Full-Time Opening
Location: Bangalore, India
Reports To: CEO & Board Sub-Committee
Pratham Books is a not-for-profit children’s book publisher that was set up in 2004 to publish good quality, affordable books in many Indian languages. Our mission is to see ‘a book in every child’s hand’ and we have spread the joy of reading to millions of children in India. As a publisher serving every child in India, Pratham Books has always pushed the boundaries when it comes to exploring innovative ways in which to create access to joyful stories and has been fortunate in finding partners to collaborate with who share this vision.
In 2015, Pratham Books increased its footprint by going digital. As an industry leader, we were one of the first publishers in the country to open up our content to the CC BY license. All this content is now available on StoryWeaver, a digital platform that hosts stories in languages from India and beyond so that every child can have an endless stream of stories in her mother tongue to read and enjoy. All the stories on the platform can be read, translated, versioned, or downloaded for free.
As Associate Director – Finance & Accounts, you will be responsible for financial and compliance management and leading the finance and accounts team. This role supports the leadership in executing financial planning processes, including priority setting and ensuring the timeliness, accuracy, and integrity of financial information. This position will be key to financial planning, budgets, forecasts, and long-term planning. As the senior leader in finance, you will grow and lead the finance team.
This role is part of the leadership team and reports to the CEO along with dotted line reporting to the Board finance sub-committee.
- Lead and manage the financial planning, budgeting, costing, and financial strategy of the Organisation.
- Prepare Organisation Budget, monitor progress and changes, and keep Senior Management and Board informed of the organization’s financial status.
- Develop, update, and implement all necessary organizational policies, procedures, and internal control systems for finance functions.
- Work closely with Program teams to create periodic plans and efficiently monitor the same. Build capacity to implement best financial and grant management practices.
- Support the book dissemination team in the financial evaluation of distribution orders and also assist in the implementation of ERP systems.
- Support board meetings, board subcommittees, and chairperson with regard to reporting, meeting minutes and financial presentations, compliances, and governance.
- Ensure financial oversight and coordination of funded projects.
- Ensure the administrative and financial management of all transactions of grants including preparation of financial reports for management decisions, preparation of consolidated expenditures reports, statements and financial compliance, reporting, invoicing, and disbursement.
- Monitor the cash flow and expenditure levels of grants and related coding (fund, activity, etc.).
- Manage Donors/Grants documentation, amendments, and reporting requirements.
- Support the Fundraising Team in the preparation and submission of Grant Proposals (Accuracy & Timeliness).
- Responsible for statutory audits, FCRA, GST audits, Donor’s due diligence, and grant audits (i.e., gathering support for payments made, running financial reports and preparing for submission to auditors, reviewing audit drafts and comments, etc.).
- Coordinate with various teams of the organization to ensure compliance with reporting mandates, and administrative procedures.
- Oversee all tax and legal compliance for the organization.
- Manage Risks & Mitigation – legal and financial.
- Supervise the Internal audit process.
- Develop and implement processes to set quality standards to meet organizational expectations and regulatory requirements.
- Oversee the data/report requests process: tracking requests submitted, prioritization, approval, etc.
- Manage legal activities- Partners MoU, IPR, contracts, and other legal documents and agreements.
- Lead & supervise the finance team.
- Recruit, train, and develop the finance team.
- Minimum 10 years experience and 5 years specifically in Not for profit organization.
- CA/CA (Inter)/Masters in Finance (MCom, MBA).
- Experience of grants and financial management is essential.
- Experience in reporting and accounting in the not-for-profit sector, including donor reporting.
- Experience with budget preparation and oversight.
- Experience across a range of finance functions (accounting, reporting, audit, etc.).
- Familiarity with the national tax law and regulations.
- High level of professionalism and attention to detail.
- Ability to work in an intensive work environment with a cross-functional team and functional heads.
- Ability to communicate effectively with the Finance team, functional heads, and support functions like HR, Admin, and vendors.
- Proficiency in MS Office Applications, especially Word and Excel, is required. Experience in accounting tools is desirable.
- Strong written and verbal skills.
Location: Full-time position based out of Bangalore
Compensation: Salary will be commensurate with qualification and experience
Email your resume with ‘Associate Director – Finance & Accounts’ in the subject line.
