Partnerships Incubator - Senior Finance and Operations Coordinator

Position Title: Senior Finance & Operations Coordinator

Minimum Education and Experience: BA/BS and 5 years of relevant

experience, or equivalent with USAID’s experience.
Substitutions and Equivalents: Master’s degree and 2 years of experience
Anticipated Start Date: December 18, 2023
Location: Virtual
Project: Partnerships Incubator
Reports To: Finance and Operations Director
Unit: Finance & Operations
Level of Effort: Full-time Position
Project Director: Donna Vincent Roa, Ph.D., ABC, CDPMⓇ

About Kaizen 

Kaizen, A Tetra Tech Company, is an incubator for innovative, scalable solutions that address emerging market challenges and opportunities. Our proven solutions catalyze locally driven, organizational, and institutional performance improvements and shift the development model into one that is bottom-up and ongoing. We leverage existing knowledge, new technologies, and innovative business models.

Kaizen is hiring a highly motivated professional looking to create a social impact in a fast-paced and rewarding work environment. We seek applications for the Senior Finance and Operations Coordinator position for the USAID-funded Partnerships Incubator. This five-year project started in October 2019 and ends on September 30, 2024.

About the Partnerships Incubator 

USAID aims to diversify its partner base by removing barriers to engagement and creating avenues for new and nontraditional partners to work with the Agency. The Partnerships Incubator was set up as a global service hub to address this need by amplifying USAID’s external communications efforts to strengthen and diversify the Agency’s partner base, expanding Agency capacity for partnerships, and supporting partner organizations working with USAID.

The Partnerships Incubator works with USAID headquarters and Missions to identify and engage new and local partners, provide training and capacity-strengthening assistance, and develop tools, resources, and models to advance USAID’s partnership goals. The project also designed, developed, and launched WorkwithUSAID.org (now WorkwithUSAID.gov), a free, USAID-funded resource hub designed to connect partners to peers and experts, improve their organizational readiness, and prepare them to receive USAID funding.

Responsibilities 

We are seeking a motivated Senior Finance and Operations Coordinator ready to apply business practices and processes knowledge in a fast-paced, real-world developmental project. 

The candidate will work closely with the Finance and Operations Director to support the Partnerships Incubators’ financial and administrative functions to enhance the smooth running of activity and overall improvement of processes. The position would involve assisting with market research, onboarding consultants, supporting vendor and consultant invoicing processes, supporting procurement processes, and recording and maintaining accurate and complete financial records. In addition to these activities, the associate can help other team members as needed.

An ideal candidate will have a high level of efficiency and accuracy, enjoys the challenge of a learning curve but never views routine tasks as a burden, be detailed and deadline-oriented, be a quick learner, be able to follow through on assigned projects, be a team player who can work in a collaborative environment, exercise sound judgment and can handle sensitive information with discretion. The selected professional should also be open to a creative telework policy. The Senior Finance and Operations Coordinator will: 

• Support processing consultant and vendor invoices, including onboarding, tracking expenses, and follow-up transactions
• Support the procurement process and ensure compliance with procurement rules and regulations.
• Purchase and proceed with payment for products and services
• Be responsible for records maintenance and management
• Support project coordination and operations, including scheduling and preparing for team meetings, and other team processes
• Attend team and client meetings, record notes, and create meeting minutes
• Provide backstopping and logistical support to on-site or virtual project activities, workshops, training events, networking events, and large-scale events (e.g., in the US and outside of the US)
• Arrange and coordinate team travel, including airfare, hotels, visas, and other necessary preparations, and monitor progress during team travel
• Liaise with the Kaizen Home Office program team to provide project documentation as directed by team management
• Provide administrative support to other team members as needed
• Be open to a creative telework policy and work under varied circumstances
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or Economics (minimum) and a minimum of five years of experience or a Master’s degree and a minimum of two years of experience. 
• Familiarity or experience with USAID and/or the USAID-implementing partner paradigm is highly preferred. 
• Familiarity or experience with USAID FAR, CFR, AIDAR, and the USAID-implementing partner paradigm is highly preferred.

• Strong computer skills and proficiency in all MS Office products 
• Works on routine assignments that require essential problem-resolution 
• Demonstrated computer literacy and proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite / Google Workspace, specifically Excel, required.
• Experience with enterprise finance systems such as Concur, Costpoint, and QuickBooks preferred. 

• Comfortable with a project environment that appreciates initiative, personal ownership of work portfolios, and an entrepreneurial mindset and behaviors.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills and ability to interact with individuals at all levels. 
• Excellent communication skills and a demonstrated track record of working effectively in a team environment. 

• Ability to work in multiple cultures, highly motivated, self-starting, intellectually curious, flexible, passionate about learning, and deeply committed to social impact. 
• Comfortable operating in a fast-moving, agile, and innovative environment. 
• Superior writer and evidence of generating excellent outputs and deliverables. 
• Strong work ethic and the ability to work well independently and as part of a team. 
• Exceptional communication, knowledge management, and organizational skills. 
• Excellent verbal and written English language skills.
• Be able to serve on a fully teleworking team successfully. 
• Salary commensurate with experience. 
• Must be authorized to work in the United States.

Qualified applicants should send a resume/CV with a well-written cover letter (let your writing skills shine – please delight us).

Candidates elevated to the final interview stage must provide two to three work samples and the contact details of three references. Applicants must submit all requirements to be considered for the position. The deadline to submit is midnight on November 28, 2023. We intend to hold interviews on a rolling basis. The expected start date is December 18, 2023.

No phone calls, please. Only finalists will be contacted.

The above statements describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals assigned to this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and skills required of personnel so classified.

Please note: All current employees are contracted through September 2024. The stated term of employment is aligned with the fifth year of our contract.