Costing and Pricing Officer

Position Summary

The Costing and Pricing Officer will support new business development efforts and on-going programs by preparing proposal budgets/cost-extension budgets and advising on program design, budget monitoring, and compliance issues.

General Responsibilities:

• Prepare cost proposals (budget and budget notes) with respect to pricing, compliance with relevant regulations, donor guidelines, and linkages to technical activities;
• Review and provide feedback on subcontractor budget submissions;
• Review technical proposals and provide feedback on general competitiveness, programmatic viability, and other areas, as appropriate;
• Assist the new business team with capture, networking, and country specific information.
• Provide the program teams with guidance/information and on newly won programs, especially on program budgets;
• Build CNFA’s in-house technical capacity on budget monitoring;
• Assist in the efforts to harmonize and transition proposal budgets to program budgets – within CostPoint system;
• Guide field team to update the detailed budget modifications in conjunction with work plan submissions to USAID;
• Provide assistance with internal or external audit requirements; and
• Other duties as required.

Qualifications:

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in international development, agriculture, economics, finance, or other pertinent field; Master’s preferred;
• Minimum of five years’ experience with financial and/or programmatic management of USAID-funded agriculture programs;
• At least three years’ experience working abroad on USG-funded contracts or agreements.
• Ability to conduct analyses on a wide variety of budget issues; synthesize information and present findings in a cohesive and understandable format;
• Ability to independently read and interpret contractual documents, and grants, operating instructions, policies, and procedure manuals;
• Ability to work under pressure, manage multiple tasks simultaneously and meet deadlines;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English. Knowledge of a second language is preferred;
• Experience working within the CostPoint system preferred;
• Ability to travel for short-trips domestically and internationally as needed.
• Advanced proficiency with MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook required.
• Authorization to work in the United States required.

About CNFA:

CNFA is a not-for-profit international development organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. and dedicated to supporting farmers and promoting the uptake of improved technologies and techniques to enhance productivity, increase household-level food security and nutrition introduce new varieties, diversify production, food preservation and storage, and natural resource management. CNFA applies market-system approaches that are grounded in participatory market analyses and engage local stakeholders to strengthen value chains and increase incomes, competitiveness, and employment for smallholders and agribusinesses. CNFA facilitates strong business linkages between smallholders and suppliers of quality inputs, service providers, buyers, and profitable markets. CNFA has a successful track record of implementing agricultural development programs in 45 countries.

The Compliance Coordinator will provide critical compliance support to our global program portfolio by ensuring adherence to USG and donor rules and regulations and build the capacity of Headquarters and field based staff in the compliance function. The incumbent will review contractual documents and budgets, provide regulatory guidance and training to program implementers, develop and revise templates to standardize procedures and assist projects with guidance on regulatory issues/challenges from start-up to close-out.  In addition, the incumbent will help contribute to the development of organizational policies and best practices

Responsibilities:

• Ensuring contract compliance with USAID and other donors, federal regulations, and CNFA policies and procedures by reviewing and editing subcontracts, grants, consultant agreements, and procurement documents for final approval and signature;
• Serving as a technical resource by responding to compliance related questions and advising on various contractual matters and CNFA policy;
• Researching regulatory issues and stays up-to-date on revisions to relevant regulations;
• Developing and/or revising program templates and ancillary business forms;
• Develop training content for HQ and field office staff in a variety of contract, subcontract, grants, and allowance-related topics;
• Drafting and reviewing sub-awards and amendments;
• Supporting the systematic startup and closeout of programs in the portfolio;
• Reviewing complex proposal budgets and budget narratives; 
• Reviewing solicitations and other donor budget instructions to ensure accuracy of calculations, internal consistency, and that budgeted costs are allowable and in accordance with donor regulations and CNFA policies;
• Assisting in responding to a variety of unique contractual project issues as needed;
• Participating in the development of corporate policies and standards and thinking creatively and critically about ways to streamline operating procedures; and
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements & Qualifications:

