Senior Manager, Finance (FP&A & Project Finance) – Climate Policy Initiative 2026
Role Overview
The Senior Manager, Finance – FP&A and Project Finance role at Climate Policy Initiative is a senior-level position focused on financial planning, forecasting, and project portfolio oversight.
This is a strategic finance role designed for professionals who can connect numbers to decision-making in a complex, globally distributed organization working in climate policy and sustainable finance.
Key focus areas include:
- Organization-wide budgeting and forecasting
- Project-level financial management and oversight
- Strategic financial analysis for leadership
- Systems improvement and financial reporting quality
Organizational Context
Climate Policy Initiative is a global research and advisory organization focused on climate finance and policy innovation. It works with governments, development institutions, and private sector actors to improve investment flows toward climate solutions.
Core organizational characteristics:
- Operates across multiple regions including Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas
- Focuses on tracking sustainable investment and climate finance trends
- Provides analytical insights to inform policy and investment decisions
- Works in a highly donor- and project-funded environment
This means finance professionals must understand both traditional FP&A and the complexities of grant-based, multi-project financial structures.
Key Responsibilities: FP&A and Financial Planning
A major part of the role involves leading financial planning and analysis across the organization.
Core FP&A duties include:
- Leading annual budgeting and forecasting cycles
- Managing rolling forecasts and financial planning tools
- Building and maintaining advanced financial models
- Conducting variance analysis between budget, forecast, and actuals
- Identifying financial risks and emerging cost pressures
The Senior Manager is expected to translate financial data into actionable insights for senior leadership, helping guide strategic decisions around resource allocation and organizational priorities.
Project Finance and Portfolio Oversight
This role goes beyond standard FP&A by requiring oversight of a diverse portfolio of projects.
Key responsibilities include:
- Monitoring financial performance across multiple active projects
- Supporting project leaders with budgeting and reforecasting
- Ensuring alignment with donor restrictions and contractual requirements
- Tracking burn rates, cost recovery, and utilization rates
- Identifying financial risks within project delivery timelines
This requires a strong understanding of how project-based organizations operate, particularly where funding is tied to external agreements and reporting obligations.
Financial Reporting, Controls, and Compliance
Strong financial governance is a key requirement of the role.
Responsibilities include:
- Ensuring accuracy and consistency in financial reporting outputs
- Reviewing financial analyses produced by junior team members
- Supporting internal and external audit processes
- Coordinating with grants, contracts, and accounting teams
- Maintaining documentation for financial processes and controls
This ensures the organization remains compliant with donor expectations and internal financial governance standards.
Systems Improvement and Process Optimization
The role also includes responsibility for improving financial systems and tools.
Key expectations:
- Improve budgeting and forecasting systems for efficiency and accuracy
- Standardize financial templates and reporting formats
- Enhance consistency in assumptions used across projects
- Identify process gaps and implement improvements
- Strengthen financial data quality and usability
This component is essential for ensuring scalability in a global organization with complex reporting requirements.
Leadership and Team Management
The Senior Manager will directly manage a Financial Reporting Analyst based in Delhi, India.
Leadership responsibilities include:
- Providing day-to-day guidance and task prioritization
- Offering coaching and professional development support
- Conducting performance evaluations and feedback sessions
- Building analytical capability within the finance team
- Encouraging accountability and ownership
In addition, the role involves cross-functional leadership:
- Partnering with program and project teams globally
- Supporting operational decision-making through financial insight
- Acting as a trusted advisor to non-finance stakeholders
Required Skills and Experience
Candidates for this role are expected to bring strong technical and communication capabilities.
Essential requirements:
- 3–5 years of experience in FP&A, finance, or project finance
- Strong financial modeling and advanced Excel skills
- Experience managing multiple projects or financial portfolios
- Ability to supervise or mentor junior staff
Soft skills are equally important:
- Strong communication skills for non-finance audiences
- Ability to simplify complex financial concepts
- Analytical thinking and attention to detail
- Ability to work in a global, cross-cultural environment
Salary, Location, and Structure
- Location: Cape Town, South Africa (Hybrid/Home-based)
- Salary: R1,500,000 – R1,700,000 (Senior Manager level)
- Reports to: Global Finance Director (Washington, DC)
- Direct report: Financial Reporting Analyst (Delhi, India)
The structure reflects a highly globalized organization, requiring strong remote collaboration skills.
Application Information
Applicants should be aware of the following:
- Deadline: 26 June 2026
- Required documents: CV, cover letter, and application questions
- Applications reviewed on a rolling basis
- No visa sponsorship available
- Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted
Why This Role Is Important
This role plays a critical part in ensuring financial discipline and strategic alignment across a climate-focused organization.
It contributes by:
- Strengthening financial planning across global projects
- Improving accountability in donor-funded programs
- Supporting strategic decision-making with data-driven insights
- Enhancing financial systems and reporting quality
- Enabling effective use of climate finance resources
Ultimately, the role bridges finance, strategy, and climate impact delivery, making it central to how resources are managed and deployed across the organization.
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