Project Finance Officer

Salary: Local terms and conditions apply Location: Lusaka, Zambia Contract: 24-month fixed term contract (subject to funding) Hours: Full time, 35 hours per week 

About the role 

Sightsavers are looking to recruit an experienced Project Finance Officer to join their finance team in Zambia to support a specific project. This role manages day to day financial operations, donor compliance and partner oversight to ensure alignment with programme objectives.

Responsibilities

The Project Finance Officer in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders will continually ensure quality and consistency of project financial management and controls. The post-holder is responsible for donor budget management with quarterly reporting, financial planning, budget tracking, financial monitoring and maintenance of the project asset register. They will prepare and consolidate the monthly invoice and expense projection; analyse differences between the projections and actual spending and submit adjustments as required. The Project Finance Officer will support procurement needs and source quotations whilst adhering to donor rules, following the projects ‘value for money’ strategies.

The ideal candidate will have previous experience in a similar role within international development with a background in managing grants and contracts from institutional donors and Foundations and experience in financial review and compliance for public institutions and OPDs. 

Skills and experience

• A recognised professional accounting qualification such as ACCA and a bachelor’s degree in finance/accounting
• Clear experience, managing grants and contracts from institutional donors and Foundations, ideally within an INGO environment
• Proven experience in financial review and compliance for public institutions and OPDs
• Sound experience of financial management, program and project management and administration
• Refined knowledge working with project budgets, forecasts and reporting
• Knowledge and experience in supporting Program teams and partners with budget preparation and proposals
• Previous experience with procurement and logistics
• Working knowledge of the SUN and Bank Online platforms/systems
• Project Financial management and data analysis skills
• Able to advocate for Sightsavers with key external stakeholders
• Excellent communication skills, both written and spoken
• Able to work under minimum supervision
• Strong IT skills  in Excel, MS Word, an accounting package and use of email
• Current and ongoing right to work in Zambia

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This is a highly varied and involved role and the above is not an exhaustive list of duties or required professional skills. Please see the job description for full details.    

Candidates are welcome to demonstrate their ability to match the person specification by expanding on how their experience, training and/or qualifications might have provided them with the knowledge or skills required for the role. Successful candidates will be appointed on merit. 

The recruitment process will include a written task and two rounds of interviews. We intend to conduct interviews from 16 February 2026 onwards. The first interview will last up to one hour. Successful candidates at this stage will then be invited to a final interview lasting up to 45 minutes.

The deadline to submit your application will be Sunday 15 February 2026 by 23.30pm GMT UK.

Next Steps 

To apply for this exciting new opportunity, please complete an application via our recruitment portal using the link provided. We are particularly interested in learning of your motivations for applying. We ask that you complete both the personal questions and the role specific questions to ensure we can consider your application.

As an equal opportunity employer, we actively encourage applications from all sections of the community. Sightsavers is a Disability Confident Leader and qualified people with a disability are particularly encouraged to apply.

Sightsavers is an employer that does not tolerate any form of harassment and has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse. All potential candidates will be subjected to rigorous background checks and controls.