POSITION DESCRIPTION

Manager, Finance and Grants

Position Objective

To lead, manage and ensure the effective financial and grant performance, donor compliance and reporting of AFAO’s efforts and partnerships to prevent HIV and reduce its impacts in Asia and the Pacific.

Location and Reporting Structure

This position is based in Bangkok, Thailand. It reports directly to the Manager, Sustainability of HIV Services for Key Populations in Asia (SKPA) Program, also based in Bangkok.

The following positions, based in Bangkok, report directly to this position:

• Senior Accountant
• Senior Finance and Grants Officer
• Finance and Operations Officer
• Administration and Logisitics Officer (Temp)

The position reports indirectly to the Manager, Business Operations, based in Sydney, Australia, to

ensure consistency, compliance and integration with AFAO’s overall business and financial systems.

This position manages external contractors from time to time.

Organisational Context

In Australia, AFAO leads the national effort to end HIV on behalf of its member organisations who represent the diverse communities most affected by HIV – lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities, sex workers, people who inject drugs, people with HIV and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Internationally, AFAO contributes to the development of effective HIV policy and programs in Asia and the Pacific, fosters the development of regional and country-level community responses to HIV, and represents Australia’s community response to HIV in global forums.

From January 2019, AFAO will lead the Sustainability of HIV Services for Key Populations in Asia

(SKPA) Program, funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Program Context

The SKPA Program aims to promote sustainable services for key populations at scale to stop HIV transmissions and AIDS related deaths by 2030. The program will be implemented in Bhutan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste.

Economic growth and the consequent shift to middle income status requires that grant countries within this program increase domestic investment and be more self-sufficient in the delivery of

national HIV/AIDS programs. Even where staged, the challenges of transition from donor to domestic funding are acute. With diminishing donor funding, countries must be highly efficient in targeting their investments in accordance with epidemiology and mechanisms for funding community-led responses by those most affected by HIV – key populations – must be established or strengthened.

The SKPA Program recognises the considerable existing efforts of grant countries toward national and global HIV/AIDS goals, funded through domestic, private and donor sources. It also recognises that, as in all countries, each of the grant countries of this program experiences barriers that prevent the provision of services and programs for key populations at necessary scale. The SKPA Program seeks to identify barriers to scale-up and implement targeted actions to address those barriers.

The objectives of the SKPA Program are to:

• Increase Financial Sustainability: Secure the long-term sustainability of increased service delivery at national levels through securing domestic investment and spending, exploring innovative approaches and identifying alternative sources of funding for key programs
• Strengthen Strategic Information: Secure up-to-date strategic information, particularly on key epidemiological and response information including population size estimates and program coverage, community needs assessment of key populations to inform program design
• Mitigate Service Delivery Gaps: Scale-up outreach to key populations and improve their access to prevention, testing and treatment and retention in the service cascade
• Strengthen Community Systems: Strengthen community responses and systems to support increased scale-up of services for key populations including sustainability of community-led services through community-based research, effective use of data and other strategic information and through community mobilisation
• Contribute to Enabling Environment: Address barriers to access including addressing stigma and discrimination and other human rights- and gender-related barriers to services, where relevant.

Principal Duties

• Lead, manage and ensure effective financial and grant performance, donor compliance and reporting.
• Establish and maintain financial management systems, including operational and reporting processes to support the efficient and effective manner use of resources.
• Establish and recommend enhancements, where necessary, to systems of internal controls, compliance and risk management.
• Authorise and ensure the quality and timeliness of periodic financial reports in the agreed formats.
• Ensure compliance with donor’s financial and grant management requirements, AFAO’s

corporate policies and relevant government regulations.

• Lead the preparation of annual budgets and work closely with program colleagues to coordinate the development of program work plans.
• Ensure that all re-programming, re-alignment, and re-classification of grant monies are recorded and tracked.
• Establish best practices to achieve high standards of Sub-Recipient financial and grant performance and reporting, take early and effective action to remediate problems and make recommendations for the redeployment of resources to achieve program objectives.

