Deputy Finance & Operations Manager

Who We Are!

🌍 Africa has the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population. By 2035, the continent is poised to contribute more young people to the global workforce each year than the rest of the world combined.

At Educate! we're obsessed with impact. We leverage iterative learning to build highly scalable youth employment solutions aimed at unlocking the potential of the world’s youngest continent.

Educate! prepares youth in Africa to learn, earn and thrive in today’s economy by:

Introducing an employment-focused school subject into secondary and

Delivering livelihood boot camps for out-of-school youth, with a focus on marginalized rural girls and young women.

To date, more than 500,000 youth have been meaningfully impacted across Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania, and along the way, Educate! has become the largest youth employment and skills provider in East Africa.

Educate! is a team of over 300 largely African staff and 300 volunteer youth mentors. We prioritize building an engaging, fulfilling and growth oriented work environment. 50% of our top 30 leaders have been with us for over 5 years, 10+ alumni have started their own organizations, and 6 current or former team members were Acumen Fund East Africa fellows.

We have been backed by top foundations such as Imaginable Futures , Livelihood Impact Fund , Jack Dorsey’s #startsmall , CIFF and Echidna Giving . Educate! won a 2018 Klaus J. Jacobs Prize and a 2015 WISE Award , and has been highlighted by the World Bank’s S4YE's Impact Portfolio , an Al Jazeera documentary , BBC , The Brookings Institution as one of 14 case studies on scaling education, and the Gates Foundation as a Goalkeepers Accelerator . In 2022, we received a catalytic investment from philanthropist Mackenzie Scott to scale our systems change work.

Educate!'s long-term vision is to design solutions that measurably impact millions of youth across Africa each year.

Good to note: To Our Awesome Applicants! 🚀💫

We know that incredible candidates sometimes hesitate to apply if they don’t meet every requirement. If this role excites you, we encourage you to apply!

We’re looking for passionate individuals who believe in our mission and can bring unique perspectives to our team—not just those who check every box. We value diversity and strongly encourage women and individuals from all backgrounds to apply.

Position Overview

Educate! the largest youth skills service provider in East Africa, is seeking a Deputy Finance & Operations Manager to join our Rwanda team. We are looking for a finance and operations professional who is excited about using strong financial management, thoughtful processes, and effective operations to help a growing organisation deliver on its mission. This is a unique opportunity to take ownership of both the financial health and day-to-day operations of the Rwanda office, while working closely with the Managing Director and Regional Finance team.

• In this role, you will oversee financial management, accounting, reporting and budgeting, while also ensuring that the country office runs smoothly—from procurement and payments to office services, assets, logistics, and events. You will supervise and support members of the finance and operations team, provide leaders with clear financial information for decision-making, and identify opportunities to strengthen processes and controls.
• The ideal hire is someone who enjoys taking ownership, solving problems, and making things work better. You’ll join a motivated, collaborative team working to create greater opportunities for young people across Africa, with the chance to grow your scope and contribute beyond traditional finance responsibilities.

You are the right fit for this role if you:

Are organised, detail-oriented, and confident managing financial processes and reporting

Have experience supporting budgets, accounting, financial analysis, and compliance

Are a proactive problem-solver who takes ownership and knows when to seek guidance

Have experience supervising, coordinating, or supporting a team

Are a collaborative and engaging communicator who is open to coaching and feedback

Are passionate about Educate!’s mission and excited to contribute to work that creates opportunities for young people.

What You’ll Do🌟

Financial Management & Oversight - 20%

Support the day-to-day running of the finance and accounting function, and flag process improvements to the Managing Director for decision.

Supervise and support the Senior Finance Coordinator: track day-to-day performance, give regular feedback, and raise development needs with the Managing Director.

Prepare and share routine financial information that helps managers make informed decisions; escalate anything requiring interpretation or judgement.

Maintain accurate records across the following areas: general ledger, accounts payable, expense reports, and payroll.

Pull together straightforward financial scenarios and data requests as directed.

Track finance compliance requirements with Rwanda Revenue Authority and other relevant regulatory bodies in Rwanda, and submit returns on time under the supervision of the Managing Director and Regional Finance.

Ensure financial reporting is accurate and submitted on schedule.

Apply and monitor established internal control procedures, and report any gaps or breaches promptly.

Work with Educate! budget owners and managers to answer routine finance queries and provide day-to-day support.

Provide finance support to the operations team.

Serve as the day-to-day contact with bank support personnel, and support the Managing Director in engagements with Tax Advisors and auditors.

Participate in periodic meetings with the Regional Finance team, preparing the schedules and deliverables required.

Coordinate with contracted finance support teams on routine matters

Financial Controls & Accounting - 25%

Apply all Educate! accounting systems, payment, bookkeeping and statutory filing procedures as documented.

Process all financial transactions accurately, in a timely manner, and in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles through the QuickBooks system; identify and correct variances, escalating unusual items.

Follow and maintain established processes and controls related to transaction processing; propose refinements to the Managing Director rather than changing them independently.

Process and review the following transactions: payroll, accounts payable, revenue and expense, fixed assets, cash, bank reconciliations, and allocations.

Complete month-end closing procedures, including account reconciliations and updating schedules, for review by the Managing Director and Regional Finance.

Maintain an orderly accounting filing system.

Support revenue management and flag opportunities to improve payment systems.

Financial Reporting & Budget Management - 25%

Keep the monthly budget balances report up to date and share it with budget holders.

Confirm expense codes on all requests as they are received and correct where necessary, checking with the budget manager.

Reduce reporting errors through careful self-review and by acting on feedback received.

Prepare accurate monthly financial and management reports, including income statement, balance sheet, budget and variance, projections and forecast, and cash flow, for review before circulation.

Submit accurate, complete and timely management reports.

Compile and submit the schedules and documentation required for the audited financial statements and all tax returns, with the Managing Director leading the process.

Provide the regional finance team with the reporting they request on Educate! financials.

Support the preparation of periodic budgets and updates.

Share budgets with budget managers, answer day-to-day queries, and escalate anything unclear.

Enter approved budgets into the accounting sy