Finance Manager

About the Position

Job Title: Finance Manager

Location: Freetown, Sierra Leone, with regular travel to districts, partner offices, schools, and government institutions as required.

Date Posted: July 9, 2026

Application Deadline: July 17, 2026

Employment Type: Full Time

Responsibilities

• Budgeting and Financial Management:

  • Lead day-to-day budgeting, budget monitoring, and expenditure tracking.
  • Prepare and update budget trackers, forecasts, cashflow projections, and variance analyses.
  • Support budget planning across various pillars, districts, partners, activities, and cost centers.

• Payments, Accounting, and Record Keeping:

  • Manage payment processing, accounting entries, bank reconciliations, petty cash, advance management, and retirement processes.
  • Ensure all financial transactions are accurately coded, fully supported, properly authorized, securely filed, and recorded in the ERP/accounting system.

• Donor, Grant, and Partner Financial Management:

  • Support preparation of donor financial reports, grant financial statements, budget narratives, and supporting schedules.
  • Review partner financial reports, fund retirements, and supporting documentation, identifying ineligible expenditure, weak documentation, compliance gaps, and actions required before further disbursement.

• Compliance, Tax, Audit, and Internal Controls:

  • Ensure compliance with Government of Sierra Leone tax, statutory, and financial regulations, as well as LWL policies, donor requirements, and grant conditions.
  • Support implementation of internal controls, segregation of duties, approval limits, documentation standards, conflict-of-interest procedures, anti-fraud controls, and audit-trail requirements.

• ERP, Data, Reporting, and Management Information:

  • Use the ERP/accounting system, SharePoint, and approved digital tools to maintain accurate finance records, document control, version control, and real-time visibility of expenditure.
  • Prepare clear financial dashboards, trackers, and management reports for the Finance and Operations Director, Senior Leadership Team, pillar coordinators, and programme teams.

• Safeguarding, Gender Equality, Disability Inclusion, and Value for Money:

  • Support finance processes that uphold LWL’s safeguarding commitments, survivor-centred approach, code of conduct, vetting requirements, confidentiality standards, and incident-related financial controls.
  • Ensure payments, budgets, partner reporting, and financial monitoring support inclusive delivery, including reasonable accommodation, accessible venues, safe travel, inclusive participation, and school-safety activities.

• Team Support, Coordination, and Other Duties:

  • Line-manage, coach, and support the Finance Officers, ensuring clear task allocation, quality assurance, timely processing, accurate filing, and professional development.
  • Work closely with the Operations Manager, procurement staff, HR staff, technical teams, MERL, district teams, and implementing partners to ensure finance support is responsive to delivery needs while maintaining compliance standards.

Requirements

• Education:

  • A postgraduate degree in finance, accounting, business administration, or a recognized professional accounting qualification, such as ACCA, CIMA, CPA, or equivalent.

• Experience:

  • At least 10 years’ experience in finance, budgeting, accounting, grant management, donor reporting, and compliance in organizations managing large-scale grants or contracts.

• Skills:

  • Strong experience preparing budgets, forecasts, bank reconciliations, payments, financial reports, donor schedules, partner advance trackers, and audit documentation.
  • Experience reviewing partner financial reports, fund retirements, and supporting documentation, including identifying ineligible expenditure, weak documentation, and compliance gaps.
  • Good understanding of Government of Sierra Leone tax, statutory, and financial requirements, and experience supporting organizational and donor audits.
  • Strong understanding of internal controls, segregation of duties, fraud prevention, conflict-of-interest management, value for money, and ethical financial practice.
  • Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office, especially Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, and confidence using ERP/accounting systems, SharePoint, and digital collaboration tools.
  • Ability to interpret financial and operational data, prepare clear trackers and reports, and communicate financial information effectively to non-finance colleagues.
  • Practical understanding of safeguarding, gender equality, disability inclusion, and school safety, with the ability to apply these principles to budgeting, payments, reporting, and partner financial monitoring.

• Personal Attributes:

  • Excellent interpersonal, stakeholder management, and communication skills, including clear written and oral English.
  • Excellent attention to detail; reliable, proactive, discreet, and able to complete complex tasks with minimal supervision and to agreed deadlines.
  • Line-management experience and ability to support, coach, and quality-assure the work of Finance Officers.
  • Commitment to Lɛ Wi Lan’s safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults, including its mandatory code of conduct, vetting, and background checks, survivor-centred response approach, and values of gender equity, disability inclusion, integrity, and accountability.
  • Willingness to be based in Freetown and to undertake travel to districts, partner offices, schools, and government institutions as required by the role.

We Offer

• Competitive salary
• Opportunity to work with a leading organization committed to advancing education transformation in Sierra Leone
• Professional development opportunities
• Supportive and inclusive work environment

About the Company

Lε Wi Lan (LWL) is a Sierra Leonean-led organization committed to advancing education transformation nationally through technical assistance in close partnership with the government. LWL is implementing the Leaders in Teaching (LiT) Sierra Leone programme, a Government of Sierra Leone initiative funded by the Mastercard Foundation. LWL works in partnership with Transforming Teaching, Education, and Learning (T-TEL) and other partners to ensure accurate, timely, and compliant financial management across the organization and the LiT Sierra Leone programme.

How to Apply

Applicants should submit a copy of their CV and a cover letter explaining why they are suitable for the role to [email protected] stating the job role applied for in the subject line of the email. The deadline for all applications is 5pm on Friday 17th July 2026. Lε Wi Lan is committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults, and all appointments are subject to satisfactory background checks. We are an equal opportunities employer and particularly welcome applications from women and persons with disabilities.