• Develop sub-grant agreements for all Sub-Recipients and institute policies and processes for maximum compliance with the agreements.
• Lead in the development of grant management and compliance tools which are responsive to the requirements of the grant.
• Ensure relevant books and records are maintained through staff supervision and quality checks.
• Develop and maintain a Financial Procedures Manual, Grant Management Manual (including sub-grants) and other documentation to achieve consistent, high-quality financial management and reporting by the Principal Recipient and Sub-Recipients.
• Liaise with the internal and external grant auditors and donor contacts and follow up any audit queries and issues in management letters.
• Manage, develop and inspire staff reporting to the position to achieve required levels of skill and performance, and undertake employee performance reviews and performance management.
• Manage and ensure effective business operations including human resources management, office and administrative functions and facilities and equipment management.
• Liaise closely with the Manager, Business Operations, and act in accordance with their directions to ensure the alignment and integrity of AFAO’s overall business and financial systems.
• Manage the effective operations of the AFAO Foundation, including its employment and human resources management, external audit processes and auditor liaison, reporting to Thai authorities and compliance with Thai legal and regulatory requirements.
• Prepare and otherwise ensure the quality of discussion and briefing papers prepared for the Boards of AFAO and the AFAO Foundation and contribute to Board meetings and processes.
• Provide support to the Manager, SKPA Program and Chief Executive Officer as a member of

AFAO’s leadership team and perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

• Promote AFAO’s knowledge, skills, experience and successes.
• Adopt continuous learning and improvement processes in all aspects of the position.
• Understand, implement, participate and promote AFAO’s business processes, policies and

procedures, and WHS objectives, processes and procedures.

Challenges and Problem Solving

Challenges faced by the position that the position-holder will be expected to be able manage include:

• Ensuring robust financial and grant performance and management overall and effective financial and grant performance and reporting by Sub-Recipients.
• Ensuring financial and other business systems, processes and reporting are fit for purpose for AFAO’s Thailand-based operations and fully aligned and integrated with AFAO’s overall operations.
• Establishing effective working relationships with and providing support to Sub-Recipients to achieve high-quality, consistent and timely financial and grant reporting.
• Identifying and recommending early action to remedy delayed expenditure, correct deficiencies in Sub-Recipient reporting and compliance, address any irregularities and re-deploy resources.
• Effectively support grant auditors and AFAO Foundation auditors and responding to questions and issues identified in management letters.
• Establishing and managing a high performing team and fostering leadership at all levels of the team to maximise capacity and effectiveness.
• Recognising important issues that will affect financial performance and reporting, engaging others around those issues and planning proportionate and effective responses to those issues.

• Making excellent judgements about priorities and managing those priorities so that deadlines are met.
• Managing risk and implementing effective risk mitigation strategies.
• Effectively responding to potentially sensitive issues and knowing when to escalate matters to the Manager, SKPA Program.

Decision Making

The role of the Manager, Finance and Grants is critical to AFAO’s success.

The Manager, Finance and Grants exercises considerable day to day discretionary and decision- making responsibility within the framework set by an annual work plan, which is approved by the Manager, SKPA Program.

The Manager, Finance and Grants, is required to exercise considerable judgement in managing staff, liaising with auditors and program stakeholders, and responding to issues that may impact AFAO’s reputation. The Manager, Finance and Grants, discusses major issues and issues of potential sensitivity with the Manager, SKPA Program for direction and support.

In exercising their responsibilities and making decisions the Manager, Finance and Grants, is bound

by AFAO’s Code of Conduct and policies and procedures.

Performance Review

The Manager, Finance and Grants will participate in an annual work planning and performance appraisal process for this role with the Manager, SKPA Program.

Key Performance Indicators for the role will include:

• Establishing and maintaining robust financial and grant management systems.
• Leadership and effective monitoring and support to achieve high-quality Sub-Recipient financial and grant management, consistency, compliance and reporting.
• Ensuring timely and high-quality financial and grant reporting for the Principal Recipient and program overall to the Global Fund.
• Compliance with donor requirements, corporate policy and other requirements and effective liaison and response with internal and external audit process.
• Management, development and performance of staff reporting to the position.
• Completion of duties in an efficient and effective manner.
• Important deadlines are met.

Position Dimensions

Staffing

• • Reporting directly: 4.0 FTE

Budget

• • Approximately USD $12.5m over three years (2019 - 2021).