Manager/Senior Manager Finance

Manager/Senior Manager Finance

Reports to: CEO/Founder

Location: Noida (U.P)

About Us:

Muskaan Dreams is a technology-focused education nonprofit working to strengthen future readiness, STEM, and AI capabilities among students in Grades 6–10 studying in public schools. Through our flagship initiatives Digital Shaala, AI Saksham, and state-level education system transformation partnerships—we have reached more than one million students across government schools in multiple states across India.

Our approach combines technology, teacher capacity-building, government partnership, and implementation support to improve learning experiences and prepare students for an increasingly digital and AI-enabled future. As we expand our work, we are committed to building stronger evidence on what works, strengthening implementation quality, and supporting sustainable adoption within government systems.

Today, our work has reached more than 1 million students across multiple states in India. As we enter the next phase of growth, we are looking for a leader who can strengthen financial stewardship, governance systems, institutional accountability, and risk management to support scale with integrity.

Why This Role Exists:

As Muskaan Dreams grows across states, donors, government partnerships, and technology-enabled programs, we require stronger systems that ensure transparency, accountability, compliance, and financial discipline.

The Senior Manager - Finance, Governance & Risk will be responsible for building a future-ready finance and governance function that enables organisational growth while maintaining the highest standards of stewardship and compliance.

This is not a traditional accounting role.

We are looking for a builder who can create systems, strengthen controls, improve decision-making through financial insights, and help shape Muskaan Dreams into a world-class institution.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Finance Leadership

• Lead annual and multi-year financial planning.
• Develop financial strategies aligned with organisational goals.
• Build funding, sustainability, and reserve planning frameworks.
• Support leadership in strategic decision-making through financial analysis and insights.
• Establish organisation-wide financial discipline and accountability.

Budgeting & Financial Performance

• Lead annual budgeting and forecasting processes.
• Develop state-wise, program-wise, and department-wise budgets.
• Monitor budget utilisation and financial performance.
• Drive monthly variance analysis and corrective action planning.
• Build a culture of budget ownership across teams.

Donor Finance and Grant Management

• Ensure donor-wise budgeting, tracking, reporting, and compliance.
• Strengthen grant accounting and fund utilisation systems.
• Monitor restricted and unrestricted funding utilisation.
• Support donor due diligence, audits, and financial reviews.
• Ensure timely submission of financial reports and utilisation certificates.

Governance and Internal Controls

• Strengthen organisation-wide policies, SOPs, and governance frameworks.
• Establish Delegation of Authority (DoA) and accountability systems.
• Create strong process ownership and escalation mechanisms.
• Build governance practices that support organisational scale and transparency.
• Ensure institutional compliance with approved policies and procedures.

Compliance and Statutory Management

• Ensure compliance with all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
• Oversee: Income Tax, TDS, GST, PF & Labour Compliances
• Society Act requirements
• CSR reporting obligations
• Other applicable legal and financial regulations
• Maintain a compliance calendar and ensure timely filings.

Audit & Assurance

• Lead statutory, donor, and internal audits.
• Build year-round audit readiness systems.
• Ensure proper documentation and evidence management.
• Track closure of audit observations and management actions.
• Strengthen organisational preparedness for donor and governance reviews.

Procurement Governance

• Strengthen policies and governance frameworks.
• Ensure transparent and compliant procurement processes.
• Establish procurement documentation standards.
• Monitor high-value procurements and committee processes.
• Build systems that ensure fairness, transparency, and audit readiness.

Risk Management

• Develop and maintain the organisation's Risk Register.
• Identify financial, operational, compliance, and governance risks.
• Develop mitigation plans and monitor implementation.
• Conduct periodic risk reviews with leadership.
• Strengthen business continuity and financial resilience planning.

System & Technology

• Drive finance process automation and digitisation.
• Improve management reporting systems and dashboards.
• Strengthen ERP, payroll, and financial management systems.
• Improve quality, reliability, and accessibility of financial data.

Education & Professional Experience

• CA from ICAI or B.Com-Finance & Accounting or MBA, Eco (Hons) or related fields
• Additional Certification in Risk Management
• Knowledge of internal audits, corporate Governance, compliance, Financial Planning
• Strong exposure on Non profit space, grant Management, CSR funding
• 10+ years of experience in Non Profit
• Experience managing annual budgets of 50 crore+ preferred
• Prior experience with Big 4 firms (KPMG, EY, PwC, Deloitte), consulting firms, large nonprofits, foundations, education organizations, or high-growth organizations will be an advantage.
• Strong experience in budgeting, forecasting, statutory compliance, audit management, internal controls, procurement governance, and financial systems.
• Experience presenting financial information to CEOs, Boards, Audit Committees, or senior leadership teams.