Head, Finance Business Partner, East & Southern Africa
| Location | NAIROBI, Kenya |
| Date Posted | August 5, 2025 |
| Category |
Accounting
Customer Service Finance Management Operations |
| Job Type |
Full-time
|
| Currency | KES |
Description
Posted Wednesday, 23 July 2025 at 23:00 | Expires Thursday, 14 August 2025 at 22:59
Want to make a positive difference to the future of people and our one shared home, the Earth? Working at WWF could be your opportunity of a lifetime.
All around the world, people are waking up to the devastating impacts of climate change and nature loss. The situation today is worse than the darkest predictions of just ten years ago, pushing billions of people to the edge and threatening lives and livelihoods. At WWF, we are facing our biggest crisis - and our biggest ever opportunity - to create a better future for people and nature. With over 60 years of experience and an active presence in more than 100 countries, we work to achieve both on-the-ground and global policy action, from protecting and restoring species and their habitats, to transforming markets and policies toward sustainability.
Our people come from hugely diverse backgrounds and with a variety of expertise, ranging from conservation science and advocacy to HR and finance. We welcome applications from anyone who believes they can help us tackle this enormous global challenge and drive the urgent conservation impact needed to restore our planet.
What We Do
We are an independent conservation organization, striving to sustain the natural world for the benefit of people and the ecosystem. From individuals and communities to businesses and governments, we are part of a growing global movement calling for bolder action on climate and nature, demanding that world leaders set nature on the path to recovery by 2030. WWF works to address the most dominant drivers of nature loss through system-wide changes in how food and energy are produced and consumed, and in how financial systems are structured. By implementing change in every country, we aim to drive visible and positive impacts on the ground, helping to restore nature in the most critical places around the world, from the Amazon to the Coral Triangle.
Engaging everyone means addressing the barriers to participation faced by some groups in society, including local communities. Conservation will only be sustainable if it is owned by, and benefits, local people. That's why Indigenous Peoples and local communities must be at the centre of action on climate and nature. WWF is committed to using its resources and global network to support these communities in creating together the most effective solutions where they live.
Humanity is still in time, we have a clear pathway to solve this crisis. At WWF, we call on everyone to join the global movement, change how we live, and take action now.
1 MISSION OF THE DEPARTMENT
Enabling WWF mission delivery through the continuous pursuit of the optimum balance between efficiency and effectiveness with respect to internal systems, tools, and processes. This will be achieved via the delivery of a high standard of: strategic financial management, effective digital solutions, proactive risk management, quality guidance, advice, and communication of both regulatory and internal standards requirements all through an inclusive people-centered lens.
2 MAJOR FUNCTIONS
The Head, Finance Business Partner, East & Southern Africa, will provide strategic finance leadership to their assigned region to ensure that WWF International Country Offices have long-term growth and sustainability, best practices are implemented, and all assets are safeguarded. The position will act as a thought partner with Regional Leadership, will help set financial goals and priorities, and ensure a highly functioning regional finance team.
3 MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Responsibilities
Business Partnering
â— In collaboration with the Director, FP&A, establish, lead, and develop a strong
financial business partnering team and culture.
â— Provide an excellent customer-centric finance business partnering service to
Country Leadership, Regional Teams, and the Secretariat.
â— Serve as a focal point for all financial and accounting work related to the assigned region. Liaise with other finance staff/functions to ensure all portfolio needs are met
â— Develop a deep knowledge of Regional business areas, their needs, and priorities, ensuring that leaders understand the financial implications of decisions and available choices.
â— Identify and coordinate financial capacity building to Country Finance Leaders including professional development support and mentoring.
â— Provide recruitment and performance management support and advice to Country Directors for their senior Finance roles.
â— Provide thought partnership, analytics, and problem-solving support to Regional leadership to help foster sound decision-making.
â— Provide financial capacity building to non-Finance Leaders across the organisation including Country Leaders and Secretariat Budget Holders to build and develop financial literacy across leadership and management positions.
â— Accountable for advice and support to Country Office and Regional Budget Holders in the management of their budgets and forecasts
â— Supporting the construction of business cases through financial challenges and the identification of implications of options considered.
â— Serve as Subject Matter Expert for all Financial matters to internal and external clients surrounding their assigned portfolio.
Planning
â— Supporting the financial analysis of the Region to prepare for the business planning processes.
â— Lead the planning, forecasting, and monitoring processes for their business area.
â— Building, maintaining, and influencing strong relationships with key stakeholders and budget holders, acting as the link with colleagues, and ensuring that variances, forecasts, and planning assumptions are reported and understood.
â— Identifying sustainable cost reallocation or savings targets and initiatives as part of the business planning cycle, along with understanding and articulating the impact of reforms and their ultimate effect on the business.
Financial analysis and reporting
â— Acting in an intelligent customer role to actively work with the business to understand cost drivers and performance priorities and interpret data to support business decisions
â— Provide and present relevant and accurate financial information related to their business area to various stakeholders.
