Finance & Admin (Associate Director/Lead)

Employer: Inclusion Economics India Centre at IFMR

Reporting to: Executive Director

Location: Delhi, India

Who We Are:

Inclusion Economics India Centre is an initiative affiliated with Inclusion Economics at Yale University, founded and based out of the Yale Economic Growth Center and MacMillan Center. Inclusion Economics India Centre is based at, and accountable to, the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) Society, with strategic oversight from Krea University. Inclusion Economics India Centre collaborates with the Inclusion Economics at Yale University team to enable inclusive economies and societies through research and policy engagement.

Drawing upon economics, political science, and related fields, we conduct cutting-edge research to understand how policy can promote inclusive, accountable economies and societies. Our core research focuses on gender as it relates to labor economics and broader economic empowerment; political economy and governance; and environmental economics.

We also aim to build a culture of evidence and increase data literacy in the public sector, strengthening leaders’ ability to identify and implement evidence-informed policies. Throughout the research life cycle, we engage closely with policy counterparts to ensure we address questions of immediate relevance, and we regularly communicate data-driven insights with policy counterparts and the general public.

The Role:

The Finance & Admin (Associate Director/Lead) will be managing a portfolio of financial grants from various funders alongside Research Managers, close monitoring of expenditures, documenting payments, generating periodic financial reports as well as invoices, optimizing the grant administration process, preparing progress reports, ensuring compliance with grant regulations, managing grant databases and educating staff on financial processes and policies. The Finance & Admin (Associate Director/Lead) will lead the finance & admin team, and we seek to hire an individual with experience in the non-profit sector, as well as with a strong understanding of the requirements of FCRA regulations. The person should demonstrate high integrity in financial matters and work to build systems and processes that are improved over a period of time.

Responsibilities:

Grants Management and Reporting:

Coordinate with research managers and IFMR to ensure necessary steps relevant to budgeting, contract set-up and compliance, grant reporting, milestone tracking, etc., are met and all project teams track and manage finances appropriately.
Review donor agreements from a statutory compliance, reporting and operational management perspective.
Serve as liaison with IFMR Accounts team and Inclusion Economics India Centre (IEIC) to ensure donors and Inclusion Economics receive accurate accounting and reporting information and timely payments are made.
Support research teams in preparing financial reports to be submitted to donors and help with providing rationale and responding to queries from donors.
Work with Inclusion Economics at Yale University and IEIC based team members to institutionalize financial management, controls, and operational protocol to ensure all processes run smoothly and are in compliance with donor and government requirements. Oversee and maintain systematic documentation related to grants, budgets, contracts, and payments.
Develop, create and/or modify financial analysis templates to support the administration and ongoing monitoring of a growing portfolio of grants. Track cross-project liquidity for IEIC grants and providing regular financial updates and reports to IEIC at IFMR leadership.
Prepare and manage grant budgets, initiate requests and provide information for budget revisions or amendment requests.

Financial Accounting:

Work with research staff, external vendors, and IFMR to ensure expenses submitted follow appropriate policies and procedures and are booked to appropriate funding sources and lines.
Facilitate approval of requisitions, and follow up on procurement orders and payment requests as per the agreed systems to resolve issues related to invoicing, expense management, and payments.
Conduct regular reviews of ledger accuracy and coordinate with partner organizations to rectify errors. Receivables management, local taxation compliance etc.
Track funding milestones, including supporting invoice submission, to ensure continuity of operational funding and liquidity.
Maintain current accounting of expenses, prepare monthly reports, trend & variance analysis, and other ad-hoc reports (both financial and expense narrative).
Support IEIC leadership in the annual budgeting process and provide functional guidance to the research team in the preparation of budgets, cash flow projections, and work plans for grant planning and reporting.

Statutory & Donor Audits

Assist the IFMR Finance team with the retrieval of financial documents for presentation of both statutory and donor audits and respond to audit queries as necessary.
Ensure the implementation of audit recommendations.

Administration and Procurement

Provide guidance to the Finance team in day-to-day office operations, procurements, events, vendors, assets and equipment.
Work towards continuously improving the administrative and procurement procedures.
Ensure smooth operation at all the IEIC offices in Delhi, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh.

Qualifications and Key Skills:

Master’s in commerce / MBA (Finance) with 10-15 years of experience in an international organisation/NGO. At least 3-4 years in a senior role
A strong track record demonstrating financial management skills including developing and monitoring budgets, financial analysis, and financial reporting
Setting up administrative and financial systems for new projects and programs
Must be fluent in English with skills in written communication and report writing
Demonstrate high integrity in dealing with financial matters and build a similar culture across in the organization

How to Apply:

If you are interested in this position, please fill out our Screening Questionnaire; you will be asked to upload a single PDF containing your CV, cover letter, and academic transcripts. Label your file “Last name, First name – Finance & Admin Lead”.

To view other open positions, visit the Inclusion Economics Opportunities page. We encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds, particularly women, people of color and other marginalized communities which have historically been underrepresented in the field of economics.