Applicants are invited for the post of Chief Director: Finance, Human Resources and Planning.  Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Director: Finance, Human Resources (HR) and Planning will be responsible for leading the Finance, HR and Planning portfolio of the ZIMCHE.  We are looking for someone who is bold and possesses an entrepreneurial mindset.  The person should have a track record of ethical leadership interspaced with creativity, innovation and the ability to rethink the way we think about Finance, Human Resources and Planning in the ZIMCHE.   She or he should be able to develop strategies in Finance, Human Resources, and Planning so as to continuously create opportunities for the ZIMCHE in an era of uncertainties and continuous change imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a senior position in the ZIMCHE which requires a seasoned and experienced financial manager because fifty percent of the work will be in the ambit of financial management and the other fifty percent will be split between the HR and Planning functions.

Financial management:

As part of the Executive Management Committee (EMC) of the ZIMCHE, the Chief Director will be responsible for the financial management of the ZIMCHE. This includes managing the financial reporting of the university as required by the ZIMCHE Act, the Public Finance Management Act, and the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act. This also includes monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reporting as part  of the performance management system for the Chief Director.
The Chief Director will be responsible for budgeting and forecasting of the financial requirements of the ZIMCHE. Additionally, the Chief Director will be responsible for all statutory financial reporting and providing sound financial support and knowledge to the Council, the Finance Committee (FINCOM) of Council, the CEO, and the EMC.
The Chief Director will be responsible for providing financial support, insights, and reports to the FINCOM and acts as its Secretary. The Chief Director will also provide financial support and information to the EMC so that the CEO and management will be able to make sound financial decisions that impact on the ZIMCHE.
The Chief Director will be responsible for managing and overseeing the cash flow of the ZIMCHE and ensuring that, the organization has appropriate Treasury controls and managing the external Auditor relationships. He or she will take full responsibility to ensure that, the ZIMCHE is compliant with national and international Accounting Standards. He or she will oversee the banking arrangements of the ZIMCHE and; ensure that, the organization gets value of its money by maximizing financial investments on the money market where possible.  The Chief Director will additionally oversee accounts payable; and accounts receivable, treasury payroll; and financial management accounting functions.
The Chief Director will also be responsible for financial Risk Management to ensure that, the ZIMCHE although a public enterprise, its finances and other resources are managed efficiently; and has a solid risk framework in place. In that regard, the Chief Director will have to ensure that, the ZIMCHE complies with the Public Finance Management Act and other Statutory requirements. One major source of risk in the ZIMCHE is the procurement process. Therefore, the Chief Director will assist the CEO to oversee the Procurement Management Unit (PMU), the procurement processes, and supply chain management.  It is critical that the Chief Director should have a deeper understanding of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act of 2017 to be able to play a critical role to ensure that, the ZIMCHE complies with this ACT.
The Chief Director will be responsible for resources mobilization in the ZIMCHE. This is a key function for the Chief Director: Finance. Working with the Director: Administration, the Chief Director will take full responsibility of the ZIMCHE strategy to expand its premises and eventually use the premises for resources mobilization.  The development of a ZIMCHE resources mobilization strategy will be a key function for this portfolio.  He or she will play a pivotal role in advising the CEO and the EMC in implementing best practice methods to increase revenue and reduce costs.  The Chief Director will also play a key role in advising the CEO and the EMC on financial market changes and providing strategic financial recommendations to the EMC.
The Chief Director will manage and track budget and accounting information of the ZIMCHE, and periodically review all formal finance and related policies and procedures as articulated in the ZIMCHE Act, The Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act, and the Public Finance Management Act.
The Chief Director will take a lead in the utilization of ICTs to ensure that the ZIMCHE maximizes the affordances of ICTs for data analytics in financial reporting and taking a lead in embedding artificial intelligence in the ZIMCHE as an organization so that, most of its financial activities and analyses will be electronic. The Chief Director will work closely with the Director ICT to make sure that the ZIMCHE takes advantage of the internet of things (IOT) in managing its finances.