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
• Minimum of two years of professional experience focused on contracts and grants-related compliance; and
• At least one year of experience working with USG-funded contracts or agreements; preferably with the USG;
• Strong knowledge of USG Assistance Regulations (ADS, CFR, etc.) for Cooperative Agreements and Grants. Experience with USAID strongly preferred. Familiarity with Acquisition Regulations is a plus;
• Ability to conduct analyses on a wide variety of grant management and budget issues; synthesize information and present findings in a cohesive and understandable format;
• Ability to independently read and interpret contractual documents and grants, operating instructions, policies, and procedure manuals;
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to work with large amounts of data;
• Ability to work under pressure, manage multiple tasks simultaneously and meet deadlines;
• Accuracy, attention to detail and client focused with the ability to work collaboratively as part of a team using a solution oriented approach;
• Ability to relate to and communicate effectively with diverse stakeholders;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English. Knowledge of a second language is a plus;
• Ability to train others on contractual matters;
• Ability to travel for short-trips domestically and internationally as needed.
• Advanced proficiency with MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook required.
• Authorization to work in the United States required.

Minorities & Women are encouraged to apply.

Under the direction of the Field Operations Accounts Manager (FOAM), The Project Finance Officer (PFO) will provide support and guidance to CNFA’s programs by working with the HQ Program Team and in-country management team, particularly, the Finance and Operations staff with tasks related to accounting, banking, budgeting, procurement and financial management to ensure full compliance with rules and regulations of financial processes, financial records and reports and audit follow up, and implementation of the effective internal control framework.

The PFO must develop professional relationships with project personnel to ensure responsiveness to local needs and recognition of USAID’s local standard practices, especially with regard to procurements, travel and local employment standards.

The PFO must read and understand CNFA’s Power of Attorney provided and the CNFA’s Delegation of Authorities issued and follow-on delegations as periodically required.

General Responsibilities:

• Ensure updated, clear concise written accounting and procurement procedures manuals;
• Facilitate timely, accurate month-end closing, cash requests and cash reconciliations;
• Support the month-end closing processes to ensure organized, complete, properly approved packages are delivered to CNFA Home Office in accordance with the month-end closing schedule provided by the FOAM and review for completeness and accuracy all month-end accounting information;
• Maintain control over the project filing systems to ensure complete and organized accounting files, especially with regard to original procurement documents and personnel salary files;
• Ensure organized and complete accounting file documentation is maintained by the field office and Headquarters and develop procedures for the systematic transfer of all original documentation to Headquarters;
• Employ financial oversight and control mechanisms and procedures to ensure that all program expenses are in accordance with CNFA financial policies, procedures and rules and regulations;
• Review and provide support for the financial aspects of contract execution of local and international sub-implementing partners;
• Develop and periodically update Project Policies and Procedures guidelines for procurement, accounting and budgeting;
• Ensure the smooth implementation of project accounting activities, including (but not limited to): timely and accurate bank reconciliations, invoicing, monitoring of expenditure levels against budget and funding obligations, financial projections and submission of monthly financial reports to CNFA HQ;
• Provide the field finance teams with information and guidance on program financial performance;
• Regularly prepare and present financial reports, analysis, and recommendations concerning relevant financial issues;
• Review partner spending in relation to budgets, and develop monthly budget pipelines for CNFA and partner expenditures.

Qualifications and Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in Business Administration, Finance or related field.  Master’s Degree preferred.  May substitute work experience to meet education requirement.
• Minimum 3 years of project level accounting or finance experience with USAID funded and other donor funded projects.
• Fluency in written and spoken French required;
• Experience with USAID budgets;
• Understanding of US Government rules and regulations;
• Proficiency in Excel software required;
• A high degree of integrity, accountability, energy and flexibility;
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to work in fast-paced environment;
• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks simultaneously
• Experience with a computerized accounting system ; Working experience with Costpoint and Quickbooks preferred;
• Strong budgeting and analytical capacity;
• Strong conceptual, verbal and written communication skills;
• Ability to initiate and organize work while establishing priorities in a fast-paced, time-sensitive environment to meet deadlines with attention to detail;
• Ability to develop strong trusting relationships in order to gain support and achieve results;
• Ability to manage multiple conflicting priorities;
• Ability to work in an environment with international objectives;
• Ability to be flexible and interpersonal skills sufficient to interact with employees at all levels;
• Highly skilled in coordination and project management;
• Proficiency with MS Office Suite;
• Ability to travel up to 10%; and
• US Work authorization required.

