, the chief financial officer is responsible for providing leadership for the organization’s financial functions, ensuring the organization’s fiscal health.

Key responsibilities include:

1. Overseeing and administering CorpsAfrica’s financial management, including implementing sound

   processes and systems that will accommodate continued future growth.

2. Leading a finance and accounting team of seven, all of whom (except possibly the next CFO) are

   based in various offices in Africa.

3. Serving as a strategic business partner to the CEO, other senior staff, and the board of directors,

   including assessing the financial implications of key opportunities and decisions the organization is

   considering.

4. Evaluating all current procedures and processes related to the organization’s financial management

   and identifying improvements as necessary. Improvements will entail implementing new technology solutions, including possibly replacing the current accounting software (a combination of Excel and QuickBooks Online) with one that can better accommodate CorpsAfrica’s needs to track the flow of money into and out of the 11 countries (10 in Africa, plus the United States).

5. Directing the creation of the annual budget, in collaboration with local office directors, and then tracking actual versus planned activity throughout the year by producing monthly and other periodic financial reports and analyzing financial performance.

6. Working with country office staff to create, manage, and report on budgets to donors.

7. Managing timely completion of the annual audit and 990, overseeing the outside audit firm,

   providing financial data, and coordinating the engagement of relevant board committees.

8. Serving as primary staff liaison to the board’s finance committee.

Desired Skills and Characteristics

As the person overseeing CorpsAfrica’s financial management, the CFO should be:

1. Highly experienced in financial management at organizations with budgets greater than
   $15 million, and revenue that comes from private foundations and US or other government agencies, many of which have detailed compliance and reporting requirements. Experience working for a nonprofit is highly desirable.

2. Deeply proficient in accounting, including strong knowledge of GAAP, IFRS, and other relevant standards that affect nonprofits working globally.

3. A track record of working with organizations that operate in many countries and have staff from a broad array of nationalities and cultures. Experience in Africa or other developing parts of the world is highly desirable. Experience working with multiple currencies is valuable.

4. Able to think strategically, providing the CEO and the rest of the senior team with sound analysis and advice as the organization considers new opportunities and new ways of carrying out its mission.

5. Experienced with fast-growing organizations, whose growth often requires new systems and procedures that are more appropriate to the more complex entity.

6. Fully up-to-date with the best ways to use technology to make organizational systems operate as efficiently and effectively as possible.

7. A superb communicator, orally and in writing, including presenting and explaining financial and other quantitative data to staff and board.

8. Collegial and open. The CFO must have a personality and work style that ensures that the internal atmosphere will be open and collaborative.

9. Unequivocally supportive of the organization’s mission, demonstrated ideally through professional, volunteer, or personal experiences.

Compensation

The anticipated salary will be $160,000 to $170,000, plus a comprehensive benefits package.

Application instructions

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