Head, Program Finance, Pan African Programs – Entrepreneurship Development & Agriculture at Mastercard

Mastercard – We are the global technology company behind the world’s fastest payments processing network. We are a vehicle for commerce, a connection to financial systems for the previously excluded, a technology innovation lab, and the home of Priceless®. We ensure every employee has the opportunity to be a part of something bigger and to change lives.  We believe as our company grows, so should you. We believe in connecting everyone to endless, priceless possibilities.

Job Title: Head, Program Finance, Pan African Programs – Entrepreneurship Development & Agriculture

Job Requisition ID: JR-0000000212

Location: Lagos

Job type: Full-time

The Opportunity

• The role reports to the Director, Program Finance – Pan African Programs
• The Finance Head, Program Finance – is a critical leader responsible for providing strategic and tactical financial leadership closely supporting their Finance Director across the PANA program portfolios.
• This role serves as the primary business partner to the Program Heads and the program team, ensuring full alignment of financial strategy with programmatic outcomes.
• The Finance Head is also responsible for the financial risk management initiatives related to their area of operation and will ensure robust compliance frameworks and foster a culture of accountability and informed decision-making across the platform of operation.

Responsibilities
Ways you can contribute:

• Act as a trusted advisor to the Program Heads of the PANA platforms, providing insights to drive impact and long-term sustainability.
• Partner with all Leads reporting to the Program Head to ensure financial plans and operations are aligned with strategic objectives.
• Represent Program Finance at Thematic meetings, helping shape strategic direction and operational priorities from a financial lens.
• Implement and execute Program Finance strategy, ensuring financial sustainability and operational excellence in the PANA Platform in the thematic space of operation.
• Embed Thematic Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) processes for programs and serve as a key contributor to risk identification and mitigation strategies.
• Proactively identify financial and operational risks, working with cross-functional teams to design appropriate mitigation plans.
• Execute all financial aspects of PANA programs including planning, budgeting, financial controls, disbursement, compliance, and monitoring for the thematic areas of responsibility.
• Assess and present funding sufficiency and financial viability for achieving strategic objectives across PANA thematic areas of responsibility.
• Assess financial implications of new programs and partnerships to inform decision-making.
• Drive the annual due diligence and work planning processes with program and partner teams.
• Implementation of financial systems, policies, templates, and processes that enable scalable, efficient operations with feedback loop for continuous improvement.
• Implementation of financial controls and compliance with internal and external regulatory requirements in thematic areas of responsibility.
• Provide timely, accurate, and insightful financial reports and analyses to inform programmatic decisions.
• Collaborate closely with the central accounting team to support external audits, regulatory requirements, and tax matters.
• Build, lead, and develop high-performing finance teams.
• Foster a performance-oriented culture, provide coaching and professional development, and support change management initiatives across finance teams.
• Create an inclusive and collaborative work environment and foster positive relationships and trust to build a unified team and drive impact.
• Maintain strong relationships with PANA program partners finance teams to enable effective financial governance.
• Work with assurance, compliance, audit, and risk teams to create a holistic and unified risk and compliance strategy across the thematic area of responsibility.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Finance, Commerce, or a related field; an MBA or Master’s degree is an added advantage.
• Professional certification (e.g., ACCA, FCCA, CIMA, CPA, CA) is required.
• Membership/Fellowship in a recognized professional accounting body.
• Minimum 10 years of progressive financial experience, with at least 5 years in senior leadership.
• Experience in managing cross-functional and cross-border teams.
• Strong background in program finance, financial planning, risk management, and strategic advisory roles.
• Demonstrated ability to effective business partnering and leadership.
• Strong command of financial systems, accounting operations, and internal controls.
• Expertise in financial and non-financial data analysis for strategic decision-making.
• Proven ability in financial forecasting, budgeting, and scenario planning.
• Deep understanding of enterprise risk and compliance frameworks.
• Enterprise mindset with demonstrated capability to lead beyond functional silos.
• Strategic thinker with a bias for action and innovation.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills across cultures and stakeholder levels.
• Strong ethical grounding, integrity, and sound judgment.
• Ability to build alignment and influence across diverse teams and leadership structures.
• Flexible, adaptable, and able to execute a range of job duties and changing priorities.
• Possess excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills with the ability to articulate information to a variety of constituents across cultures.
• Possess professional maturity, sensitivity with different cultures, and impeccable integrity.

Requirements
Our Perfect Candidates:

• Good knowledge of accounting procedures, policies, rules, and practices affecting the development, maintenance, and control of fiscal record keeping systems.
• Good knowledge of methods and techniques for coding, verifying, balancing, and reconciling accounting records.

Application Closing Date
26th June, 2025.

How to Apply: Interested and qualified candidates should Click here to apply online