Global Financial Shared Services Manager

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to discovering and promoting effective solutions to global poverty problems. In close partnership with decision makers – the policymakers, practitioners, investors, and donors working with the poor around the world – IPA designs and evaluates potential solutions to poverty problems …

Global Financial Shared Services Manager

Job Summary

• The Global Financial Shared Services Manager will lead IPA’s newly established Shared Services Center within the Global Finance team. The role is responsible for building the center from the ground up — designing processes, developing a team of up to five staff, and serving as the primary point of contact for country office finance teams and headquarters leadership. The Shared Services Manager will ensure timely, accurate, and compliant processing of accounts payable, journal entries, expense reports, intercompany transactions, and bank and balance sheet reconciliations across all IPA entities worldwide.

Responsibilities

Operations and Service Delivery

• Lead day-to-day operations of the Shared Services Center, covering accounts payable, journal entry processing, intercompany transactions, and bank and balance sheet reconciliations for all IPA offices.

• Establish and monitor service-level agreements (SLAs) with country offices and headquarters, including processing turnaround times, accuracy rates, and query resolution timelines.

• Coordinate with country office finance staff to resolve queries, address missing documentation, clear reconciliation discrepancies, and ensure completeness of month-end close activities.

• Provide coverage to country office finance teams during periods of staff transition.

• Support all offices with audit requests as needed.

Process Design and Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities for automation, system improvements, and process simplification, and lead implementation in coordination with IT and Global Finance teams.

• Develop performance dashboards and key performance indicators (KPIs) for the Shared Services function, and report results to senior finance leadership on a regular cadence.

• Build team capacity to take on additional responsibilities with a consistent level of excellence.

Team Leadership and Talent Development

• Recruit, onboard, and supervise a team of up to three Shared Services staff.

• Set individual performance objectives, conduct performance reviews, and support professional development.

• Design and deliver training for junior staff on accounting tasks, reconciliation procedures, NetSuite operations, and country-specific requirements; maintain training documentation for knowledge continuity.

• Monitor individual and team workload across country assignments; adjust capacity allocation and escalate resourcing needs proactively.

• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.