JOB DESCRIPTION
Director, Finance
Reporting to: Chief Executive Officer
Location: Bangalore, Karnataka
Role Purpose:
The Director – Finance will provide strategic financial leadership to Quest Alliance and serve as a key partner to the CEO and leadership team in ensuring the organisation's financial sustainability, stewardship and compliance.
The role will be responsible for strengthening financial planning and decision-making, ensuring sound financial governance and regulatory compliance, managing organisational statutory risks, and building systems that enable Quest to make informed and timely decisions as it grows.
The Director – Finance will also work closely with the leadership team, Board, funders, auditors and other external stakeholders to safeguard the organisation's financial interests and ensure that financial systems and practices enable, rather than constrain, Quest's work.
Key Responsibilities:
1. Financial Strategy, Planning and Decision Support
- Lead Quest's financial strategy, planning and forecasting in alignment with the organisation's strategic priorities and growth plans.
- Provide the CEO and leadership team with timely financial insights to support decisions on fundraising, investments, organisational growth, human resource investments and expansion into new geographies or areas of work.
- Lead scenario planning and financial modelling to assess different strategic choices, opportunities and risks.
- Establish and strengthen integrated systems for financial tracking and projections, linking financial information with programmes, people and organisational priorities.
- Analyse key financial and organisational metrics, trends and variances to identify risks, opportunities and areas for optimisation.
- Support leadership in identifying opportunities for cost effectiveness and responsible allocation of organisational resources.
2. Financial Management and Reporting
- Provide overall oversight of financial management, accounting, budgeting, cash flow, financial controls and reporting.
- Ensure timely and accurate monthly, quarterly and annual financial reporting for the leadership team and Board.
- Oversee financial analysis across programmes, functions, cost centres, grants and projects.
- Strengthen financial planning and monitoring of programme budgets, ensuring that financial information enables programme teams to make informed decisions.
- Oversee financial reporting and compliance requirements linked to grants, sub-grants and other funding arrangements.
- Ensure appropriate systems and processes are in place for financial controls, approvals, documentation and accountability.
- Provide financial inputs and analysis to support fundraising, grant budgeting and negotiations with funders.
3. Governance, Compliance and Risk
- Act as a key custodian of Quest's financial governance and regulatory compliance.
- Ensure compliance with applicable statutory, regulatory, donor and organisational requirements.
- Work closely with the CEO, leadership team, Board, auditors, legal advisors and other stakeholders on matters relating to financial governance and organisational risk.
- Identify, assess and proactively manage financial and operational risks, ensuring that appropriate mitigation measures are in place.
- Strengthen financial policies, processes and controls in line with the evolving needs and scale of the organisation.
- Ensure appropriate oversight of audits and timely closure of audit observations and compliance requirements.
- Build a culture where compliance and controls are balanced with the need for teams to work effectively and respond to organisational priorities.
4. Treasury, Investments and Resource Stewardship
- Provide oversight of Quest's cash flow, reserves and liquidity to ensure financial stability and effective deployment of resources.
- Guide the organisation's investment strategy within approved governance frameworks, with a focus on safeguarding capital, liquidity and responsible returns.
- Monitor financial sustainability and provide leadership with early visibility of emerging funding, liquidity or cost risks.
- Support the organisation in making informed decisions on the deployment and optimisation of financial resources.
5. Systems, Processes and Continuous Improvement
- Review and continuously improve finance processes, policies and systems to make them efficient, responsive and fit for Quest's scale and operating model.
- Identify opportunities for appropriate use of technology, automation and data to strengthen financial management, reporting and decision-making.
- Strengthen the quality, accessibility and usability of financial data and dashboards for different levels of decision-making.
- Ensure that finance systems and processes enable decentralised teams to operate with appropriate clarity, accountability and support.
6. Team and Organisational Leadership
- Provide strategic leadership to the Finance function and build a high-performing, collaborative and service-oriented team.
- Develop and lead the annual operating plan for the Finance function, including priorities, resources and capability requirements.
- Build strong working relationships across programmes, people, operations and leadership teams.
- Create a culture of support, collaboration, accountability and continuous learning within the Finance team and across the organisation.
