Marta Andrade Soares
Lisboa
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
4
4
years of post-secondary education
5
5
Languages
Work History
Director of Program Finance
Hala Systems
03.2023 - Current
- Leading a dynamic team of two Compliance Officers overseeing direct grant management and financial reporting, with a portfolio encompassing nine grants totaling $9.5 million from March to November 2023 (totaling $16 million yearly). My responsibilities included comprehensive review and oversight of these grants.
- Notably, I took on the challenge of directly managing grants for our new program in Ukraine, a critical initiative for the company. In this role, I established and implemented new processes to seamlessly integrate a field team of over 20 people. My leadership played a pivotal role in navigating the high complexity of the Ukraine grants, involving the handling of sensitive information and requiring the creation and adjustment of numerous processes. I collaborated with various departments, such as Finance, Accounting, and People Operations, to spearhead process improvements that enhanced overall efficiency. This involved optimizing existing procedures and developing new ones to align with the unique demands of the program in a new region.
- I successfully led project audits with impeccable results, achieving zero findings.
Senior Finance & Grants Manager
Hala Systems
11.2021 - 03.2023
- Demonstrated adeptness in efficiently managing 13 active grants totaling $17 million, with an annualized value of approximately $12.8 million. Successfully oversaw diverse grants, ranging from a concise 4-month, $8.2 million project to a 12-month, $200,000 initiative.
- Took autonomous charge of donor communications pertaining to grant financial management.
- Implemented critical tools for business operations, including Personnel Allocation Forecast Tool, Labor Distribution Report, Budget Trackers, and Total Resource Allocation Tool.
- Played a supportive role in project audits, resulting in zero findings.
Finance & Grants Manager
Hala Systems
10.2019 - 10.2021
- Contributed to the financial management of 20 grants from major governmental agencies totaling 16M USD, over a 2 year period. Additionally managed 6 grants from private organizations totaling $160,000 annually. Responsibilities included monitoring budget execution, financial reporting, invoicing, and cash-flow management. Approximately 8M USD yearly.
- Grants from many governmental agencies including Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom, European Union, UNDP, Canada, and the United States.
- Provided crucial support in developing cost proposals and played a key role in automating tools for more efficient and accurate cost forecasts. Instrumental in creating a procurement process with automated tools to track requests and monitor progress.
Program Manager
TechnoServe
11.2017 - 09.2019
- Banana Industry Grants Facility (BIGF), based in Maputo, Mozambique
- Design and set up of a grants facility to support the commercial banana sector with the management of the diseases
- R4 and BBTV; facility is funded by the USDA and implemented in coordination with MASA
- Manage the grant disbursements and operations of the BIGF ($5M USD over 2 years), including creation of a tool to control forecast VS actual award budget and realignments; a tool to monitor sub-award grants implementation based on cash-flow data, ensure compliance with TNS’ procurement policies for all goods and services, conduct risk assessments for each beneficiary of the sub-awards and elaborate comprehensive quarterly financial and progress reports to the donor
- Maintain active communication with all stakeholders of the banana industry (government, commercial producers, small holder farmers, donor, academic experts and international experts)
- This included overseeing the development of a website, lead several strategic industry meetings and site visits to the banana farms.
Financial Consultant
TechnoServe
08.2017 - 11.2017
- Seed Multiplication Project, based in Gurué, Mozambique
- Work with the project team to get data from the field related with financial performance of soy seed farmers (develop questionnaire and data collection methodology)
- After compilation of data collected, prepare individual income statements for farmers and engage in renegotiation of loans to these farmers with commercial banks
- Analyzed cumulative data from over 30 farmers during 3 consecutive years and drew lessons learned.
Consultant
07.2017 - 07.2017
- TechnoServe, based in Maputo, Mozambique
- Development of a tool to track forecasted budget execution, using information retrieved from TNS' accounting system, for a project to be implemented and funded by the World Bank.
