About Light for the World
Light for the World is a global disability and development organisation, empowering people with disabilities and enabling inclusive communities. We strive for a world in which persons with disabilities can equally access education, work, and healthcare and where their rights are fully realised.
Our programmes focus on inclusive education, economic empowerment, eye health, and disability rights, with partnerships and projects across Africa and beyond.
Place of work: Vienna, Austria
Duration: Full time (38h)
Annual gross Salary: between EUR 48.000 and EUR 50.000(full-time)
Effective as of: April 2026
About the role
The role of the Senior Project Controller (WCW Finance Lead) carries the responsibility of overseeing and streamlining financial systems and operational processes that are essential for the program's successful implementation. It involves a strategic approach to financial management and operational effectiveness, with a focus on aligning the program's objectives, achieving financial integration, ensuring harmonization, and upholding compliance standards across international and country offices, partner organizations, and Mastercard Foundation.
Tasks
- Provide strategic leadership within the PMU lead team, aligning financial and operational initiatives with overall programme goals.
- Oversee day-to-day finance and operational activities, ensuring efficiency, compliance, and adherence to internal guidelines.
- Serve as the primary focal point for finance and procurement matters across the programme.
- Standardize and harmonize financial processes across international offices, country teams, partners, and the donor.
- Lead budgeting, financial planning, monitoring, consolidation, and reporting processes across multiple locations.
- Ensure compliance with donor and partner contracts, including financial oversight, variance analysis, and risk mitigation.
- Drive the development and integration of financial systems and tools to strengthen automated grant management and reporting.
- Provide financial guidance and capacity building to project staff and partners on planning, monitoring, and reporting requirements.
- Conduct regular financial risk assessments and implement mitigation measures to safeguard programme delivery.
- Strengthen collaboration between international and country offices and travel to partner locations to support financial oversight and capacity development.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field (Master’s, MBA, or CPA preferred).
- 5+ years of progressive experience in financial management, ideally with additional experience in an iNGO or complex international organization.
- Strong knowledge of donor funding mechanisms (e.g., USAID, FCDO, EU, UN, foundations).
- Proven experience with multi-currency, multi-country budgeting and financial consolidation.
- Excellent analytical, communication, and presentation skills
- Mission-driven leader who combines strategic financial insight with empathy and collaboration.
- Comfortable operating in a matrixed, multicultural, and dynamic environment.
- Proactive, solutions-oriented, and committed to continuous improvement and impact.
Benefits
- You join a highly motivated team, appreciating your experience and eager to jointly shape Light for the World’s monitoring and steering mechanisms
- We are offering an outstanding opportunity to bring about change through an international development organization with strong expertise and a growing profile
- We are committed to giving our colleagues space to explore new directions, test new ideas and to excel as individuals through and with their team. We emphasize a good work-life-balance, have flexible working hours and Home-Office opportunity
- We are a professional team that strives towards continuous development.
- We believe in participatory leadership and expect you to contribute your expertise and ideas.
- We believe that learning from mistakes is an important way of developing and put emphasis on our culture of learning
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and place a high value on diversity and inclusion in our organization. We welcome and encourage applications from all people regardless of national origin, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation or gender identity, and we very much welcome applications from people with disabilities.
