CABI (Centre For Agriculture And Biosciences International) Careers

THE ROLE:

Reporting to the CFO, The Global Finance Business Partner (GFBP) will play a pivotal role in driving financial performance and strategy across multiple regions and business units. This role is responsible for partnering with senior management to provide insightful financial analysis, strategic planning, and decision support. The GFBP will ensure alignment of financial goals with business objectives and enhance the overall financial health of the organization. It requires strong business acumen and excellent communication.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

Business Partnering:

• Act as a trusted advisor to business leaders, providing financial expertise and guidance on key business decisions.
• Collaborate with regional and business unit leaders to drive performance improvements and achieve financial targets.
• Support cross-functional teams in evaluating new business opportunities, investments, and strategic projects.

Strategic Planning:

• Contribute to the development and execution of the company’s strategic plan, ensuring financial considerations are integrated into business strategies.
• Identify and assess financial risks and opportunities, and recommend actions to mitigate risks and capitalize on opportunities.
• Support M&A activities, including financial due diligence, integration planning, and post-acquisition performance tracking.

Financial Planning and Analysis:

• Lead the development and implementation of robust financial planning processes including budgeting, forecasting and analytics.
• Analyse financial results, identify trends, and provide actionable insights to senior management.
• Develop and maintain financial models to support strategic initiatives and business cases.

Performance Management:

• Develop and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to track financial and operational performance.
• Provide regular performance updates to senior management and recommend corrective actions where necessary.
• Lead initiatives to improve financial processes and systems, driving efficiency and effectiveness.

Reporting and Compliance:

• Oversee the preparation of accurate and timely financial reports for internal and external stakeholders in line with commitments.

Team Leadership:

• Manage and mentor a team of finance professionals, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and professional development.
• Promote collaboration and knowledge sharing across the global finance team.
• Ensure the team delivers high-quality financial support to the business.

ABOUT YOU:
Key Competencies

• Strategic Orientation: Ability to develop and implement long-term financial strategies aligned with organisational goals.
• Leadership: Strong leadership and team management skills, with a focus on developing talent and driving high performance.
• Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to present complex financial information clearly and concisely.
• Analytical Thinking: Advanced analytical skills to interpret financial data, identify trends, and make informed recommendations.
• Collaboration: Proven ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams and build strong relationships across the organization.
• Adaptability: Flexibility to adapt to changing business needs and priorities, and to work effectively in a global, multicultural environment
• Proven experience as a Finance Business Partner, Financial Analyst, or similar role in a global organization.
• Strong financial modeling, analysis, and reporting skills.

Experience and Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field; MBA and relevant professional certification (e.g., CPA, CFA) preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in finance or accounting, with at least 5 years in a senior finance business partnering role.
• Proven experience as a Finance Business Partner, Financial Analyst, or similar role in a global organization.
• Proficiency in financial software and systems, including advanced Excel skills; experience with ERP systems is a plus
• Proven experience in a global or matrix multinational organization, with strong relationship building skills.

THE ROLE:

• The position holder will support the coordination of operational activities for CABI Africa to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of services at the different centres in the region (Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Zambia).

Key Accountabilities:

• Oversee day-to-day operational activities, ensuring efficient and effective delivery of services across the region.
• Oversee the organisation and coordination of meetings, workshops and conferences
• Provide support in procurement planning and ensuring timely delivery of planned procurements
• Train on and enforce standard operating procedures (SOPs) across all operational activities, identifying areas for
• improvement and recommend changes to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Effectively manage relationships with service providers, negotiating and maintaining service level agreements, fostering strong business partnerships between CABI and its suppliers for mutual benefit.
• Implement a centralized system for filing and contribution of operations’ documents across the Africa Centre, streamlining document management for better efficiency.
• Supervise the acquisition, custody, usage, and maintenance of assets and facilities ensuring optimized resource utilization and minimization of costs.
• Support the preparation of regular reports on operational performance, including metrics, trends, and challenges
• Support the adherence to protocol related requirements across all operational countries
• Provide supervision and guidance to direct reports and support team members, fostering a collaborative and productive work environment
• Complete a broad range of administrative tasks that facilitate the effective flow of information across the organisation.
• Collaborate with other departments to enhance operational processes and overall efficiency.
• Take on other duties as may be assigned.

