Head – Finance & Grants, LEAD at Krea University

Type: Full-time 

Location: Chennai 

Reporting To: Executive Director, LEAD at Krea University 

Salary: Commensurate with qualifications and experience 

About LEAD at Krea University:

LEAD at Krea University is an action-oriented research centre housed at the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR), a not-for-profit society which is also the Sponsoring Body of Krea University. LEAD is dedicated to enhancing the socio-economic prosperity of vulnerable and marginalised individuals, households, and enterprises. We create ‘knowledge for impact’ by leveraging the power of data, aspiration, innovation, and co-creation to tackle complex development challenges. LEAD benefits from the rich legacy and cross-disciplinary expertise of the IFMR/Krea ecosystem, which has over 50 years of history in research and innovation.

About the Position:

The Head of Finance and Grants is responsible for overseeing the financial management, budgeting, and reporting for the organisation’s programs, including ensuring compliance with grant requirements and financial regulations. This role will lead financial planning, manage grant budgets, ensure accurate financial records, and produce timely financial reports for stakeholders and funders. The ideal candidate will bring expertise in financial analysis, grant management, and strategic planning, along with excellent communication and leadership skills to drive financial efficiency and accountability. A strong understanding of donor requirements and experience with fund accounting are essential.

Key Responsibilities:

Institutional Building and Compliance

• Works closely with the Executive Director to build robust policies and systems for Finance & Grants;
• Responsible for accounts receivable, accounts payable, cash management, budget management and control, MIS, budget preparation, fixed asset management, grant management, project monitoring and reporting, financial information systems, financial statement preparation, taxation, statutory compliances, and payroll;
• Work with the finance and grants team and program staff to ensure that key processes and systems are in place to manage grant risk assessments, donor financial compliance, and reporting management processes;
• Ensuring internal controls for all the project expenses and smooth & timely payments cycles for all the eligible payments;
• To set internal control mechanisms to be followed by the research team in grants and finance management, thereby ensuring sound financial health;
• Communicates and promotes non-profit industry standards that ensure that grant programs are consistent with LEAD’s mission, strategic priorities and donor intent;
• Strengthens LEAD’s capacity to respond to financial challenges and streamlines compliance and accounting procedures so programs can flourish;
• To be representative to the donors to clarify on any matters arising out of grants and finances over and above the routine operations;
• Works closely with the IFMR Registrar and members of IFMR Finance Team to ensure proper compliances to the laws of the land and assist them during annual/internal/statutory audits to ensure that relevant information is transmitted to the auditors in a timely manner. 

Overall Finance and Grant Oversight

• Ensure grants and contract budgets align with institutional budgets and forecasts. Liaise with relevant Vertical Heads to ensure that across programs there is financial continuity, consistency, accuracy, and adherence to processes. Inspects and validates that accurate and complete database records are maintained for grants and sub-contracts in an automated Information Management System;
• Alerts program staff to prepare required reports to public funders and assists with development and submission;
• Coordinate with the program divisions to ensure compliance with due dates for submission of budget, technical and programmatic reports to all donors including federal agencies and private funders;
• Closely monitors grant performance with the donors and report it to the ED and senior leadership for any key findings;
• Periodical alerts to the vertical heads if there is a gap foreseen in the Project finance/grants management and work with relevant team towards getting the situation under control;
• Ensure that any realignment of activities are financially translated and any gaps with the budgets are highlighted to the program team and agreed with the donor.

Strategy and Forward-thinking 

• Ensure continuous monitoring of the financial health of the organisation and periodically report it to the Leadership Team;
• Develops financial reports and dashboards related to LEAD at’s restricted & unrestricted revenue and grant-making that informs and empowers the Executive Team to make data-driven decisions and projections; 
• Develops a robust finance and grants strategy for fundraising;
• Reviews and monitors grants and finance routine operations;
• Develops annual budgets and forecasts for the organisation including all verticals.

Other Operational Responsibilities

• Coordinate with HR for refining current processes & automate the activities for better efficiency, in particular with regards to personnel plan and costs;
• Have an overall look at the current project portfolio planning and provide a forward-looking scenario analysis;
• Be an active member of LEAD’s Executive Committee for overall institutional  building; 
• Hands-on experience on automated project and grant management tools & to ensure the project activities are aligned with the submitted proposal & deliverables agreed upon.

Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree in Finance with 10 years or Chartered Accountant with 8 years of experience in handling finance and grants in a not-for-profit/Development Sector organisation; 
• At least 5 years of experience in heading Finance & Grants;
• Possesses extensive experience in handling end-to-end grants and finance management in a non-profit environment with updated knowledge of statutory laws;
• Demonstrated knowledge in developing and reviewing legal contracts for the organisation;
• Demonstrated knowledge of governing grant-making in a non-profit environment. Experience in international grant-making is preferred;
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, especially with pivot tables, vlookup equations and management of large data sets, is required;
• Experience developing budgets for proposals to private foundations;
• Exceptional interpersonal skills; tact, patience, diplomacy, and integrity;
• Discretion in handling sensitive or confidential information;
• Flexibility to travel occasionally.

Desired Skills: 

• Strategic planning abilities;
• Executive problem-solving, the ability to organise and manage complex functions;
• Excellent written and verbal communication are required.

To Apply: The position offers a competitive salary in the industry, with an estimated start date as soon as possible. Please collate resume and writing sample in one PDF and apply in the form here. Please indicate in the subject line that you are applying for Head – Finance & Grants. 

Note: Due to the large volume of applications we receive, we are unable to contact each candidate individually regarding the status of their application. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for interview purposes.