SCOPE

Under the overall supervision of the Director General of IUCN, the CFO is responsible for the strategic leadership of the global finance function.

The position is part of IUCN’s Executive Board, based in Gland, Switzerland.

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) provides overall strategic leadership and direction for IUCN’s global finance function. More specifically, they are responsible for the fiduciary control of IUCN assets; for the effective and efficient use of IUCN’s financial resources through robust planning and budgeting processes; and for supporting decision making across the organisation through the provision of relevant and timely financial information.

The role is critical for maintaining IUCN’s standing and reputation with donors, partners and other stakeholders.

The CFO directly manages the Headquarters finance team and supervises regional finance managers through a matrix structure.

The Chief Financial Officer is also responsible for:
1) The General Services Unit (GSU), which manages the headquarters building and related services including reception, office space, building maintenance, building security and insurance, services to tenants and the IUCN cafeteria.
2) The global security function through supervision of the Head, General Services & Safety and Security.
3) The global procurement function.

SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Financial planning, budgeting, reporting and decision support
• Lead the development of the 4-year Financial Plan and longer-term financial strategies.
• Lead the annual budgeting cycle, ensuring alignment with annual workplans and the 4-year Financial Plan.
• Prepare analytical information to measure performance and support decision making by the Executive Board and other levels of management, thereby driving financial sustainability and a culture of financial accountability.
• Provide advice to the Director General on all financial matters.

Financial accounting and services
• Prepare annual statutory financial statements for IUCN and coordinate the statutory audit.
• Ensure compliance with Swiss Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and/or other accounting standards adopted by the organization, as well as compliance with national laws.
• Manage HQ financial services and processes: procure-to-pay, income, fixed asset management, staff payments and expenses; and provide oversight of these processes at the regional and country level.

Programme financial management
• Provide financial management services to programmes and projects managed by HQ and outposted offices, including budget development, donor financial reporting, donor contract management, and contracts with partners and grantees.
• Develop tools, processes and procedures to support project financial management.
• Drive the principal of full cost recovery to ensure the financial sustainability of IUCN’s project portfolio.
• Provide services to support IUCN’s role as an implementing agency for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

Financial systems
• Act as the business owner of the financial components of the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system. The principal components are accounts payable and receivable, general accounting, fixed assets management, grant management, cash management, travel and expense management, time management and financial reporting.
• Ensure financial systems are fit for purpose and that they support and drive operational efficiency.
• Participate in the overall development and implementation of IUCN’s ERP strategy and IUCN’s wider information systems strategy.
• Lead on the automation of financial processes and on digitalisation of financial records and documents and on interlinkages with other systems.

Financial risk management and internal control
• Track and manage the financial risks that IUCN is subjected to, ensuring that they are actively managed, mitigated where possible and aligned with IUCN’s risk appetite framework.
• Develop, implement and monitor the finance components of the internal control framework, thereby ensuring a high level of fiduciary control of IUCN’s assets, and the integrity of financial processes and data.
• Develop, update and socialise financial procedures across the IUCN Secretariat.

Treasury and cash management
• Actively manage IUCN’s cash to match operational needs, to minimise counterparty risks and to generate a return where possible within acceptable risk parameters.
• Actively manage foreign exchange risk through both active and passive hedging strategies.
• Oversee the management of IUCN’s longer-term financial investments.

Governance
• Support the Finance and Audit Committee (FAC) of Council in its work through the preparation and provision of financial information to enable it to perform its oversight role.
• Closely coordinate with the Deputy Director General, Corporate Services on the agenda and preparation of FAC meetings.
• Support the IUCN Congress (the ultimate governing body of IUCN which normally meets every 4-years) on all finance agenda items, such as the 4-year financial plan and financial reports for preceding periods.
• Represent finance at the Corporate Services coordination meetings chaired by the Deputy Director General, Corporate Services.