JOB DESCRIPTION

Fixed Term Finance and Administrative Assistant

1. About the institution

This position is for a newly established, innovative and large-scale investment platform designed to strengthen food security across Africa. The institution uses a partnership model to channel capital into specialised investment funds and companies, prioritising innovative and scalable agricultural solutions. This strategy addresses the critical gap between Africa's rapidly growing population and stagnating agricultural productivity, and responds to the significant market opportunity for approaches that enable and include private sector actors: Africa's agri-food sector, worth US$313 billion today, is expected to grow significantly in the coming years.

The institution operates as a blended finance vehicle. It mobilises concessional capital from philanthropies, public donors, development finance institutions and impact investors, and deploys it through concessional loans, reimbursable grants, mezzanine and convertible loans, equity and fund investments. It can invest in a wide range of transformative agri-food activities through five main windows:

1. direct investments in agri-food micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs);

2. regional funds for territorialised value chains in specific landscapes, such as tropical rainforests in the Congo Basin and coastal mangroves along West Africa;

3. investments in existing funds of funds with a track record of supporting start-ups and MSMEs in the agri-food system;

4. dedicated country flagship funds; and

5. direct investments in flagship companies.

Through these windows, the final beneficiaries are agri-food MSMEs across the value chain, with indirect benefits for farmers and local communities. The institution has a lean team and works closely with an external fund administrator, a company secretary, a compliance service provider, banks and auditors.

2. Purpose of the role

The institution is seeking a Fixed Term Finance and Administrative Assistant to provide accurate, timely and well-organised finance and administrative support to the Head of Finance and Operations and the wider team. The role ensures that payments, expenses, procurement, travel, records, meetings and reporting are handled efficiently and in line with the institution's policies, internal controls and delegated authorities, and that documentation is always complete and audit-ready.

3. Key responsibilities

Finance and accounting support

• Prepare payment requests and supporting documentation for supplier invoices, consultant fees, expense claims and other payments, and check them against contracts, purchase orders, budgets and approval limits before submission for approval.

• Maintain accurate financial records and transaction listings, and code transactions to the correct budget lines and cost centres.

• Prepare monthly bank and account reconciliations and follow up on unreconciled items with the fund administrator and banks.

• Process and verify consultant timesheets, invoices and fee notes, and track contract balances.

• Support month-end and year-end closing, including accruals and prepayment schedules, and liaise with the fund administrator on accounting entries.

Budgeting and reporting

• Support the preparation of the annual operating budget and monitor actual expenditure against budget.

• Prepare budget-variance schedules, cash-flow forecasts and management information for review by the Head of Finance and Operations.

• Support the preparation of donor and funder financial reports, and keep track of restricted funds and reporting deadlines.

Procurement and contract administration

• Support procurement processes in line with the Procurement Policy, including requests for quotations, tender documents, bid logs and evaluation records.

• Maintain the supplier register, procurement register and contract register, and track contract renewal and expiry dates.

• Collect the documents required for supplier and consultant onboarding, including know-your-customer information, for review by the Risk and Compliance Manager.

Travel, meetings and logistics

• Arrange travel for staff, consultants and Board and committee members in line with the Travel and Missions Policy, including flights, accommodation, visas, insurance confirmations and daily subsistence allowances.

• Process travel advances and settle travel expense claims promptly.

• Support the logistics of Board and other meetings, including scheduling, virtual meeting arrangements and the circulation of papers through secure channels.

Governance, compliance and audit support

• Act as Secretary to the Investment Committee: issue notices, agendas and meeting packs, circulate written resolutions, draft minutes, maintain the register of decisions, the register of interests and the action log, track decision records and follow up on actions, and maintain the deal pipeline tracker.

• Maintain the compliance and reporting calendar, and send timely reminders for regulatory, tax, statutory and funder deadlines.

• Support the company secretary and compliance service provider with the collection and filing of documents.

• Prepare schedules and supporting documents requested by the external auditors and internal audit, and track the implementation of audit recommendations.

• Maintain registers required by the institution's policies, such as the gifts and hospitality register, as assigned.

Recruitment support

• Support recruitment processes, including preparing job descriptions and advertisements, logging and acknowledging applications, preparing screening schedules and scoring sheets, and organising interviews.

• Prepare offer and contract documentation for selected candidates, and collect the documents required for background, reference and integrity checks.

• Support the onboarding of new consultants and staff, and maintain personnel files securely and confidentially.

Records, systems and administration

• Maintain an organised, secure electronic filing system for finance, procurement, contracts and governance records, in line with records retention and data protection requirements.

• Administer software licences, subscriptions and other recurring services, and maintain the asset and equipment register.

• Review incoming correspondence, collect and prepare the information needed for a reply or action, and draft responses for review by the Head of Finance and Operations.

• Support consultant administration, including contract documentation, onboarding checklists and leave and absence records.

• Perform other finance and administrative duties reasonably assigned by the Head of Finance and Operations.

4. Requirements

Candidates will be assessed against the following essential and desirable requirements.

Essential

• A Bachelor's degree, or an equivalent qualification, in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Economics or a related discipline.

• A minimum of four (4) years' experience in a finance, accounting or administrative role, including processing payments and invoices, reconciliations and maintaining financial records.

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and good working knowledge of the Microsoft 365 suite (including Outlook, Teams and SharePoint).

• Excellent written and spoken English, including the ability to draft clear correspondence, and professional working proficiency in French.

Desirable

• A professional accounting qualification, or progress towards one (e.g. ACCA, CIMA, CPA, AAT or equivalent).

• Experience in a fund administrator, management company, corporate services or company secretarial firm, an investment fund, a development finance institution or another financial services firm.

• Experience of providing secretariat support to a board or committee, including minute-taking and maintaining registers.

• Experience of procurement, travel administration, recruitment administration or donor-funded financial reporting.

• Working knowledge of accounting software (e.g. Xero, QuickBooks, Sage or similar).

• Experience of working remotely and with external service providers, such as fund administrators, banks and auditors.

5. Personal attributes

• Strong attention to detail and accuracy, with a methodical approach to documentation and record-keeping.

• Highly organised, able to manage multiple tasks and deadlines with minimal supervision in a remote setting.

• High standards of integrity, confidentiality and discretion in handling financial and personal information.

• Proactive, reliable and service-oriented, with good judgement on when to escalate issues.

• Able to work effectively with colleagues, service providers and partners across different countries and time zones.

6. Evaluation criteria

Applications will first be screened for completeness and then against the essential and desirable requirements.

Eligible applicants will be scored according to the following criteria, and a shortlist of three to six candidates will be established:

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to an interview and a practical test. The final selection will combine the shortlisting score (40%) with the interview and practical test score (60%). The highest-ranked applicant will be selected for the assignment, provided that their proposed fee is within the budget limits.

7. How to apply

Interested candidates should submit their applications by email to careers@fsa-invest.org, stating "Application – Fixed Term Finance and Administrative Assistant" in the subject line of the email. Each application must include all of the following documents, preferably each in PDF format:

1. a cover letter setting out your motivation for applying and how your experience matches the role;

2. a curriculum vitae (CV) giving details of all relevant qualifications and experience, with the start and end dates (month and year) of each position; and

3. a financial proposal stating your proposed fee as a monthly lump sum in United States dollars (US$).

Important: applications that do not include all three documents (cover letter, CV and financial proposal) will be disqualified and will not be considered.

The application deadline is 22/10/2026 at 17:00 GMT. Late applications will not be considered. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

The institution is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates. The successful candidate will be subject to background, reference and integrity checks. The institution does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process.