Head of Finance and Operations

• PositionHead of Finance and Operations Uganda
• CompanyEducate!
• LocationKampala, Uganda
• Job TypeFixed-term contract (extension possible based on performance)
• CategoryAccounting & Finance Jobs in Uganda
• IndustryEducation / Youth Employment Non-profit
• DepartmentFinance
• DeadlineNo closing date specified

Educate! is a non-profit that prepares young people in Africa to learn, earn and thrive in today’s economy. It does this by bringing an employment-focused subject into secondary schools and by running livelihood bootcamps for youth who cannot access secondary school, with a focus on rural girls and young women.

Founded in 2009, it has become the largest youth employment and skills provider in East Africa, reaching hundreds of thousands of young people across Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania. Independent evaluations have found positive effects on income, employment, gender equity and education.

Educate! is backed by funders including Imaginable Futures, CIFF, Echidna Giving and MacKenzie Scott, and has won the Klaus J. Jacobs Prize and a WISE Award. It runs on five cultural tenets, starting with Youth First, Impact-Obsessed.

The Head of Finance & Operations owns Educate! Uganda’s finance and operations. About 40% of the job is financial management: running transactions, payroll inputs, cash and bank, month-end close and ledger integrity; delivering monthly management accounts with clear variance analysis to the Managing Director and Global Finance; managing cash flow and foreign exchange; running the budget cycle; and producing donor reports reconciled to the ledger.

Another 30% is operations, procurement and field logistics, overseen through the Operations and Procurement Manager, including finding process and system changes that cut cost or delay. The rest covers compliance, risk and audit (internal controls, external and donor audits, tax and NGO registration, the risk register and contracts) and leading a team of managers with real coaching and development.

Financial Management & Reporting (40%)

• Own the country’s financial operations end to end: transactions, payroll inputs, cash and bank management, month-end close and ledger integrity.
• Deliver accurate monthly management accounts to the Managing Director and Global Finance, with variance analysis.
• Manage cash flow and foreign exchange exposure, forecasting needs and flagging risks early.
• Approve payments within delegated authority and escalate beyond it with a clear recommendation.
• Run the annual and periodic budget cycle, equipping budget managers and challenging assumptions.
• Partner with budget holders through the year on spend decisions.
• Produce accurate, on-time donor financial reports reconciled to the general ledger and support proposal budgets.

Operations, Procurement & Field Logistics (30%)

• Oversee the Operations and Procurement Manager on office administration, inventory, assets and suppliers.
• Make sure procurement is competitive, documented and compliant, and fast enough that programmes never wait.
• Oversee field logistics so resources reach field locations on time and in full.
• Identify process, automation or system changes that remove cost or delay, and lead their adoption.
• Maintain a safe, well-run working environment across offices and field sites.

Compliance, Risk & Audit (20%)

• Maintain the internal control framework in practice and test it for gaps.
• Lead external, donor and statutory audits and close out findings on time.
• Ensure statutory compliance on tax, social security, NGO registration and employment, and keep a legal and regulatory register.
• Maintain the country risk register for finance and operations and escalate material risks.
• Manage contracts and supplier agreements, working with external counsel, auditors and tax advisers.

Team Leadership & Development (10%)

• Lead a team of managers and staff across finance, operations and procurement with clear goals.
• Run regular one-to-ones, honest feedback and development plans.
• Build the team’s skills in analysis, systems and business partnering.
• Model the Five Cultural Tenets and hold the team to them.

Required Education

• A professional accounting qualification (CPA, ACCA or equivalent), or an equivalent combination of qualification and experience.

Work Experience

• 5+ years of progressive finance and procurement experience, including 3+ years managing people. Managing other managers is a strong advantage.
• Ownership of a full finance cycle: month-end close, management reporting, budgeting and external audit.
• Experience with donor-funded, multi-currency operations, including donor financial reporting and grant compliance.
• Exposure to operations, procurement or supply chain management.

Additional Requirements

• Strong systems orientation, comfortable with accounting and ERP systems and redesigning processes.
• Ability to work well in complex, fast-changing environments.
• Passion for Educate!’s mission. Past work in education or youth development is not required.
• Must pass background verification and a child and youth safeguarding review.

Technical Skills

• Financial reporting: Management accounts and variance analysis.
• Budgeting: Running the full country budget cycle.
• Donor compliance: Grant reporting reconciled to the ledger.
• Audit: Leading external and donor audits.
• ERP systems: Accounting systems and process redesign.

Soft Skills

• Leadership: Managing managers across three functions.
• Coaching: Regular feedback and development plans.
• Business partnering: Helping budget holders make good decisions.
• Ownership: Recommendations, not open questions.
• Adaptability: Comfortable in a fast-growing organisation.

Competitive salary based on experience and competitive benefits based on location (amounts not stated in the advert), a hybrid work arrangement depending on location, and learning and growth opportunities. The role is a fixed-term contract with possible extension based on performance.

• Own finance and operations for an entire country programme.
• Lead a team of managers, not just accountants.
• Work with top funders such as CIFF and MacKenzie Scott.
• Hybrid working, depending on location.
• Mission with measurable impact on youth employment.
• Educate! encourages women to apply.

Apply online through the official Educate! careers page for the Head of Finance & Operations, Uganda. No closing date has been published, so apply as soon as possible. Candidates must pass background and safeguarding checks. See more accounting and finance jobs in Uganda and NGO jobs in Uganda.

• Lead with your CPA or ACCA and the finance cycle you owned.
• Show donor-funded, multi-currency reporting experience.
• Give an audit you led and how fast findings were closed.
• Show a process or system change you designed and rolled out.
• Mention how many managers you have led.
• Apply now: roles with no deadline can close without notice.