â— Provide recommendations based on analysis of financial information
Other
â— Supports continuous improvement of processes about respective Regional Finance deliverables. Supports the development and enhancement of Finance's output, aiming to increase automation, improve efficiency, and strengthen controls.
â— Ensure a cost-effective environment that eliminates waste, and safeguards assets.
â— Maintain a focus on long-term sustainability, leveraging effective cost-recovery practices.
Team leadership and unit development
â— Leads in the recruitment of their team
â— Manage and empower their team including developing, coaching, coordinating, and supervising roles
â— Build and maintain relationships with other management and leadership positions across and beyond the division to enable and optimize the ways of working
â— Performs other duties as requested by Finance leadership
4 PROFILE
Required Qualifications:
â— Hold a first degree or equivalent qualification and/or be an ACCA, CIMA, ACA or equivalent qualified accountant and 8 years experience.
â— Demonstrated experience in analyzing large amounts of data and producing summaries that provide clear insights.
â— Financial Analysis skills and ideally from an FP&A background.
â— Experience in assisting with business cases and modeling is desirable.
Required Skills and Competencies:
â— Commercial in their approach to finance, balanced with a clear understanding of the non-financial objectives of the Region.
â— Financial Leadership to understand the bigger picture and align financial priorities to achieve stated objectives.
â— Effective decision-making and financial problem-solving skills
â— Strong collaboration skills to effectively work with staff across various WWF International departments, including different units in Finance
â— Adaptability and flexibility to efficiently work in complex and sometimes unique
circumstances
â— Able to influence the behavior of senior managers to ensure they deliver the expected financial performance for their area of responsibility.
â— Good at networking, both internally and externally, and building relationships at all levels of the organization.
â— An excellent communicator, particularly when dealing with complex financial information and a non-financial audience.
â— Able to work autonomously across a large and complex organization.
â— Embraces the WWF mission and values of the organization: Courage, Integrity, Respect & Collaboration
5 WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
Internal:
Frequently interacts with Sr. Leadership, Regional Leadership and teams, Country Office Leadership and teams, and finance teams across WWF International
External:
Liaises with consultants, other finance professionals in the INGO sector, and auditors.
Please upload your covering letter and CV in English. Priority will be given to applications with both documents indicated.
Deadline for applications: 14 August 2025
Work permit restrictions may apply.
Early application is encouraged as we will review applications throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the advert early.
At WWF, we are dedicated to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace where every individual feels valued and respected. We believe that a diverse workforce will help us to achieve our mission to stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature. As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to providing fair and unbiased consideration for all candidates regardless of their background. We encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply and join us in fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace.
Job Details
Job Family Operations
Job Function Finance (Operations)
Pay Type Salary
Applying Instructions
Job Description
Want to make a positive difference to the future of people and our one shared home, the Earth? Working at WWF could be your opportunity of a lifetime.
All around the world, people are waking up to the devastating impacts of climate change and nature loss. The situation today is worse than the darkest predictions of just ten years ago, pushing billions of people to the edge and threatening lives and livelihoods. At WWF, we are facing our biggest crisis – and our biggest ever opportunity – to create a better future for people and nature. With over 60 years of experience and an active presence in more than 100 countries, we work to achieve both on-the-ground and global policy action, from protecting and restoring species and their habitats, to transforming markets and policies toward sustainability.
Our people come from hugely diverse backgrounds and with a variety of expertise, ranging from conservation science and advocacy to HR and finance. We welcome applications from anyone who believes they can help us tackle this enormous global challenge and drive the urgent conservation impact needed to restore our planet.
What We Do
We are an independent conservation organization, striving to sustain the natural world for the benefit of people and the ecosystem. From individuals and communities to businesses and governments, we are part of a growing global movement calling for bolder action on climate and nature, demanding that world leaders set nature on the path to recovery by 2030. WWF works to address the most dominant drivers of nature loss through system-wide changes in how food and energy are produced and consumed, and in how financial systems are structured. By implementing change in every country, we aim to drive visible and positive impacts on the ground, helping to restore nature in the most critical places around the world, from the Amazon to the Coral Triangle.
Engaging everyone means addressing the barriers to participation faced by some groups in society, including local communities. Conservation will only be sustainable if it is owned by, and benefits, local people. That’s why Indigenous Peoples and local communities must be at the centre of action on climate and nature. WWF is committed to using its resources and global network to support these communities in creating together the most effective solutions where they live.
Humanity is still in time, we have a clear pathway to solve this crisis. At WWF, we call on everyone to join the global movement, change how we live, and take action now.
1 MISSION OF THE DEPARTMENT
Enabling WWF mission delivery through the continuous pursuit of the optimum balance between efficiency and effectiveness with respect to internal systems, tools, and processes. This will be achieved via the delivery of a high standard of: strategic financial management, effective digital solutions, proactive risk management, quality guidance, advice, and communication of both regulatory and internal standards requirements all through an inclusive people-centered lens.