Planning

Working together with the CEO and, the Chief Directors and Directors, the Chief Director Finance, HR and Planning will be part of the executive team that will be responsible for strategic planning and leading change in the ZIMCHE because of the new normal that has been imposed on the public sector and higher education institutions by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In terms of strategic planning, one of the key roles of the Chief Director is to work with the EMC to rethink constraints, threats and opportunities to the ZIMCHE so that he or she can develop strategy maps that are creative and imaginative so that senior managers are encouraged to develop multiple realities to cope with a VUCA world complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Chief Director within the planning function, will be responsible for taking a lead in ensuring that strategy, risk, performance, and sustainability are inseparable in the ZIMCHE. We are looking for a strategist with some knowledge of planning and one who has an advanced knowledge of Finance at the level of a Chartered Accountant.  The person we are looking for should also be knowledgeable about higher education and training in Zimbabwe with the intersection of the financing and economics of higher education as resources to fund the sector become scarce.
The Chief Director will take full responsibility of the ZIMCHE strategic planning functions and focus on making sense of the future in which the ZIMCHE will operate and is expected to be agile. The key responsibility at a conceptual and practical level is to lead the ZIMCHE in managing uncertainty that has been ushered in by the COVID pandemic and a resource constrained environment.  This function involves setting the plans and strategies for organizational change, learning and growth  so that, the ZIMCHE can cope with a volatile, uncertain, changing and ambiguous (VUCA) world. Knowledge of scenario planning and forecasting will be an essential so that the ZIMCHE can survive in a turbulent economic environment.
The Chief Director will also be expected to work with other units within the ZIMCHE to develop contingency plans to manage risk. This involves re-thinking traditional approaches to strategic planning in uncertain times and focus on re-engineering, quality management, or internal cost-reduction programs and resources mobilization at the same time.  In terms of the planning function, the Chief Director is also expected to make use of AI, data analytics, and apply appropriate analytic tools to help the ZIMCHE identify strategic options.  The Chief Director is therefore expected to play a key role in enabling the ZIMCHE to learn how to live with complexity in the financial sector in particular.
As far as the planning function is concerned, the Chief Director’s role will be responsibility for both institutional and Directorates strategic plans and performance monitoring together with the Director: HR and the CEO as a team. This function will include monitoring and reporting as per the requirements of the ZIMCHE Act, The Public Entities Corporate Governance Act, the Public Finance Management Act and the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act.  The key role for the Chief Director in is this area would be assisting the ZIMCHE management to select a strategic posture to clarify its strategic intent in terms of, shaping and re-inventing the ZIMCHE structure and quickly adapting to a VUCA world which has been changed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A key component of the planning function of the Chief Director will be to assist the CEO and the EMC with periodic cost-effectiveness analysis which focuses inter alia, on cost-utility analysis, cost-benefit analysis, and cost-feasibility analysis of activities in the ZIMCHE. We are in essence, looking for someone who will reflect, re-energize and re-invent our strategic planning function and linked to Financial Planning.

Human Resources

As far as the Human Resources (HR) function if concerned, the Chief Director (Finance, Human Resources and Planning) will be responsible for the development and implementation of the ZIMCHE Human Resource Strategy and ensuring that it is aligned to the overall ZIMCHE strategy and mandate as enunciated in the ZIMCHE Act. The same HR strategy should be cascaded to the various units within the ZIMCHE. Additionally, the incumbent will also advise Council on matters relating to the HR portfolio in the ZIMCHE. This is a strategic leadership position.  Therefore, the Chief Director will also assist the CEO to ensure that, the overall corporate goals and strategies of the ZIMCHE are fully implemented with relation to HR Finance and Planning functions.
The Chief Director will also be responsible for ensuring that all Human Resource Policies are in place and continuously reviewed to fit best practice in the management of the HR function.
The ZIMCHE has adopted the IRBM system as the main system of managing the performance of all staff. In that regard the Chief Director is expected to ensure that the IRBM system is adhered to and half yearly review of employee performance is carried out.
The Chief Director is expected to ensure that, the employee development, coaching, and mentoring functions for staff are running efficiently in order to re-tool and re-skill employees to meet their performance targets and overall ZIMCHE objectives, mandate, and goals.
One of the key responsibilities of this position is to provide policy advice on HR services to a wide range of clients within the ZIMCHE, and ensuring that, the HR regulations and procedures are continually adhered to and updated as necessary.