- Strengthen the organisation's financial capability by enabling non-finance leaders and teams to understand and use financial information effectively.
7. Board and External Stakeholder Engagement
- Prepare and present relevant financial analysis, reports and insights for the Quest Board and its committees.
- Work closely with the CEO and leadership team in responding to Board-level financial and governance matters.
- Build effective relationships with auditors, funders, financial institutions, legal advisors and other external stakeholders.
- Represent Quest in relevant financial, regulatory and governance forums as required.
Required Experiences & Skills:
- CA / MBA (Finance) or equivalent professional qualification, with 18+ years of relevant experience in financial management, accounting, budgeting, financial planning, donor reporting and regulatory compliance.
- Experience in a senior finance leadership role, ideally in a complex, growing organisation.
- Experience working in the development / not-for-profit sector would be an advantage, particularly with CSR, institutional and philanthropic funding.
- Strong understanding of financial planning, management accounting, organisational budgeting, cash flow management, controls and regulatory compliance.
- Demonstrated ability to use financial data and analysis to support strategic and organisational decision-making, rather than only financial reporting.
- Strong experience working with Boards, auditors, funders, legal advisors and senior leadership teams.
- Comfortable working across multiple programmes, geographies, funding arrangements and organisational functions.
- Strong understanding of governance, risk management and regulatory requirements applicable to not-for-profit organisations in India.
- Technology-enabled and data-oriented, with the ability to leverage financial systems, dashboards and automation to improve organisational effectiveness.
- Strong people leadership skills, with the ability to build capable teams and foster a culture of collaboration, accountability and service.
- Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the ability to translate complex financial information into clear insights for non-finance stakeholders.
- A thoughtful, pragmatic and solutions-oriented approach, with the ability to balance financial discipline, compliance and organisational needs.
Benefits:
In addition to your compensation, you are also eligible for a suite of benefits designed to support your well-being and growth:
- Comprehensive Personal Accident Insurance covering up to Rs.10,00,000 annually - Mediclaim Insurance covering up to Rs.3,00,000 annually, supported through our insurance partner, who also offer additional wellness benefits
- Reach for the Stars (RFS) amount of up to Rs.5,000 to support your self-learning and knowledge-building efforts
- Internet allowance of up to Rs.750/month, reimbursable based on actual usage to support flexible and hybrid working arrangements
- For employees with children under the age of 6 years, Quest offers childcare or day care fee support through a monthly matching contribution of up to Rs.3,000, helping you create a supportive work-life balance
- Offering Menstrual Leave, 1 day per month across the country
- Access to emotional health and wellbeing programs such as:
- Group sessions worth Rs.8,000 per session fully covered by the organisation
- 1:1 counselling sessions (worth Rs.2,000 per session), fully covered by the organisation
To Apply:
Interested candidates are requested to apply for the role by filling up the application form via the ATS (Zoho Recruit) platform:
About Quest Alliance:
Quest Alliance is a not-for-profit organisation working to enable young people to build the skills, confidence and agency they need to thrive in a changing world of work.
Our work focuses on strengthening learning ecosystems across schools, vocational institutions and communities through technology-enabled learning, capacity building, research, innovation and collaboration. We work closely with young people, educators, government systems, civil society organisations and other ecosystem partners to develop and scale approaches that enable Future Skills for Thriving Careers.
Quest currently works across multiple states in India, in partnership with state governments, national institutions, civil society organisations and funders. Our approach is grounded in learning, collaboration and evidence, with a focus on building solutions that can be adapted, strengthened and taken to scale.
At Quest, you will be part of a diverse and collaborative team that brings together expertise across education, youth development, technology, design, organisational development and business. We value learning, courage, compassion, collaboration and the ability to work collectively towards a larger purpose.
Quest Alliance works across 12 Indian states and is partnered with nine state governments, over 80 CSOs, national ministries, and funders. It has impacted 1.8 million young lives to date.
At Quest Alliance, we pride ourselves on being an Equal Opportunities employer, embracing applications from all segments of the community. We are committed to ensuring that every applicant and employee is treated with fairness and respect, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, marital status, social status, caste, religious belief, age, or any other factor that is irrelevant to performance. Your individuality is valued and respected within our organization.