2 MAJOR FUNCTIONS
The Head, Finance Business Partner, East & Southern Africa, will provide strategic finance leadership to their assigned region to ensure that WWF International Country Offices have long-term growth and sustainability, best practices are implemented, and all assets are safeguarded. The position will act as a thought partner with Regional Leadership, will help set financial goals and priorities, and ensure a highly functioning regional finance team.
3 MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Business Partnering
● In collaboration with the Director, FP&A, establish, lead, and develop a strong
financial business partnering team and culture.
● Provide an excellent customer-centric finance business partnering service to
Country Leadership, Regional Teams, and the Secretariat.
● Serve as a focal point for all financial and accounting work related to the assigned region. Liaise with other finance staff/functions to ensure all portfolio needs are met
● Develop a deep knowledge of Regional business areas, their needs, and priorities, ensuring that leaders understand the financial implications of decisions and available choices.
● Identify and coordinate financial capacity building to Country Finance Leaders including professional development support and mentoring.
● Provide recruitment and performance management support and advice to Country Directors for their senior Finance roles.
● Provide thought partnership, analytics, and problem-solving support to Regional leadership to help foster sound decision-making.
● Provide financial capacity building to non-Finance Leaders across the organisation including Country Leaders and Secretariat Budget Holders to build and develop financial literacy across leadership and management positions.
● Accountable for advice and support to Country Office and Regional Budget Holders in the management of their budgets and forecasts
● Supporting the construction of business cases through financial challenges and the identification of implications of options considered.
● Serve as Subject Matter Expert for all Financial matters to internal and external clients surrounding their assigned portfolio.
Planning
● Supporting the financial analysis of the Region to prepare for the business planning processes.
● Lead the planning, forecasting, and monitoring processes for their business area.
● Building, maintaining, and influencing strong relationships with key stakeholders and budget holders, acting as the link with colleagues, and ensuring that variances, forecasts, and planning assumptions are reported and understood.
● Identifying sustainable cost reallocation or savings targets and initiatives as part of the business planning cycle, along with understanding and articulating the impact of reforms and their ultimate effect on the business.
Financial analysis and reporting
● Acting in an intelligent customer role to actively work with the business to understand cost drivers and performance priorities and interpret data to support business decisions
● Provide and present relevant and accurate financial information related to their business area to various stakeholders.
● Provide recommendations based on analysis of financial information
Other
● Supports continuous improvement of processes about respective Regional Finance deliverables. Supports the development and enhancement of Finance’s output, aiming to increase automation, improve efficiency, and strengthen controls.
● Ensure a cost-effective environment that eliminates waste, and safeguards assets.
● Maintain a focus on long-term sustainability, leveraging effective cost-recovery practices.
Team leadership and unit development
● Leads in the recruitment of their team
● Manage and empower their team including developing, coaching, coordinating, and supervising roles
● Build and maintain relationships with other management and leadership positions across and beyond the division to enable and optimize the ways of working
● Performs other duties as requested by Finance leadership
4 PROFILE
Required Qualifications:
● Hold a first degree or equivalent qualification and/or be an ACCA, CIMA, ACA or equivalent qualified accountant and 8 years experience.
● Demonstrated experience in analyzing large amounts of data and producing summaries that provide clear insights.
● Financial Analysis skills and ideally from an FP&A background.
● Experience in assisting with business cases and modeling is desirable.
Required Skills and Competencies:
● Commercial in their approach to finance, balanced with a clear understanding of the non-financial objectives of the Region.
● Financial Leadership to understand the bigger picture and align financial priorities to achieve stated objectives.
● Effective decision-making and financial problem-solving skills
● Strong collaboration skills to effectively work with staff across various WWF International departments, including different units in Finance
● Adaptability and flexibility to efficiently work in complex and sometimes unique
circumstances
● Able to influence the behavior of senior managers to ensure they deliver the expected financial performance for their area of responsibility.
● Good at networking, both internally and externally, and building relationships at all levels of the organization.
● An excellent communicator, particularly when dealing with complex financial information and a non-financial audience.
● Able to work autonomously across a large and complex organization.
● Embraces the WWF mission and values of the organization: Courage, Integrity, Respect & Collaboration
5 WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
Internal:
Frequently interacts with Sr. Leadership, Regional Leadership and teams, Country Office Leadership and teams, and finance teams across WWF International
External:
Liaises with consultants, other finance professionals in the INGO sector, and auditors.
Please upload your covering letter and CV in English. Priority will be given to applications with both documents indicated.
Deadline for applications: 14 August 2025
Work permit restrictions may apply.
Early application is encouraged as we will review applications throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the advert early.
At WWF, we are dedicated to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace where every individual feels valued and respected. We believe that a diverse workforce will help us to achieve our mission to stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature. As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to providing fair and unbiased consideration for all candidates regardless of their background. We encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply and join us in fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace.