About the Role

About the Position

As our organization continues to grow internationally, we are seeking an experienced Finance Director to lead our financial operations, strengthen internal systems, improve efficiency through technology and AI, and ensure the highest standards of financial governance across multiple countries.

The Finance Director will oversee Sinergia Animal’s global financial operations, ensuring efficient payment processes, strong financial controls, regulatory compliance, accurate accounting records, and effective budget management.

This position combines strategic financial leadership with operational excellence. The successful candidate will supervise an international finance team responsible for accounting, payments, reimbursements, bookkeeping, financial reporting, compliance, budgeting, and donor financial reports while continuously improving systems and leveraging artificial intelligence to increase efficiency.

The role requires exceptional organizational skills, attention to detail, process design capabilities, and experience managing finance in an international nonprofit environment.

Responsibilities

Financial Operations

• Lead and oversee all day-to-day financial operations across the organization.
• Ensure timely processing of international payments, consultant invoices, staff reimbursements, grants to partner organizations, and other financial transactions.
• Supervise cash management and maintain appropriate liquidity across multiple bank accounts and currencies.
• Monitor all incoming and outgoing financial transactions to ensure completeness, accuracy, and proper authorization.
• Develop and maintain efficient payment workflows that minimize delays while ensuring appropriate internal controls.

Accounting and Regulatory Compliance

• Oversee accounting systems in the two countries where Sinergia Animal is legally registered, ensuring full compliance with local accounting standards and tax regulations.
• Supervise the finance team responsible for collecting, organizing, and maintaining all receipts, invoices, contracts, payment confirmations, and supporting documentation required by fiscal authorities.
• Ensure financial records are accurate, complete, and audit-ready at all times.
• Coordinate relationships with external accountants, auditors, payroll providers, tax advisors, and legal consultants.
• Oversee the preparation of annual financial statements, audits, tax filings, and statutory reports.
• Ensure organizational compliance with all applicable financial regulations in each jurisdiction.

Budget Planning, Management, and Financial Planning

• Lead the preparation, monitoring, and continuous review of the organization’s international budget.
• Supervise national budgets across all country programs, ensuring expenditures remain aligned with approved plans.
• Monitor spending trends, identify budget variances, and proactively recommend corrective actions.
• Produce regular financial forecasts and cash flow projections.
• Support organizational leadership in financial planning and strategic resource allocation.
• Develop financial models to support organizational growth and long-term sustainability.

Donor Financial Reporting

• Prepare high-quality financial reports for institutional funders and major donors, working closely with the Development Director on the development of grant proposals.
• Track expenditures by program, grant, country, and strategic initiative.
• Produce accurate reports demonstrating appropriate use of restricted and unrestricted funding.
• Collaborate closely with fundraising and program teams to ensure financial reporting requirements are consistently met.
• Support grant proposal development by preparing budgets and financial projections.

Banking and Financial Controls

• Oversee all organizational bank accounts and banking relationships.
• Ensure every financial transaction is properly documented with supporting evidence for accounting, audit, and tax purposes.
• Maintain robust internal controls to safeguard organizational assets.
• Continuously review and strengthen financial policies and procedures.
• Ensure appropriate approval workflows and segregation of financial duties.

Systems Improvement and Artificial Intelligence

• Lead the modernization of the finance function through automation and technology.
• Identify opportunities to simplify financial processes and eliminate unnecessary manual work.
• Champion the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence tools within the finance department.
• Design and implement AI-assisted workflows for invoice processing, receipt collection, expense management, financial analysis, reporting, and budgeting.
• Continuously evaluate emerging technologies that improve efficiency, accuracy, and transparency.
• Build scalable financial systems capable of supporting organizational growth.

Leadership and Team Management

• Lead, mentor, and develop an international finance team.
• Establish clear performance expectations and foster a culture of continuous improvement.
• Promote collaboration across finance, operations, fundraising, and program teams.
• Build organizational financial literacy by supporting managers in budget planning and financial decision-making.
• Ensure finance is viewed as a strategic partner across the organization.

Risk Management and Governance

• Identify financial risks and implement mitigation strategies.
• Ensure compliance with donor requirements, internal policies, and international nonprofit best practices.
• Strengthen organizational financial governance and accountability.
• Support the Executive Director and Board with financial analyses and strategic recommendations.
• Develop and maintain financial policies that reflect organizational growth and evolving regulatory requirements.

Requirements

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Significant leadership experience managing finance within an international nonprofit organization or a similarly complex international environment.
• Strong understanding of accounting principles, financial controls, budgeting, audits, and financial reporting.
• Experience managing multi-country budgets and multiple legal entities.
• Experience supervising accounting teams and external finance providers.
• Strong knowledge of financial compliance and documentation requirements.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Demonstrated experience improving financial systems and operational processes.
• Experience implementing automation and AI solutions within finance functions.
• Excellent English communication skills, both written and verbal.

Preferred

• CPA, ACCA, CMA, or equivalent professional accounting qualification.
• Experience working with organizations operating across Europe and Latin America.
• Experience managing grants from major international foundations.
• Familiarity with nonprofit accounting and donor compliance requirements.
• Experience with ERP systems, accounting software, and international payment platforms.
• Knowledge of AI-powered finance tools and workflow automation platforms.

Personal Attributes

We are looking for someone who is:

• Highly ethical and committed to transparency.
• Exceptionally organized and detail-oriented.
• Strategic while remaining operationally hands-on.
• Comfortable working in a fast-growing international organization.
• Proactive in identifying problems and designing scalable solutions.
• Curious about technology and excited by innovation.
• Able to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic environment.
• Collaborative, supportive, and committed to continuous improvement.
• Passionate about building efficient systems that enable greater organizational impact.

Join us in building stronger financial systems that enable greater impact for animals around the world.

Benefits at Sinergia Animal

Joining Sinergia Animal means becoming part of a mission-driven NGO dedicated to creating meaningful impact. We value our team and offer a range of benefits to support your well-being, growth, and work-life balance:

• Make an impact: Work with a passionate team driving positive change for animals, people, and the planet.
• 26 days of paid vacation: Enjoy more time to rest, recharge, and pursue personal interests.
• Food allowance: Support for your daily meals to keep you energized.
• Health insurance: Comprehensive coverage to take care of you when you need it most.
• Professional development allowance: An annual budget for courses, training, and skill-building opportunities.

About the Organisation

Sinergia Animal is an international animal protection organization working in countries of the Global South to reduce the suffering of farmed animals and promote more compassionate food choices. We work in the low- and middle-income countries of the Global South — in Southeast Asia and Latin America — to reduce the suffering of animals exploited by the food industry and reduce animal product consumption by promoting more compassionate and healthy diets.