In the role of the Lead, Finance & Operations, the person shall dually report to the Director, Finance & Operations, Forge and Head, Forge.Fund. The incumbent is responsible for financial and administrative areas coming under the broader Key Result Areas (KRAs) relating to Financial Operations for Startup Seed and CVC Investments, Corporate Finance Operations, Grants Management, Reporting & Stakeholder Engagement for Govt/Corporate Funds, Periodic Startup Progress Review & Reporting, and General Administration.
In managing the comprehensive scope of outcomes and activities, the Lead, Finance & Operations, is expected to play the role of an authorised representative to all external stakeholders in government and corporate across all the grants administered and investments implemented by Forge.
Position & Designation
Grade - Sr. Associate or Manager
The Lead, Finance & Operations to be designated in Forge at the grade of Sr. Associate or Manager depending on the past experience, professional qualification and relevant/direct experience in managing startup investments, fund and grant administration etc.The company expects the incumbent in this role to emerge as a strong candidate for being considered for the role and position of Manager, Finance & Operations in the grade of Manager within 8-12 months by delivering strong performance and demonstrating significant growth and leadership potential.
Compensation
Forge compensation is at par with the top end of the social enterprises sector in India and continuously benchmarked to be above the average compensation offered in the social (non-commercial or development) sector in general but significantly above the average compensation offered by TBIs.
The Total CTC will include 3 major components namely, Fixed Monthly Gross, Fixed Quarterly Payout, and Annual Development Bonus (linked to demonstration of progress on developing and strengthening capabilities in alignment with the Career Advancement and Capabilities Development framework of Forge).
Role & Responsibilities - Key Result Areas
1.Financial Accounting & Management Accounting
- Manage the standardisation, documentation, reporting and review of the Financials MIS to ensure the desired data is collected, presented, analysed and visualised in a timely manner;
- Support the Director, Finance & Operations in facilitating the implementation of an effective plan to report, present, and review monthly financial reports to the Board of Directors;
- Manage all invoicing and tightly tracking/reporting status of receivables across all programs in Forge working in direct coordination with the those responsible for fundraising and revenue generation in specific verticals;
- Assist the Director, Finance & Operations in defining, measuring and tracking key operating parameters, to monitor and enhance the operating profitability of Forge, for key strategic programs;
- Costs Management & Optimization, with a specific focus on managing the cash flow by implementing an effective process of budgeting, approval, review and reporting activities;
- Responsible for significant cost optimisation and optimum utilisation of resources across business units of all the centres.
2.Compliance/Statutory Management
- Responsible for the time bound implementation of all activities required for achieving highest degree of compliance with the applicable laws and regulations relating to taxation, company financials, GST etc. and due completion of all procedures required at different milestones during the financial year and the assessment year;
- Coordinate directly with the Statutory Auditor to track, report and manage all matters concerning the entire scope of financial governance and administration as required in accordance with the laws and regulations;
- Responsible for any additional exemptions, approvals, authorisations etc. that may be required for the company from time to time, directly or indirectly dealing with the government authorities and engaging with the concerned professionals and providers to ensure timely implementation of necessary compliance procedures to strengthen the overall financial governance and compliance of the company.
3.Funds Administration, Monitoring and Reporting
- Manage the Accounting, Monitoring, and Reporting of grants received from various Government or Corporate principals, whom Forge serves as the Grant Implementation Agency in the role of Partner Incubator;
- Prepare financial budget plans and allocation along with the program management team and finance department in accordance with grant requirements and compliance;
- Maintain records of all payments & receivables and prepare monthly/quarterly funds utilisation reports for each grant scheme/program independently by coordinating with the respective Program Managers;
- Submit audited utilisation reports including funds utilisation and financial expenditure in accordance with the specific guidelines of each grant scheme/program;
- Administer grant records and evaluate financial reports to analyse all annual progress and perform a review on grant expenditure.
4.Investment Management for Forge.Fund
- Implementation of basic Due Diligence, Closing Compliance Procedures and SOPs in respect of individual investment transactions;
- Deal structuring for each startup investment and negotiating the closure on investment terms with the investee startups, providing complete visibility to the Forge IC at every stage of the process;
- Finalising investment terms and managing the documentation and execution of definitive agreements (term sheets, SSA/SHA) for each startup investment;
- Implement the end-to-end process of fund administration relating to monitoring, evaluating and reporting the milestone wise progress/performance and submitting all mandatory periodic reports of the startups in accordance with the stated expectations/guidelines formulated by Forge and meeting the expectations of the Govt/Corporate sponsor/scheme in a timely manner;
- Managing the end-to-end investment execution process, by coordinating with legal/secretarial professionals engaged by Forge in the implementation of each investment transaction.
5.Portfolio Compliance & Revenue Management
- Monitoring compliance on the part of startups in completing their contractual commitments in a timely manner, and coordinating directly with the startups to ensure necessary actions are taken to address any compliance issues in a time bound manner;
- Monitoring & Reporting the various payments due from startups including upfront fees, recurring fees and investment payback in accordance with the contractual terms and conditions;
- Supporting the Forge.Fund team in all administrative matters concerning the enforcement of contractual terms and conditions across all types of agreements executed between Forge and the startups.
