The Danish Refugee Council (DRC), a leading humanitarian organization committed to supporting refugees and displaced persons across the globe, is currently seeking an experienced and forward-thinking professional to join its dynamic team as a Commercial Contract – Finance Advisor. This critical role, based in Nairobi, Kenya, offers an excellent opportunity to contribute to DRC’s rapidly evolving portfolio of commercial contracts and fund management initiatives across Africa and beyond.
Over the past several years, DRC has been expanding its operations into new funding and implementation models, including commercial contracts and fund management. These innovative modalities present fresh opportunities, but also require tailored operational frameworks to mitigate new and complex risks. In particular, they demand refined approaches to financial management, forecasting, and monitoring to track profitability and ensure donor compliance.
This position is central to achieving financial excellence within these business streams and will work directly under the Head of Section – Commercial Contracts and Fund Management. It is open to both Kenyan nationals and international candidates, with a fixed-term contract duration of two years, effective September 2025.
Position: Commercial Contract – Finance Advisor
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Contract Type: National or Expatriate Contract
Start Date: September 2025
Application Deadline: 15 July 2025
Vacancy ID: 174024
Reporting To: Head of Section – Commercial Contracts & Fund Management
Overall Purpose of the Role
The Commercial Contract – Finance Advisor will be responsible for strengthening DRC’s financial and operational capacity to manage commercial contracts and fund management arrangements. This involves supporting the setup and tracking of financial systems, ensuring accurate financial forecasting and invoicing, and guiding the development of internal policies and tools to better accommodate the requirements of commercial funding modalities.
The role also includes advising on business development initiatives to ensure financial proposals are viable and compliant, overseeing profit and performance metrics, and contributing to policy and SOP development in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
Detailed Responsibilities
R1: Financial Management
- Ensure proper setup of new contracts in Microsoft Dynamics and support monitoring of financial performance.
- Conduct or support quality assurance checks on financial systems and procedures of downstream partners, including subcontractors and implementing partners.
- Review project invoices drafted by the Project Manager to ensure their accuracy, completeness, and compliance with contract requirements before submission to the client.
- Analyze commercial contract internal budgets against financial records in Dynamics; evaluate financial key performance indicators to inform resource allocation decisions.
- Collaborate with DRC staff to create Business Intelligence (BI) reports to monitor the overall health of the commercial portfolio, including the Commercial Risk Contingency Fund.
- Support audits of commercial contracts, preparing and presenting accurate financial data to auditors.
- Provide financial insights to support decision-making on profit share proposals at the Local Entity (LE) level.
R2: Business Development
- Work alongside Local Entities to develop and review financial proposals for commercial tenders, ensuring alignment with market standards and donor compliance.
- Provide financial modeling and pricing guidance that reflects both competitiveness and risk management.
R3: Policy Guidance
- Assist in updating and refining DRC’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) related to commercial contract delivery and financial management.
- Participate in the creation and review of DRC Dynamics user manuals, particularly those focused on commercial contract setup, execution, and closure.
- Contribute to the development of a Profit Policy to guide pricing, cost recovery, and profit-sharing arrangements across DRC’s commercial engagements.
R4: Fund Management
- Monitor fund management cash flows to ensure donor funds are received and disbursed to grantees efficiently and in compliance with contract terms.
- Identify system inefficiencies in Dynamics affecting fund management performance and collaborate with cross-functional teams to resolve them.
- Work with Business Process Owners to propose changes to DRC Dynamics for improved system integration and governance. Advocate for necessary approvals through DRC’s system governance board.
Required Experience and Technical Competencies
- Minimum of five years of relevant experience in financial management within the development or humanitarian sectors, especially with exposure to commercial or service contract modalities.
- Proven ability to understand and oversee financial processes in diverse organizational settings, preferably at an international or multi-country level.
- Familiarity with contract types and funding mechanisms utilized by international donors and development partners.
- Strong interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills, with a capacity to mentor and support colleagues across different country contexts.
- Demonstrated experience in financial oversight of commercial contract delivery, including cost forecasting, invoicing, and revenue tracking.
- Familiarity with ERP systems is essential, with preference for experience using Microsoft Dynamics.
- Demonstrated experience in contributing to organizational policy development or procedural guidance documents.
- Proficiency in both spoken and written English and French is required.
- Capacity to engage with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders including finance managers, support staff, auditors, and contract resource committees.
Educational Background
- A Master’s degree in Economics, Financial Management, Business Management, or a related discipline is required.
Languages Required
- English: Fluent (spoken and written)
- French: Fluent (spoken and written)
DRC Core Competencies
The ideal candidate will be aligned with DRC’s values and exhibit the following core competencies:
- Striving for Excellence: Demonstrates a results-oriented approach, ensuring the effectiveness and quality of processes.
- Collaborating: Encourages input and collaboration across departments and geographic locations.
- Taking the Lead: Proactively takes ownership and drives initiatives, particularly around innovation and problem-solving.
- Communicating: Communicates transparently and professionally, ensuring clarity and mutual understanding.
- Demonstrating Integrity: Consistently adheres to DRC’s ethical principles, vision, and mission.
Conditions of Employment
- Contract Duration: Fixed-term for 2 years (renewable based on contract profitability)
- Remuneration and Benefits: In accordance with DRC’s terms of employment for either National or Expatriate staff, including medical insurance, annual leave, and relocation support where applicable.
- Duty Station: Nairobi, Kenya
- Availability: September 2025
- Eligible Applicants: Open to both Kenyan and international candidates
- Key Internal Stakeholders: Business and Finance Controllers, Country and Regional Heads of Support Services and Finance, Commercial Contract Resource Committee
General Commitments and Safeguarding
DRC maintains a robust Humanitarian Accountability Framework that governs its operations worldwide. All employees are expected to adhere to the highest standards of ethics and accountability. Staff are required to actively contribute to upholding this framework and to promote DRC’s Code of Conduct, which includes policies on safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment.
As part of DRC’s commitment to integrity and ethical behavior, all recruitment processes include comprehensive background checks and reference verification. DRC does not work with recruitment agencies and does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process.
For any technical issues or application-related queries, candidates are encouraged to visit the Job Support Portal on the DRC website at drc.ngo/jobsupport.
Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
DRC is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and strongly believes in the value of diversity. The organization does not discriminate based on age, gender, marital status, religion, disability, ethnic background, race, or sexual orientation.
DRC is especially committed to achieving gender parity in staffing and encourages applications from female candidates and members of marginalized communities. By fostering an inclusive and equitable work environment, DRC strengthens its ability to provide impactful, culturally relevant assistance to vulnerable populations.
Application Process
Qualified candidates are invited to submit:
- A 1-page cover letter explaining their motivation and suitability for the role
- A comprehensive CV
- Contact information for three professional referees, including at least one from a current or most recent supervisor
All applications must be submitted online through the official DRC website under the Vacancies section.
Deadline for submission: 15th July 2025
