Operations Systems Automation Consultant (LAKAN) Consultant

Family Health International; Makati; Sur place; PHP 900 000 - 1 200 000; Temps partiel

Résumé du poste

FHI 360 in the Philippines is seeking an Operations Systems Automation Consultant to lead automation of LAKAN’s financial and administrative workflows. The role focuses on replacing manual processes with auditable, Google Workspace or equivalent solutions, starting with a cash advance and liquidation system and extending to policy libraries and dashboards.

The consultant will design workflows, ensure governance, and train LAKAN staff for handover, reporting to the Technical Monitor.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business/finance/IT or equivalent experience.
• Strong skills in building workflow automation using Microsoft 365 tools (Power Automate, SharePoint Online, Microsoft Lists, Forms, Excel).
• Ability to translate business/financial controls into a practical system design.
• Experience in process mapping and redesign of manual finance/procurement/admin workflows.

Responsabilités

• Replace manual tracking and approvals with auditable automated workflows in LAKAN’s Google Workspace or equivalent.
• Build a cash advance and liquidation system with an audit trail and automated aging/reminders.
• Extend workflows to additional control areas with templates and checklists.
• Develop policies, SOPs, and a structured policy repository; provide training and handover to LAKAN staff.

Connaissances

Workflow automation

Microsoft 365

SharePoint Online

Power Automate

Training

Process mapping

Documentation

Formation

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Equivalent practical experience

Outils

Microsoft 365 tools

Description du poste

FHI 360/Philippines (www.fhi360.org) is in search of candidates for the position of Operations Systems Automation Consultant (LAKAN) Consultant for EpiC HIV project.

About FHI 360:

FHI 360 is a global organization that mobilizes research, resources, and relationships so people everywhere have access to the opportunities they need to lead full and healthy lives. With collaborations in over 60 countries, we work directly with local leaders to advance social and economic equity, improve health and well-being, respond to humanitarian crises, and strengthen community resilience. We share data-driven insights and scalable tools that expand access and equity so communities can effectively address complex challenges, respond to shocks, and achieve thriving futures.

PROJECT OVERVIEW:

EpiC is a global project funded by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the U.S. Department of State (DOS). The project provides strategic technical assistance (TA) and direct service delivery to break through barriers to 95-95-95 and promote self-reliant management of national HIV programs by improving HIV case-finding, prevention, treatment programming and viral load suppression among adults at risk. In the Philippines, EpiC is now in its sixth year of implementation in Mega Manila. To address critical gaps and bottlenecks in HIV response, the EpiC Project strengthens the internal capacity of community-based organizations (CBOs) and works closely with government facilities to deliver HIV services tailored to the needs of adults at risk and people living with HIV (PLHIV).

The Regional TB HIV Support Network, Inc. (LAKAN) is a community-based organization and EpiC subrecipient that implements HIV case finding, linkage to care, and community-based organization (CBO) capacity-building activities across Central Luzon through a network of partner CBOs. LAKAN has demonstrated strong programmatic capacity, a strong community presence, and a firm commitment to serving key populations. As part of closeout preparation and in anticipation of future funding, FHI 360’s recent Financial Management and Compliance Capacity Assessment of LAKAN identified opportunities to further strengthen LAKAN’s internal systems, including documentation and records management, cash advance and liquidation monitoring, tracking of compliance and corrective actions, procurement and contract monitoring, cost allocation, cash flow planning, and risk management. Many of these functions currently rely on manual tracking and follow-up, which becomes harder to sustain as an organization grows and manages multiple funding streams. Automating them within LAKAN’s existing tools will help ensure consistent, timely, and audit-ready practices.

LAKAN’s current subaward is being implemented through November 30, 2026 and closeout through January 31, 2027. EpiC implementation in the Philippines ends on December 31, 2026, with EpiC closeout activities continuing through March 31, 2027. LAKAN’s next subaward is expected to be a Fixed Amount Award (FAA), under which payment is tied to milestones rather than actual-cost reporting, so Subaward Financial Reports (SFRs) are not expected to be required. This raises the importance of internal financial reporting, evidence of milestone completion, and cash flow forecasting, since cash is received only when milestones are achieved. To help LAKAN address the highest-priority findings within this period, FHI 360 will engage a short-term consultant, with the budget managed directly by FHI 360, to build practical, automated workflows in LAKAN’s existing Google Workspace so that key controls are enforced by the system and remain usable after EpiC ends.

