Finance Manager

The context:  

Across the developing world, more children than ever are in school – but they are not learning. A recent study estimated that less than 1% of school children in Sub-Saharan Africa attend a school where the teaching meets basic standards of quality. At Rising Academies, we’re changing that, and we want your help.

About us:

At Rising Academies, our mission is to create the best schools and the most powerful teaching and learning tools for the people that need it most. The goal is to unleash the full potential of every student, equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and character to succeed in further study, work, and day-to-day life. We’re one of the fastest-growing quality-focused education companies in Africa, and a Certified B Corp®.

We own and operate our own great value private schools, partner with governments to improve the quality of public school systems, and use our content and technology to help other education providers. Founded in Sierra Leone in 2014, we provided emergency education to children kept out of school by the Ebola Epidemic before opening our first school in April 2015. Today, we serve more than 250,000 students across more than 900 schools in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and Rwanda.

Through great curriculum, intensive teacher coaching and actionable data, we help teachers and school leaders bring quality to every classroom. And we get results: independent studies show Rising students make more than twice the progress of their peers in comparable schools. In June 2024, one of our private schools in Sierra Leone - Rising Academy Waterloo - was shortlisted in the Top 10 for the World's Best School Prizes in the Overcoming Adversity category. Sierra Leone's Minister for Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Hon. Mr. Conrad Sackey, helped announce this honor.

About the role:

We are looking for a dynamic and exceptional Finance Manager to join our team in Sierra Leone. The Finance Manager will play a pivotal role in overseeing the financial health of Rising Sierra Leone, ensuring compliance with financial regulations, and providing strategic financial guidance to senior leadership, department and programs leads. The Finance Manager will collaborate closely with Rising’s central finance team to continue to build a best-in-class finance function and processes in Sierra Leone. The Finance Manager will oversee all finance related activities for the associated office and business operations in Sierra Leone.

The Finance Manager will:

• Develop, implement, and manage comprehensive financial plans, budgets, and forecasts for Rising Sierra Leone.
• Provide insightful financial analysis that identifies trends, opportunities, and potential risks to support decision-making at the country level.
• Prepare accurate and timely financial statements, reports, and presentations for key stakeholders such as senior management, department and programs leads.
• Ensure compliance with local financial reporting standards and regulatory requirements.
• Monitor and manage cash flow and implement effective cash management initiatives to ensure operational needs are met in Sierra Leone.
• Collaborate with the central finance team to identify and mitigate financial risks through proactive measures and strategic planning for Sierra Leone.
• Lead, mentor and conduct regular training sessions for the finance team in Sierra Leone, fostering a collaborative and high-performance culture.
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders, including auditors, tax authorities, and financial institutions in all aspects of the role. 
• Identify cost-saving opportunities without compromising quality and implement cost control measures to optimise operational efficiency.

Location and reporting:

The Finance Manager, Sierra Leone will report to the Managing Director, Sierra Leone and will be based out of our country office in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Application deadline: 

The target start-date for this role will be December 2024.

Requirements

Qualifications and Experience:

• Proven ability to create, manage, interpret, and present financial analysis and reporting
• Commercially and operationally-savvy, with experience of working in a fast-paced, rapidly-growing company 
• Experience developing and implementing end-to-end operations best practices in procurement-to-payment, cash and receivable cycles
• Experience in building and maintaining financial statements and models is required
• Intermediate to advanced Microsoft excel skills is essential
• Minimum Bachelor's degree from a top university and a professional qualification in business, finance or accounting (ACCA, CIMA, CPA, ICA - full or partly qualified).
• 5-7 years experience in a fast paced, rapidly growing company in a finance role.
• Good understanding of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs)

About You:

• You are a strong communicator, able to motivate, challenge and support your team members.
• You set high standards for yourself and others, and go the extra mile to get things done.
• You understand the contexts in which we operate and the educational and operational challenges they pose.
• You are data-driven, making decisions in a logical way and on the basis of good evidence/reasoning.
• You are very well organized and have an eye for details.
• You have proficient Excel skills and are able to present data insightfully and clearly explain the meaning of it. 
• You have experience with data collection, focus groups, and customer outreach.
• You have strong written communication skills, especially around public-facing materials, publications, and reports.
• You have the ability to learn quickly, are happy to give and receive feedback, and are interested in trying new approaches.
• You have the highest levels of integrity and trustworthiness.
• You are passionate about Education.

Benefits

Compensation and Benefits:

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package. We regularly benchmark our compensation against comparable businesses, social ventures and non-profits. 

Rising’s goal is to be transparent about salaries at all levels of the organisation and have a standard, global pay scale for all positions that is non-negotiable. 

The benefits we offer are built to have a strong added value on our staff’s well-being and we are excited to discuss this further with you in the process.

Rising is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to providing a work environment that is inclusive and free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions are based on individual qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, national origin, family or parental status, veteran or disability status.

Rising is committed to creating a culture within the organisation, and its schools, that recognizes the importance of safeguarding children and prioritizing their rights and needs. We strive to uphold international safeguarding standards, and keep the safety and well-being of our students at the heart of what we do. All Rising employees are expected to abide by the Child Protection Policy, and to have the same level of commitment to protect children from harm. Safeguarding questions are part of every interview process and all Rising employees undergo reference checks before joining the organisation.