The Opportunity

This is a unique leadership opportunity to work at a globally recognized, social impact organization that is changing the world for good of all. The Controller at Ashoka, reporting to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), has oversight responsibility, in partnership with the CFO, over all finance, accounting and reporting activities in the Organization. The Controller will supervise the Finance team at Global, the Regional Finance Managers and the Oremus Finance/Accounting support team. They will work closely with senior leadership team, while assisting the CFO in preparation of presentations to the board finance and audit committee.

The Controller will have functional responsibility over accounting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and grants administration, and ensure the Organization has the systems and procedures in place to support effective program implementation and conduct clean audits. They will work closely with program leaders and their staffs, not only to educate them regarding finance and accounting procedures but also to explore how the finance function can support program operations.

The Controller will create and maintain enduring partnerships with the CFO, senior leadership, and the human resources (HR), legal and information technology (IT) staff to enhance and better integrate Finance, HR, Legal and IT functions.

What You'll Do

• Finance and Accounting Leadership
• Oversee all accounts, ledgers, and reporting systems ensuring compliance with appropriate GAAP standards and regulatory requirements; apply reporting standards for nonprofit entities.
• Implement appropriate internal controls and mechanisms for receipt of revenue, costs, and program budgets and actual expenditures, and ensure appropriate safeguarding of Organization assets and the proper recording of financial transactions.
• Coordinate all audit activity.
• Consistently analyze financial data and present financial reports timely and accurately; clearly communicate financial statements; monitor progress and changes and keep senior leadership abreast of Ashoka’s financial status.
• Review and approve payroll.
• Support the CFO in engaging the board’s audit and finance committees around issues and trends in financial operating models and delivery.
• Oversee all financial, project/program and grants accounting; ensure that expenditures are consistently aligned with grant and program budgets throughout the grant/fund period.
• Maintain and manage relationships with external stakeholders, including banks, lending institutions, large vendors, etc.
• Establish and monitor implementation of finance policies, procedures and administrative systems to support finance/program operations.
• Evaluate and lead team to improve Team’s application of the accounting ERP system (NetSuite); rollout the ERP system in other country offices as appropriate in coordination with regional and local finance managers.
• Team Leadership
• Leverage strengths of the current finance team members, help to clarify roles and responsibilities and develop and implement training programs to maximize and reach optimal individual and organizational goals.
• Provide leadership in strengthening internal communications with staff at all levels throughout the organization; create and promote a positive and supportive work environment.
• Provide coaching to other staff while working collaboratively with them to define and find solutions to issues. Be willing to roll up sleeves in tackling issues including technical challenges.
• Reporting and Supervision
• The Controller reports to the CFO, and provides oversight to the following positions:
• Accountants and analysts
• Regional Finance Managers/Directors
• Oremus Finance/Accounting Support Team
  
  

What You Bring

• Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
• 2 – 5 years in Controller or equivalent position
• Experience in not-for-profit organization and accounting, including grant accounting
• Public accounting experience will be a plus
• Experience managing and directing teams of finance and accounting professionals
• Strong knowledge and experience in ERP platform, preferably NetSuite
• Managing financial statements audits, organization’s strategy, budget, and planning
• Strong ability to research technical GAAP topics and also implement rules as appropriate
• Problem-solving skills. Willing to face unique challenges never experienced before
• Ability to work and collaborate with people in other teams with no financial knowledge
• Desire to work in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment with smart, caring professionals who want to make a meaningful change in the world.
  
  

Core Criteria

• Entrepreneurial Quality: Compelled to take creative initiative and ownership (e.g. founding an organization or company, starting a movement, or re-shaping the work of an existing organization). Demonstrates relentless and realistic how-to-thinking and passion for seeing their ideas come to life.
• Understanding and Belief in the Everyone a Changemaker: Understands and believes the Everyone a Changemaker vision at a gut level. To be able to innately ‘get’ this, candidates should have a broad and inquisitive intellectual and a thinking pattern that connects the dots between historical trends and current social context.
• Emotional and Social Intelligence: Ability to work efficiently and respectfully in teams, putting organizational/team goal first (personal glory second).
• Ethical Fiber: Exceptionally strong ethical behavior. Is self-reflective and has strong empathy skills. Trustworthy.
• Self-Definition: The person expects that changing the world in big ways and on a continental scale is what he/she will do in life.
  
  

About Ashoka

Ashoka is the world’s largest community of leading social entrepreneurs, having pioneered the field of social entrepreneurship over 40 years ago. We support a robust network of more than 4,000 Ashoka Fellows in 90 countries who have successfully implemented systems-changing solutions to human and environmental problems globally. By learning from and collaborating with our Fellows and other social entrepreneurs, Ashoka identifies patterns and key levers to help society gain a new framework for living in the world as a changemaker.

Our current work is centered around the "Everyone a Changemaker" (EACH) movement, which stems from our belief that everyone has the potential and responsibility to make positive change in an ever-changing world. We continue to grow a global movement of social entrepreneurship, recognizing that the rate of change is accelerating and our problems are growing faster than our solutions.