Program Finance Contractor (Part-Time, Remote - African Continent or Global)

Terms of Reference: Part-Time Program Finance Contractor: Grants Audit, Compliance & Misconduct Support

Location: Remote work with priority for applicants based in Kenya or elsewhere in Africa, though open to global applicants. Must have the ability to work on US and African time zones.

Term: The contractor is required to commit an average of 16 hours per week over the period of the contract. The contractor will work very closely with the Program Finance (PF) team, who are members of the Water Programs team. The contractor will work approximately 70% independently and 30% collaboratively with the team. Specific working hours and meeting times will be mutually agreed upon to ensure adequate collaboration for all parties. For transparency and tracking, the contractor is asked to submit a simple time tracker to the contract manager at the end of each week. This will facilitate monitoring and allow for adjusting hours with flexibility and allow certain weeks to have less than 16 hours and certain weeks to have more than 16 hours.

Background and Organizational Context:

charity: water is a registered nonprofit on a mission to bring clean, safe drinking water to people in need around the world. We inspire giving and empower others to fundraise for sustainable water solutions, then we make sure every dollar is maximized. We work with trusted local partners across over 20 countries in Africa and Asia who build and implement the water projects on the ground. Then we prove every single project funded using GPS coordinates, photos, and field stories.

Objective:

We are seeking an experienced part-time contractor to support the Water Programs team across three critical areas of grant oversight:

• Audit Management - Lead and manage the audit process for charity: water grants in line with audit schedules, ensuring timely and thorough completion. This includes ensuring appropriate mechanisms are in place to address findings and that all follow-ups are carried out effectively.
• Compliance Review - Review compliance documentation for each partner, clearly identifying gaps, and recommending appropriate follow-up actions to the Grant team.
• Misconduct & Risk Management - Lead the misconduct process coordination end to end - managing case intake, driving documentation and analysis, coordinating the Grant team, and ensuring timely progression through each stage - relying on the Grant team for partner knowledge, contextual inputs, and final approvals on all key decisions.

Throughout all workstreams, the contractor will keep the Grants team regularly informed and involved at key decision points.

Scope of Work:

1) Grants Audit Management

charity: water conducts scheduled project financial audits with partners as a core mechanism for financial accountability, operational integrity, and effective use of funds. ( Expectation to support up to 12 active audits at any given time)

Deliverables & Responsibilities

1. Serve as the primary charity: water point of contact for partner external audits, managing the end-to-end audit process and following up on partner progress to ensure timelines are met
2. Manage the partner audits email inbox, responding to and triaging communications in a timely manner
3. When applicable, facilitate the external auditor search process, including contracting and payment
4. Review draft and final audit reports upon submission and provide notes/feedback to the respective Program Finance team member prior to closing out each audit
5. Upon audit completion, update the audit findings log sheet and regularly maintain …