Finance and Projects Operations Manager at Genesis… · Johannesb…

ABOUT GENESIS

In a world undergoing convulsive technological and political change, Genesis partners with key actors to deliver urgent, lasting impact in critical areas.

Genesis, an impact firm founded, incorporated and headquartered in Africa, has worked in 46 African countries and more than 100 countries globally. Uniquely, Genesis is focused on the Young World – the arc of countries with young populations stretching across Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and parts of Southeast Asia.

By 2030 four in five children will be born in the Young World, making this region central to the future. With growing markets and young, productive populations, Young World countries have the most positive potential trajectory in the world. It is here that investments of all kinds will have the highest social and economic returns.

Our job at Genesis is to help societies, governments and businesses across the Young World succeed at three fundamental historic transitions:

• Reconfiguring economies: creating income for large, rapidly urbanising youth cohorts within a global economy undergoing profound changes
• A human transition: a fundamental rethink of how societies, governments and markets can ensure the health and cognitive and social well-being of all those young people, including the most vulnerable
• A just climate transition: both to decarbonise and to manage the human and economic impacts of a global crisis they did not cause

To do this work, we are building a new type of impact firm.

ABOUT THE FRONTIER TECHNOLOGIES PRACTICE

The Frontier Technologies (FT) practice at Genesis supports governments, development partners and private firms to harness technology to achieve their development objectives. We work across domains, including government services, agriculture, and health. We also draw on deep expertise from other practices across the firm. Our work is focused on three areas:

• Digital Public Infrastructure: We work with governments and their international partners to reshape service delivery, social protection, and data-driven policies through innovative digital public infrastructure (DPI) solutions, including data exchange initiatives, digital payments and digital identity. Our team identifies opportunities, assesses readiness, and implements full-scale DPI programs tailored for developing contexts.
• Artificial Intelligence: We assist clients in navigating the complexities of AI to maximise its economic and social benefits while mitigating risks. We identify, assess and clearly communicate these complexities. We help clients to craft interventions that promote the adoption of responsible AI to benefit the Young World.
• Technology Governance and Ethics: We work with governments, industry partners, and civil society organisations to navigate complex regulatory environments, ensuring compliance and fostering trusted digital innovations and programmes.

SUMMARY OF THE ROLE

This hybrid, highly collaborative position integrates elements of consulting practice administration, operations management, and client project coordination. Reporting directly to the Frontier Technologies Partner, you will be instrumental in delivering seamless practice operations and project-level support. The chosen candidate will support financial controls, reporting and administration, commercial modelling, multi-stakeholder projects, champion internal enterprise systems, and manage the recruitment administration lifecycle; ultimately enabling our consultants to focus on high-quality client delivery.

IDEAL CANDIDATE

Our ideal candidate will need high energy and high agency, with a proven ability to work with a senior team. Exceptional operations management skills, including financial administration, human resource capacity planning, team co-ordination, project management, and general practice administration support to the senior team. The ideal candidate has 5 or more years experience, at least 2 in an operations management role. Experience in consulting firms is highly advantageous. An undergraduate degree in business administration, operations, project management, finance/accounting or a related field is required. Project management certifications advantageous. Candidates must legally be able to work in either South Africa or Kenya.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Practice Finances (30% Weighting)

• Establish strong working relationships with group and project finance units to ensure streamlined financial management and operational reporting
• Oversee the practice orderbook, ensuring precise data entry of actuals and accurate projection mapping for all internal projects
• Utilize ERP platforms (specifically Sage Intacct) to support the Partner with financial reporting, including firm-wide quarterly submissions and monthly revenue/cost analyses
• Conduct thorough reviews of management accounts to ensure correct recognition and recording of all costs and revenues.
• Handle client invoicing, purchase orders, subcontractor disbursements, and end-of-project financial reconciliations.
• Partner with Project Managers and other practice administrators to track inter-practice projects and coordinate revenue-sharing frameworks

Project Administration (25% Weighting)

• Billable Projects internal systems and contracting co-ordination: Set up, update, and monitor project records within the Genesis ERP framework. Coordinate contracting processes and onboarding workflows for external subcontractors. Manage procurement procedures, purchase orders, and general consultant contracting workflows.
• Deliver targeted financial support to Project Managers when required, including budget tracking template setups, invoicing oversight, expense monitoring, subcontractor payment tracking, and margin analysis. Monitor project resource allocations, tracking contractor and staff hours alongside burn rates against defined project budgets.
• In some instances, be the billable PM on client projects: Provide end-to-end administrative oversight for consulting engagements, from project launch through to final close-out. Monitoring project milestones, timelines, delivery schedules, budgets, and operational actions to ensure timely invoicing, contractor payments, and expense recognition.

Business Development Support (25% Weighting)

• Co-ordinate each bid sprint, from go-no-go decisions, to resource allocation to BDU support, to final delivery
• Lead teaming proposals and engagement with external ICs.
• Lead financial proposals that are fully compliant with corporate templates and financial pricing models
• Maintain the practice Opportunity Tracker to ensure pipeline projections are consistently up to date
• Manage and maintain practice marketing collateral, including corporate capabilities (corp caps), consultant CVs, IC data bases.

Practice Administration Support (15% Weighting)

• Capacity Planning: Ensure timesheet compliance across the practice, tracking utilization metrics to inform capacity planning, forecast capacity a month out, work with the team leads to allocate capacity for both billable and non billable (proposal) work.
• Plan and coordinate team meetings, seasonal social events, farewell gatherings, and the annual practice strategy retreat.
• Maintain and organize the practice's shared Google Drive workspace.
• Provide high-level administrative support to the Partner, including schedule coordination, expense reporting, and travel planning.
• Identify operational bottlenecks, refine delivery frameworks, and establish standardized templates and operating guidelines. Be AI forward thinking in all we do.
• Lead operational and administrative workflows, proactively driving process optimization and efficiency

Recruitment & People Operations (5% Weighting)

• Oversee the administrative lifecycle of recruitment utilizing the firm’s Applicant Tracking System (ATS). Review and Screen applications against role requirements.

• Manage recruitment documentation in accordance with company policy and employment legislation. Coordinate recruitment workflows between Hiring Managers, HR and interview panels. Schedule interviews and assessments.

• Assist with new hire orientation, onboarding programs, and initial integration.

• Track and manage team leave register.

• High energy and high agency, with a proven ability to work with a senior team.

• Proven operations management skills, including financial administration, human resource capacity planning, team co-ordination, and project management.

• Proven experience in practice administration support for the senior team.

• 5 or more years of total experience, with at least 2 years in an operations management role.

• Experience in consulting firms is highly advantageous.

• An undergraduate degree in business administration, operations, project management, finance/accounting or a related field required.

• Project management certifications are advantageous.

• Legal eligibility to work in South Africa or Kenya.

How to apply: Submit a cover letter succinctly describing what of your work experience matches the role profile and a maximum of a 2-page CV including two contactable references.