Education & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Operations Management, or a related field.
• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in operations management, administration, or a similar role.
• Experience in a supervisory role is preferred
• A Master's degree in Business Administration is desirable
• Lean Six Sigma Certification is desirable
• Training or certification in project management is beneficial.

KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE
Knowledge & Skills

• Strong understanding of operational processes, procedures, and best practices.
• Excellent organizational and time-management skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills.
• Knowledge of market dynamics, country regulations and business practices, supplier networks and
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite and financial software.

Personal Characteristics

• Self-motivated, adaptable, well-organized and able to work with minimal supervision
• Ability to prioritize among multiple competing requests;
• Results focus on work planning, execution of tasks, and reporting
• Detail-oriented with a focus on accuracy and quality.
• Flexible and adaptable to changing priorities.
• Creative and Innovative in carrying assigned duties
• Unquestionable Integrity
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a team.
• Ability to manage workload and meet deadlines
• Capacity to build effective relationships with programme stakeholders
• Ability to work with people from diverse nationalities

THE ROLE:

• This is a short-term maternity cover (5 months) to provide support to the Director General- Development and manage the engagements with key institutional partnerships & CABI Member Countries.

Roles and Responsibilities:

Support to the Director General, Development

• Providing administrative support to the DG-D as well as carrying out a wide variety of office management tasks in
• supporting the International Development (ID) office
• Monitoring the progress of all projects in all themes/programmes and producing Quarterly reports for the Executive Management Team and Governing Board
• Responsible for the preparation, profiling, and documentation of institutional documents and records
• Providing administrative support to the Global Directors and Senior Regional Directors

Strengthen Collaboration and engagement with the 49 Member countries.

• Developing and implementing country membership plans to strengthen MC involvement.
• Promoting uptake of membership benefits
• Publicizing the Medium-Term Strategy (MTS) 2023 – 2025 to all the MCs
• Encouraging more active participation of MCs in CABI governance and membership events
• Managing the translation of key promotional materials into different key languages e.g. French, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, etc.
• Improving communication and visibility of CABI’s work
• Supporting the development of projects/activities in these countries
• Delivering on membership payment targets

Support Strategic Partnerships Development

• Support colleagues to develop and implement CABI’s engagement plans for FAO, CGIAR, and AIRCA institutions.
• Research further potential partnerships to build synergy with, that will help CABI increase its impact, recognition, and influence.
• Keep track of CABI partner meetings and agreements (global/regional/national), and document successes/failures in further developing relationships with key institutional partnerships.
• Ensure that internal tools (SalesForce, ID Partnerships SharePoint page, meeting notes template) are used efficiently, and are accessible to CABI staff as required.

Strengthen the collaboration between the Association of International Research and Development Centers for Agriculture (AIRCA) centers and other international institutions.

• Lead the Secretariat to ensure timely delivery of its mandated tasks.
• Carry out the functions of the AIRCA Secretariat as defined by the agreed work plan.
• Forge partnerships with Donors, international institutions, and any other appropriate partners relevant to the Secretariat’s work.
• Promote synergies/collaboration between the member centers.
• Publicize and improve the visibility of AIRCA at different global Fora/Events
• Organize Board, Executive Committee, and Community of Practice meetings.

Education & Qualifications:

• Undergraduate degree in Science Studies or related discipline
• Master’s degree in management, Administration, or related discipline
• Advanced Computing skills
• Excellent English and French (Desirable) - both written and spoken

Knowledge & Skills:

• Excellent people skills with the ability to develop and maintain constructive and cooperative working relationships with others and maintain a positive attitude.
• Strong diplomacy, initiative, planning, organizational, and time management skills
• Excellent communication skills
• Flexibility, reliability, tact, and discretion
• Meticulous and good attention to detail
• Proven analytical and drafting skills.
• Project Management background
• Excellent report writing skills.

Personal Characteristics:

• Unquestionable integrity
• High initiative and self-driven requiring little or no supervision
• Adaptive and pro-active
• An effective, creative, innovative, and team player with the ability to work in multidisciplinary, multi-institutional, and multicultural environment.