Job Description
Opportunity
Abt Associates seeks a qualified Senior Project Finance Advisor to support our finance team in Rockville, MD. The Senior Project Finance Advisor provides financial and operational analytical assistance to large and complex portfolio of programs. This position works hand in hand with the division and supporting departments to facilitate excellence in project delivery, to enhance client and program knowledge, to enforce policy adherence and to ensure process standardization across the supporting Project Finance team. This role will also lead other Project Finance staff that have been assigned to the portfolio of projects in their span of control to include mentoring, training, and performance reviews. The Senior Project Finance Advisor serves as a point of escalation for project finance issues impacting assigned program/portfolio performance.
Key Roles and Responsibilities
- Work with Director of Project Finance on Organizational actions and Organization Project Portfolio’s
- Collaborate with Project Finance leadership on training requirements and support training activities
- Support Director of Project Finance on cross functional assessments and organizational enhancements
- Collaborates with procurement team to ensure policies are being adhered to and that standard levels of performance are being achieved with regard to handoffs and turnaround time to complete procurement activities and actions
- Works alongside project managers and project directors in the division in support of managing the financial and contractual elements of the project(s)
- Ensures work assignments are level loaded and staff productivity levels are being achieved
- Assists in the development of training, competency profiles and career development of staff to include performance evaluation, and goal setting
- Provides strategic direction to the team that aligns with organization and project objectives
- Champions and ensures compliance to standardized best practices for project finance, including EAC/ETC process, Accrual processes, burn rate analysis, risk assessment and other cost estimating processes
- Analyzes and assesses trends that may impact the execution of the project along with the key drivers that may affect the financial health of the project, the division, and the company
- Serves as a subject matter expert for Project Finance from a financial perspective and an understanding of the projects drivers, milestones, and performance impacts
- Conducts financial and programmatic risk analysis considering contract type, subcontracts/materials, staffing, and other measures. Risk assessment and risk mitigation strategies are key in the support of project execution by proper forecasting and evaluation of financial risks together with the identification of procedures to avoid or minimize their impact
- Ensures accrual and commitment processes are followed and that values are included EAC and ETC activities
- Prepares and manages project specific deliverables related to financial or contractual requirements (such as invoicing, supporting back-up data, limitation of funds communications, etc.)
- Provides reporting and analysis, financial understanding and business perspective on a variety of financial and operational issues related to the financial health and execution of the project
- Liaises with client counterpart when requested by project/program manager/director with questions specific to financials risk management, and KPI’s
- Ensures compliance with applicable policies and procedures, Federal regulations, guidelines and contractual requirements enforce adherence to requirements, and advise organizational leadership on needed actions
- Works with procurement team to review vendor and consultant agreements to validate funding and contract type are appropriate based on prime contract including subcontracts and materials purchases
- Reviews vendor invoices for accuracy, validate vendor/subcontractor spending is in alignment with forecasts/as expected
Preferred Skills / Prerequisites
- Strong financial presentation and management skills
- Ability to prioritize, delegate and follow through tasks with a team
- Self-directed with proven ability to research complex issues, work independently, and multi-task several projects efficiently
- Strong interpersonal skills, capable of developing and sustaining effective peer, project, and supporting organizational relationships
- Strong communication skills in order to collaborate with other department/functional support areas (e.g. Contracts, Procurement, HR, etc.)
- Experience with Oracle and TM1 based systems preferred
- Skilled with excel for data manipulation and analysis such as pivot tables, lookups, etc.
- Experience managing the financials for fixed unit price contracts (such as call center, survey, transaction-based efforts)
- Experience with T&M, FFP, Cost Plus contract financial management
- Experience supporting and balancing the needs of multiple contracts at once
- Experience managing people and direct responsibility for objective setting, performance reviews and disciplinary actions
Minimum Qualifications
- 15+ years of experience and BA degree (finance, accounting or business) or the equivalent combination of education and experience
About the Organization
Abt Associates is a mission-driven, global leader in research and program implementation in the fields of health, social and environmental policy, and international development. Founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1965, Abt Associates was built on the concept that sound information and empirical analysis are the best foundations for effective decision making. The firm blends the subject matter expertise of our staff with technical capabilities in applied research, program implementation, and data collection to shape policy, strengthen systems, measure performance, and deliver other solutions to our public and private sector clients. Examples of Abt Associates’ work include nationally recognized research, evaluation, and technical assistance to improve the efficiency of healthcare systems, the effectiveness of government housing programs, the production of food, and the measurement of public opinion. Abt’s staff of more than 2000 includes national and international experts who are known for their understanding of communities and governments worldwide, innovative research techniques, and insightful—and often groundbreaking—analyses and recommendations. Approximately 51 percent of our staff has graduate degrees; one in six has a doctorate. Our staff’s educational and professional disciplines include economics, engineering, environmental analysis, epidemiology, food security, health, housing, international development, psychology, social science, statistics, and survey methodology. Abt’s research staff is experienced with prominent statistical software packages, including SPSS, SAS, and STATA, along with qualitative software such as NVIVO and Atlas. In 2011, Abt Associates was ranked among the top 20 global research firms and one of the top 40 development innovators. Abt has offices in Atlanta, Ga.; Rockville, Md.; Cambridge, Mass.; Chicago, Ill.; Durham, N.C.; and New York City and program offices in nearly 40 countries in Africa, Central and Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa. www.abtassociates.com
