Finance Manager, Distribution enterprise in Colombia

Chakipi Colombia Distribution Enterprise (“CHAKIPI”) background

Chakipi Colombia was created in 2015. Chakipi, meaning “to your home” in Quechua, a native Andean language, is the brand of CGEP’s inclusive distribution enterprises. Distribution enterprises empower women as entrepreneurs in remote and urban areas and provide a basket of essential consumer goods, food, and pro-poor innovations for sale. We supply the products at convenient meeting points and we provide the training and coaching that the women need to be knowledgeable and confident salespeople. The women sell these products into their communities and increase their incomes in return.

Chakipi Colombia is currently working with 200 female entrepreneurs around Cartagena and is in the process of scaling throughout the country.

Finance Manager

Reporting/Supervisor: General Manager

Location: Cartagena or Bogota (flexible)

Position: Full-time

Travel: Up to 50% local travel

Start Date: October 3, 2016

The Finance Manager is a key position, working closely with the General Manager (GM) of CHAKIPI, and is responsible for all accounting and financial activities related to CHAKIPI operations.

  • Perform all financial and accounting duties including maintenance of general ledger, fund accounting, cost accounting, payroll, fixed assets, debt service activities and grants;
  • Conduct monthly account reconciliations pertaining to banking, accounts receivable, liabilities, revenues, and expenses to ensure transactions are properly recorded and funds are safeguarded and to ensure that funds are balanced;
  • Perform monthly review of all business activities (sales, administration, field operations) and grants, report on any deviations from budget or projections and recommend corrective measures;
  • Perform monthly internal audit of inventories reporting on any nonconformities from reported stock;
  • Ensure all accounting operations comply with professional guidelines and local laws and regulations as well as CGEP policies and procedures;
  • Manage accounting software (SAP Business One, Xero, or equivalent) to record financial transactions using the appropriate software;
  • Submit monthly reports to the central Finance team in New York, which include key performance indicators and commentary on enterprise performance;
  • Develop, implement and oversee invoicing and tracking system for all sales activities;
  • Assist in developing and implementing new policies and procedures for better management of all aspect of CHAKIPI business activities;
  • Draft comprehensive quarterly and annual financial reports and budgets;
  • Assists with gathering financial and contractual documents for donor reporting and annual external audits.
  • Provides expenditures projection information to GM for Fund requests to ensure the project has all necessary funds for operations.
  • Track/Monitor monthly expenditures against approved budget
  • Monitor project expenditure and liaise closely with the central Finance team to ensure all necessary budget functions are performed and funds are utilized in time;
  • Prepares payments by verifying documentation, and requesting disbursements;
  • Complies with US and Colombian financial legal requirements
  • Prepares special financial reports by collecting, analyzing, and summarizing account information and trends;
  • Gather information to perform all monitoring and evaluation aspects including social impact reporting
  • Willing to travel extensively in country

 

Qualifications (Education, Experience, Languages)

  • Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or business. MBA, Master’s degree in accounting or finance, CFA (or equivalent designation) strongly preferred
  • 5-8 years experience with increasing responsibilities performing financial, accounting and budgetary analyses (5 years minimum)
  • Minimum 5 years experience in sales, management, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), or related in Colombia preferred
  • Auditing, financial analysis, and accounting experience
  • Specialized and advanced knowledge of financial accounting principles and theories, statistical and financial analysis and procedures, budgeting experience, strategic planning and administration
  • Comprehensive knowledge of US GAAP and IFRS, both theoretically and in application
  • Proficiency with MS Office applications, particularly related to data collection and reporting methods and sophisticated statistical analysis and data management, financial and comparative analysis techniques and formulas
  • Experience in an international organization or international group of companies preferred
  • Minimum 3 years experience working in Colombia
  • Experience with SAP business management packages and/or Xero a strong plus
  • Oral and written fluency in English required; fluency in Spanish required
  • Passion for the cause: poverty alleviation

 

Interested candidates should send their resumes to [email protected] with the subject line “Chakipi Colombia Finance Manager”.