Detailed Description of Tasks to be Performed:

The Consultant (Operations Systems Automation Consultant) will lead an effort to replace LAKAN’s manual tracking and approval processes with automated, auditable workflows built in LAKAN’s existing Google Workspace (Google Forms, Sheets, Drive, and Apps Script or equivalent native tools). The primary output is a working cash advance and liquidation system. The same platform will then be extended to other high-priority control areas identified in FHI 360’s assessment. Policies will be developed only to the extent needed for the system to operate and be enforced, supported by a policy and procedure library and a roadmap toward a single consolidated operations manual. The Consultant will work with LAKAN’s Executive Director, LAKAN finance and administration staff, including the internal Google Workspace administrator, and will report to the FHI 360 Technical Monitor.

Building on this foundation, the Consultant will:

• Conduct bottleneck analysis and system design by mapping LAKAN’s current cash advance, liquidation, SFR review, procurement, and findings-tracking processes; agreeing with LAKAN’s Executive Director and finance team on requirements, approval levels and thresholds, aging rules, data fields, and user roles; and documenting the system design, including the approval matrix.

• Build and pilot an automated cash advance and liquidation system in which a single request form is routed to the requester’s supervisor, then to finance review, then to an amount-based final approver, with each approval captured in an audit trail (approver account, date and time, decision). The system will include an automated ledger (request ID, requester, activity, funding source and project code, amount, release date, due date, and status); display of the requester’s outstanding advances at the time of request, with a hold on new advances when prior advances are overdue (rules configurable per LAKAN policy); automated aging with reminders sent before and after the due date and escalation to supervisors; a linked liquidation form with receipts stored in Drive and routed for finance clearance; and an automatically generated monthly aging report. Opening balances of currently outstanding advances will be loaded into the ledger, and the system will be tested with LAKAN users before live.

• Extend the platform to other priority control areas as functional, documented workflows or templates (not full custom applications), covering: (a) a monthly internal financial and compliance report and a supporting-document and milestone-evidence register, with a review checklist and secondary review, usable for the remaining subaward financial reports through closeout and, under the expected FAA, for internal reporting; (b) a policy and procedure library, a knowledge repository for policies, procedures, and reports (including but not limited to finance), in LAKAN’s Google Drive, with a standardized folder structure and naming convention, version control, an index recording each document’s owner, effective date, review date, and approval status, and role-based access; (c) a monthly cash flow forecast and cash position report for the Executive Director, linked to the cash advance ledger and the milestone payment schedule, refreshed bi-weekly, with variance and liquidity thresholds and a flag for any interfund borrowing; (d) procurement requisition, vendor vetting, and quotation-comparison checklists, and a consultant-contract and deliverables tracker that records written acceptance of outputs before payment; (e) a central findings and corrective action plan (CAP) tracker, including a bank reconciliation issue tracker, with owners, due dates, reminders, and closure evidence; (f) a cost allocation worksheet for shared costs across funding streams; (g) a risk register with owners and review dates; and (h) a closeout readiness checklist covering asset disposition, financial reconciliations, and records archiving.

• Develop short, system-aligned policies and a roadmap toward a consolidated manual consisting of a Cash Advance and Liquidation Policy and a Cost Allocation Methodology; a Risk Management Framework and Business Continuity Plan; short addenda to existing LAKAN policies only where the new workflows depend on them; an inventory and gap analysis of LAKAN’s existing policies (version, status, overlaps, and conflicts); and a proposed outline for a single Manual of Operating Procedures and Policies, aligned with LAKAN’s bylaws and building on any existing LAKAN drafts, with a consolidation roadmap showing responsibilities and sequence. Policies and addenda will be submitted to LAKAN’s management and Board for approval. Drafting and consolidating the full manual, and rewriting existing manuals, are outside this scope and will be led by LAKAN.

