T he mission of ZamGridCo is to modernise and expand Zambia's national electricity distribution grid under the Grid Resilience Program. Established after a first-of-its-kind debt-for-development transaction between the Government of Zambia and the African Development Bank, ZamGridCo is a Zambian private company limited by guarantee with not-for-profit objectives. Headquartered in Lusaka, it is an independent, legally separate entity whose remit is to channel the resulting debt-conversion savings into distribution network investment and upgrades, in line with Zambia's Integrated Resource Plan, Integrated Distribution Plan, and wider national energy reforms.

Job Title:Finance Director

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer

Location: Lusaka

Employment Type: Full-time on Fixed term contract

ROLE SUMMARY

The Finance Director is responsible for the strategic and operational financial management of the organization, with specific emphasis on the governance of project funding awarded to external partners. This role ensures that all financial activities comply with donor regulations (e.g., AFDB), local laws, and fiduciary standards. You will lead budget development, financial reporting to donors, risk management, and the financial oversight of contractors, suppliers, service providers, ZESCO Limited and other approved implementation parties /project counterparties.

This role focuses less on generating profit and more on stewardship of public/donor funds, compliance, and contractors, suppliers, service providers, ZESCO Limited and other implementation parties /project counterparties monitoring.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Grant Financial Management & Compliance (40%)

• Oversee the entire project funding and disbursement lifecycle: from proposal budgeting, award, disbursement, to close-out.
• Ensure all project funding expenditures comply with donor rules (e.g., allowable costs, cost allocation, procurement standards).
• Establish financial monitoring frameworks for contractors, suppliers, service providers, ZESCO Limited and other approved implementation parties /project counterparties, including pre-award assessments, capacity building, and regular audits.
• Review and recommend financial reports and requests for disbursement from contractors, suppliers, service providers, ZESCO Limited and other implementation parties /project counterparties and arrange transfers only following required approvals
• Maintain a risk-based compliance calendar for reporting deadlines and audits.

2. Financial Strategy & Stewardship (25%)

• Lead annual budgeting and forecasting for both operational/admin budgets and project funding portfolios.
• Provide financial analysis to guide project funding allocation decisions and indirect cost rate negotiation.
• Manage cash flow projections to ensure timely disbursement of funds to contractors, suppliers, service providers, ZESCO Limited and other approved implementation parties /project counterparties.
• Present financial reports to the Board, donors, and audit committee.

3. Internal Controls & Audit (20%)

• Design and implement internal controls to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse of project funding.
• Act as the primary liaison for external audits (statutory, donor-specific, single audit).
• Ensure timely submission of financial deliverables to the Board and other relevant stakeholders.
• Investigate and resolve any financial irregularities among contractors, suppliers, service providers, ZESCO Limited and other implementation parties /project counterparties.
• Assist CEO with booking of gifts, commitments, income and tracking of project funding expenditures as required.

4. Team Leadership & Systems (15%)

• Manage the finance and project funding team (Senior Accountant, Monitoring, Evaluations, & Disbursement Officer)
• Lead the selection and implementation of project funding management software (e.g., NetSuite, Sage Intacct, or Salesforce with financial modules).
• Build the financial capacity of non-finance program staff and contractors, suppliers, service providers, ZESCO Limited and other implementation parties /project counterparties partners.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

1. Education: Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or Business Administration.
2. Certification: CPA, ACCA, or CIMA required.
3. Experience: 8+ years of progressive financial management, including at least 4 years in a grant-aiding or donor-funded environment (e.g., foundation, international NGO, or government grants office).
4. Donor Knowledge: Deep familiarity with project funding compliance from at least one major donor (AfDB, FCDO, World Bank, or a large private foundation).
5. Sub-recipient monitoring: Proven experience conducting pre-award assessments and reviewing funding recipient financial reports.

Preferred

1. Master’s degree in Finance, Public Administration, or Nonprofit Management.
2. Experience with Uniform Guidance for AfDB project funding
3. Knowledge of VAT, tax exemptions, and cost recovery in grant-aiding entities.
4. Experience leading a financial audit of a project funding portfolio.

Key Competencies

1. Stewardship mindset: Able to balance fiduciary responsibility with partners’ capacity constraints.
2. Forensic eye: Skilled in detecting compliance risks in funding recipient financial data.
3. Communication: Can explain complex donor rules to partners without jargon.
4. Resilience: Comfortable managing multiple reporting deadlines and donor inquiries.

• Oversee the entire project funding and disbursement lifecycle: from proposal budgeting, award, disbursement, to close-out.
• Ensure all project funding expenditures comply with donor rules (e.g., allowable costs, cost allocation, procurement standards).
• Establish financial monitoring frameworks for contractors, suppliers, service providers, ZESCO Limited and other approved implementation parties /project counterparties, including pre-award assessments, capacity building, and regular audits.
• Review and recommend financial reports and requests for disbursement from contractors, suppliers, service providers, ZESCO Limited and other implementation parties /project counterparties and arrange transfers only following required approvals
• Maintain a risk-based compliance calendar for reporting deadlines and audits.
• Lead annual budgeting and forecasting for both operational/admin budgets and project funding portfolios.
• Provide financial analysis to guide project funding allocation decisions and indirect cost rate negotiation.
• Manage cash flow projections to ensure timely disbursement of funds to contractors, suppliers, service providers, ZESCO Limited and other approved implementation parties /project counterparties.
• Present financial reports to the Board, donors, and audit committee.
• Design and implement internal controls to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse of project funding.
• Act as the primary liaison for external audits (statutory, donor-specific, single audit).
• Ensure timely submission of financial deliverables to the Board and other relevant stakeholders.
• Investigate and resolve any financial irregularities among contractors, suppliers, service providers, ZESCO Limited and other implementation parties /project counterparties.
• Assist CEO with booking of gifts, commitments, income and tracking of project funding expenditures as required.
• Manage the finance and project funding team (Senior Accountant, Monitoring, Evaluations, & Disbursement Officer)
• Lead the selection and implementation of project funding management software (e.g., NetSuite, Sage Intacct, or Salesforce with financial modules).
• Build the financial capacity of non-finance program staff and contractors, suppliers, service providers, ZESCO Limited and other implementation parties /project counterparties partners.

• Stewardship mindset
• Forensic eye
• Communication
• Resilience
• Grant financial management
• Financial reporting
• Risk management
• Budget development
• Financial oversight
• Internal controls
• Team leadership
• Software implementation
• Capacity building

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or Business Administration.
• CPA, ACCA, or CIMA required.
• 8+ years of progressive financial management, including at least 4 years in a grant-aiding or donor-funded environment (e.g., foundation, international NGO, or government grants office).
• Deep familiarity with project funding compliance from at least one major donor (AfDB, FCDO, World Bank, or a large private foundation).
• Proven experience conducting pre-award assessments and reviewing funding recipient financial reports.
• Master’s degree in Finance, Public Administration, or Nonprofit Management (Preferred).
• Experience with Uniform Guidance for AfDB project funding (Preferred).
• Knowledge of VAT, tax exemptions, and cost recovery in grant-aiding entities (Preferred).
• Experience leading a financial audit of a project funding portfolio (Preferred).