This is an immediate opening and interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis.

Minorities and women are encouraged to apply.

The Help Desk Technician role is responsible for providing technical assistance and support related to computer systems, hardware, or software. Responds to technical requests, runs diagnostic programs, isolates problem and implements solution.

The candidate must have good technical knowledge and the ability to communicate effectively to understand the problem and explain its solution. They must also be customer-oriented and patient with customers.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the first point of contact for customers seeking technical support in which technical support includes but is not limited to remote support of laptops, desktops, printers, phone, mobile devices, LAN/WAN and email.
• Identify, research and resolve technical issues.
• Maintain daily performance of computer systems.
• Guide customers through the problem-solving process.
• Record technical problems and their resolution in logs.
• Follow-up and update customer with both the status and any additional information concerning their technical matter.
• Pass on any feedback or suggestions by customers to the Senior IT Officer.
• Document technical processes and procedures.
• Monitor and maintain IT inventory.
• Assist with Active Directory and Exchange account creation and auditing.
• Configure and troubleshoot handheld devices and smartphones.
• Escalate direct unresolved issues to the Senior IT Officer.
• Performs other duties as requested.

Skills & Qualifications

• Proven experience as a help desk technician or other customer support role.
• Hands-on experience with desktop and server operating systems.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office.
• Experience with SharePoint in both the on premise and Office 365 environments.
• Experience troubleshooting hardware, software and network problems.
• Good understanding of computer systems, mobile devices and other information technology products.
• Familiarity with writing and documentation.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Customer-oriented and great interpersonal skills.
• Microsoft Office Specialist certification or A+ certification desired.

Physical Requirements

• Position is generally sedentary in nature; involves sitting most of the time, but may involve walking or standing for brief periods of time.
• Ability to occasionally or routinely lift at least 25 lbs. required.
• Ability to reach, lift, climb, balance and stoop required.

Minorities and women are encouraged to apply.

Position Summary

The Costing and Pricing Officer will provide financial and technical support for new business proposal budgets and existing programs. The CPO will provide- coverage to Operations & Compliance and Programs as detailed below.

General Responsibilities:

• The Costing & Pricing Officer will be responsible for a wide range of functions, including but not limited to:
• Prepare cost proposals (budget and budget notes) with respect to pricing, compliance with relevant regulations, donor guidelines, and linkage to technical activities;
• Review and provide feedback on subcontractor budget submissions;
• Ensure that CNFA strategic objectives are met with respect to proposal budgets (percentage allocation to CNFA);
• Review technical proposals and provide feedback to the technical team on issues affecting the budget, general competitiveness, and other areas as appropriate; and
• Assist the new business team with capture, networking and country specific information.
• Provide the program teams with guidance/information and on newly won programs, especially on program budgets;
• Build CNFA’s in-house technical capacity on budget monitoring;
• Assist in the efforts to harmonize and transition proposal budgets to program budgets – within CostPoint system;
• Guide field team to update the detailed budget modifications in conjunction with work plan submissions to USAID;
• Provide assistance with internal or external audit requirements; and
• Other duties as required.

Qualifications:

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university; Master’s preferred.
• Minimum of five years’ experience with financial management of USAID-funded agriculture programs; and
• At least three years’ experience working abroad USG-funded contracts or agreements.
• Ability to conduct analyses on a wide variety of budget issues; synthesize information and present findings in a cohesive and understandable format;
• Ability to independently read and interpret contractual documents, and grants, operating instructions, policies, and procedure manuals;
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to work with large amounts of data;
• Ability to work under pressure, manage multiple tasks simultaneously and meet deadlines;
• Accuracy, attention to detail and client focused with the ability to work collaboratively as part of a team using a solution oriented approach;
• Ability to relate to and communicate effectively with diverse stakeholders;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English. Knowledge of a second language is preferred;
• Experience working within the CostPoint system preferred;
• Ability to train others on contractual matters;
• Experience with USAID required; and
• Ability to travel for short-trips domestically and internationally as needed.
• Advanced proficiency with MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook required.
• Authorization to work in the United States required.