• Train LAKAN staff and hand over the system by conducting orientation sessions for requesters, supervisors, and finance reviewers; preparing user guides and system documentation (workflow diagrams, data dictionary, inventory of automations, and instructions for changing approvers and thresholds); transferring ownership and administrator rights to LAKAN’s internal Google Workspace administrator and a named LAKAN system owner; and submitting a Final Consultancy Report.

• Support LAKAN’s recruitment of a permanent People, Finance and Administration (PFA) Operations Manager, upon LAKAN’s request, by assisting with shortlisting and participating in interviews. LAKAN leads the recruitment and makes the hiring decision.

Conditions of the assignment:

• All system components and documents will be created in LAKAN-owned accounts, not personal accounts, and delivered to LAKAN and FHI 360.

• No paid third-party add-ons or subscriptions will be used without the prior written approval of FHI 360 and LAKAN; the fixed price does not include license or subscription costs.

Migration of LAKAN’s Google Workspace content, email, calendars, user accounts, historical files, or existing automations to Microsoft 365 is outside the scope of this consultancy. LAKAN will provide the configured Microsoft 365 environment and required user and administrator access before system build-out.

• The Consultant will not approve transactions, authorize expenditures, execute contracts, or certify regulated financial documents, and will not hold an approver role in any workflow.

• The Consultant will comply with the Data Privacy Act of 2012, LAKAN’s safeguarding and conflict-of-interest policies, and the confidentiality provisions of Attachment A, and will limit access to financial and personal data to what the work requires.

• LAKAN will provide timely access to relevant records, information, and personnel, a Google Workspace administrator, and a named system owner.

• The Consultant will submit a brief monthly accomplishment report to the FHI 360 Technical Monitor, with a copy to LAKAN’s Executive Director, on or before the fifth (5th) calendar day of the following month; the Final Consultancy Report serves as the December report.

REQUIRED EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, finance, accounting, public administration, information systems, or a related field, OR equivalent practical experience in business operations or workflow systems implementation.

• Strong skills in building workflow automation in Microsoft 365 using SharePoint Online, Microsoft Lists, Power Automate with standard Microsoft 365 connectors, Teams, Microsoft Forms, and Excel, including multi-level approval routing, notifications, and dashboards. Solutions must use capabilities included in LAKAN’s anticipated Microsoft 365 Business Standard nonprofit subscription and must not require premium connectors, Power Automate Premium, paid third-party add-ons, or additional subscriptions without prior written approval.

• Ability to translate business and financial control requirements (approval matrices, segregation of duties, audit trails, aging and liquidation monitoring) into a practical system design

• Experience in process mapping and redesign of manual finance, procurement, and administrative workflows, and in building spreadsheet-based reporting and cash flow forecasting tools

• Strong technical writing skills to develop practical policies, SOPs, checklists, and user guides that match the system, and to organize policy documents into a structured, version-controlled repository

• Effective facilitation and training skills for non-technical staff

• Strong documentation and handover skills so that a small organization can maintain the system after the consultancy ends

• Working knowledge of data privacy, access control, and ownership practices in a Microsoft 365 cloud environment

• Familiarity with NGO finance controls and USG-funded award requirements (e.g., cost principles, subaward financial reporting) is an advantage

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Demonstrated experience of at least 5 years in business operations, finance or internal controls, or systems implementation

• Proven experience designing and implementing automated approval or tracking workflows in Microsoft 365, particularly SharePoint Online, Microsoft Lists, and Power Automate (at least 1-2 similar experiences in implementation)

• Experience working within business control environments (approvals, segregation of duties, audit trails, aging and liquidation of advances)

• Hands-on experience improving processes to reduce manual tracking, errors, or turnaround time

• Experience delivering training and handover to non-technical teams, preferably in NGOs or small organizations

• Experience working with finance, procurement, or compliance staff to define requirements and test systems

• Strong analytical, documentation, and communication skills, including facilitation of requirements and user-testing sessions

• Experience in the Philippines or similar contexts is preferred; experience with NGOs or donor-funded organizations (including USG-funded awards) is an advantage