Project Controller | IKEA Foundation - job 2 of 2

The IKEA Foundation, founded in 1982, is a strategic grant giving philanthropy, funded by INGKA foundation, owner of the Ingka Group of Companies. The IKEA Foundation is independent from the retail business with a sole focus on creating brighter lives on a liveable planet through philanthropy and grantmaking. The vision that IKEA Foundation embodies is, “create a better everyday life for the many people”.

Position
As Project Controller you will work closely together with one or more of the portfolio teams at the Foundation in order to create well established grants and manage them in a responsible way. From a financial perspective you will manage a diverse mixture of grants in terms of multi-year and individual grants, in amount, ranging from a thousand to up to hundred plus million euros and of different complexities from partners of various natures (e.g. social entrepreneurs, INGOs and UN entities).

Activities and responsibilities of this position include assessing the capacities of the perspective partners (due diligence), evaluating the financial proposals of different types of grant applications, monitoring the partner’s and the grant’s financial performances and controlling any related risks and when needed give advice for course-corrections. Besides which you also ensure that the approved grants are contracted and administrated in line with internal governance and procedures.

Main responsibilities:

• You will perform partner risk assessment (due diligence) on perspective and returning partners to identify key risks in areas of reputational, legal, governance, operational and financial management. You will assess whether these organizations are capable of managing IKEA’s funds in a responsible way and identify any gaps in their capacities.
• You will review project financial proposals, assess the clarity and reasonableness of the proposed budget in relation to the grant proposal.
• You will set clear expectations about financial reporting and/or audit requirements for each grant and help the partner to understand them;
• You will make sure that grant agreements, amendments, and/or other formal documents are prepared in accordance with internal governance and documented properly for audit purposes.
• You will closely monitor a grant’s financial performance and cashflow. When necessary monitor the progress related to any agreed improvement plans for organizational development at a partner and actively follow up on issues identified.
• You will review financial reports, revised budgets and the partner’s audited financial statements or the project’s audit reports, provide clear feedback to both the partner and the Program Manager and approve payments when conditions are met.
• When required, you will facilitate the process of external audit/investigation with our assurance service providers under the guidance of the internal subject expert on audit and the Head of Project Control;
• You will ensure that all financial information of the grant or applications are accurately entered and maintained in the Foundation’s grants management software system so that the quality of internal reporting is preserved;
• In this role you are able to work in close collaboration with others and yet carry out responsibilities autonomously in line with the established way of working.

Background
As a person you are flexible minded and team oriented, which is shown in being committed to consensus building, seeking a team solution and being able to put your ego behind you. You are result oriented, able to stand your grounds and communicative which enables you to mobilize people around you in order to achieve desired results. Characteristics that are applicable to you are: a great feeling of responsibility, organized and inclusive. You are confident and clear but can bring a calm, humble approach to collaboration even under time pressure. You are purpose driven yet prudent in your actions and get enthusiastic about driving systematic social change through exercising sound financial and operational judgements. You have the ability to reflect upon yourself, are risk sensitive and most importantly are motivated to live by and share the values of IKEA Foundation.

To be successful in this job, you bring the following skills, experiences and characteristics:

• A university degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration; being a qualified member of an accountancy body is an advantage.
• 7+ years of working experience in similar role(s), preferably within international development cooperation, international consultancy or audit firm with a similar environment with mixed multicultural or professional backgrounds;
• Experience in project organizations with multiple financing sources and requirements.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build trustful relationships while being sensitive to cultural and personal differences. You have the courage to voice issues when you see them;
• Fluency in English and excellent verbal communication skills and business writing skills with the ability to translate financial information to audiences with little or limited financial knowledge;
• A process-oriented mindset with the ability to correctly interpret and apply operational processes and procedures;
• Previous experience in conducting due diligence and assessing financial position of organizations;
• Previous experience of working in the development sector, philanthropic sector or (impact) investment is a plus;
• Proficient working knowledge of Excel, Word, PowerPoint and preferably experience with Grant Management Software or other workflow management software;