About the Role
The Finance Specialist provides essential operational and analytical support to the Secretariat Finance Business Partnering team. The position focuses on coordinating routine finance activities, maintaining trackers and financial systems, supporting period‑end and peak workload activities, and ensuring data accuracy and integrity across financial systems. The role also supports the team in the tasks related to the grant management cycle through accurate data maintenance, documentation, and process support across grant set‑up, monitoring, reporting, and close‑out stages.
Mission of the Department
Enabling WWF mission delivery through the continuous pursuit of the optimum balance between efficiency and effectiveness with respect to internal systems, tools, and processes. This will be achieved via the delivery of a high standard of: strategic financial management, effective digital solutions, proactive risk management, quality guidance, advice, and communication of both regulatory and internal standards requirements all through an inclusive people-centered lens.
Major Duties and Responsibilities
Team and Operational Support
- Coordinate and maintain finance backlogs, task lists, and trackers to support timely delivery of team priorities.
- Provide day‑to‑day operational support to finance colleagues, particularly during peak periods such as month‑end, forecasting, and planning cycles.
- Act as a backup for team members during absences, ensuring continuity of routine finance processes.
- Support the preparation and organisation of documentation, reports, and working files.
Financial Systems and Data Integrity
- Enter, update, and maintain accurate financial information in finance systems and trackers as needed, based on inputs from the team.
- Monitor data quality and system integrity, identifying errors, inconsistencies, or missing information.
- Process routine adjustments, corrections, and reclassifications in line with established procedures.
- Support reconciliation activities and follow up on discrepancies.
Reporting and Analysis Support
- Support the production of routine financial reports by preparing data extracts and basic analyses.
- Assist in maintaining budget, forecast, and expenditure trackers.
- Respond to basic finance queries from internal stakeholders, escalating more complex issues as required.
Other
- Follow established finance policies, procedures, and internal controls.
- Support improvements to processes, templates, and trackers to improve efficiency and clarity.
- Ensure accurate record keeping and appropriate documentation to support audits and reviews.
- Promote cost-effective practices and safeguarding of organisational assets.
Required Qualifications & Experience
- Hold a first degree or equivalent qualification.
- At least 3 years of relevant professional experience.
- Demonstrated experience in analyzing large amounts of data and producing summaries that provide clear insights.
- Financial analysis skills, ideally from an FP&A background.
- Comfort working with financial data, spreadsheets, and information systems.
Required Skills & Competencies
- Commercial in their approach to finance, balanced with a clear understanding of the non-financial objectives of the Department.
- Financial Leadership to understand the bigger picture and align financial priorities to achieve stated objectives.
- Effective decision-making and financial problem-solving skills.
- Strong collaboration skills to effectively work with staff across various WWF International departments.
- Adaptability and flexibility to efficiently work in complex and sometimes unique circumstances.
- Able to influence the behavior of senior managers to ensure they deliver the expected financial performance.
- Good at networking, both internally and externally, and building relationships at all levels.
- Excellent communication skills, particularly when dealing with complex financial information for non-financial audiences.
- Able to work autonomously across a large and complex organization.
- Embraces the WWF mission and values: Courage, Integrity, Respect & Collaboration.