Operations Consultant
05.2017 - 06.2017
- TechnoServe, Building a competitive horticulture program, based in Maxixe, Mozambique
- Raft grant agreements for selected beneficiaries to receive a sub-award to leverage their agri-business, funded by Irish
- Id, including supporting the procurement process according to TNS's policies for the acquisition of the equipment predicted in the agreement.
Associate Grants Manager
08.2015 - 04.2017
- For Nampula and Beira regions
- TechnoServe, FinAgro, based in Nampula and Maputo, Mozambique
- Responsible for the identification, selection, and oversight of grants to SMEs and cooperatives and associations in the
- Nacala and Beira Corridors of Mozambique, totaling around 25 grantees and over $1M USD in grants
- This included evaluation of dozens of business plans, the procurement of assets for the grantees in the form of tractors and agricultural implements in compliance with donors and TechnoServe policies and procedures, and monitoring and evaluation
- FinAgro was co-financed by USAID and the Mozambican government designed to increase the competitiveness of the Mozambican private sector
- Supported all stages of the FinAgro program Window III through improvements of tools in order to make the processes more efficient
- Presented all selected applicants to an investment committee composed by five members of different industry sectors and with a wide experience in the private sectors and commercial banking, for final approval
- Supported grantees with viable business plans to have access to finance so that these could match the grant offered by FInAgro.
Investment Analyst
03.2015 - 08.2015
- TechnoServe, FinAgro, based in Maputo, Mozambique
- Support the launch of FinAgro program Windows II and III, by improving and setting up a tool to compile grant applications and configuration to perform automatic initial screening and selection according to eligibility criteria
- Data analysis and excel modelling.
Fellow
08.2014 - 02.2015
- MOVE - Microcredit NGO, based in Nampula, Mozambique
- Developed business plans for entrepreneurs and start-ups and provided further support implementing the projects, developing management tools and financial plans
- Business school to further capture new entrepreneurs and simultaneously select the best business ideas to invest in the future
- Impact study of two major areas with potential to trigger sustainable economic development (limestone and salt).
Consultant
01.2013 - 08.2014
- Leadership Business Consulting (LBC), based in Portugal and Angola
- Contributed to both mine and the company progress through:
- Industry diversification – Projects developed and implemented in airports, companies of energy production and distribution, waste management as well as public ministries, and major multi-business groups
- Extensive support to a variety of business areas – Organization structure, Payment policies, Commercial, Finance,
- Strategy as well as IT applications’ design
- Direct and constant interaction with the client – Supported the implementation of the developed plans while maintaining the client’s confidence, thus assuring additional projects
- Led the first project of LBC in Brazil, during 3 months, designing a software customized solution to manage the complaint system for the municipality of Caraguatatuba, in São Paulo, including its implementation on-site.
Intern Analyst
Royal Philips
09.2012 - 12.2012
- Audit and reported within the Due Diligence team on several commercial agreements, following the company procedures, this included to screen new business partners using databases that compile public information of most companies and individuals and by analyzing the financial statements
- A report was written for each new business partner attributing a certain level of "doing risk with" and recommended mitigation actions, in case of high but acceptable risk to proceed with business
- The dutch multinational technology company headquartered in Amsterdam is accountable for all business connections and partners at any level
- Philips faces high penalties, specially in the stock market, if any transaction involving its brand is not complying with government and/or market regulations
- The business partners audited were selected based on a risk matrix with several variables.
Education
Master - Finance
01.2011 - 05.2012
undefined
09.2009 - 05.2009
Exchange Program
Main courses : International Development, Human Branding, Management Control and Personal Development
Bachelor - Economics
09.2007 - 05.2010
Optional courses: Development Economics, Microeconomics Policies, Global Economy and Strategy
Thesis topic: Economic
Accomplishments
- A hard working and persistent individual eager to learn and contribute with its knowledge and experience towards meaningful projects.
- Experienced at developing efficient and automated tools to track, follow and control financial execution of projects and grants, having worked with more than five development projects funded by donors with different requirements and regulations (USAID, USDA, Irish Id, Dutch Embassy, Norwegian Embassy)
- Keen to develop automated and efficient solutions to monitor and adjust budgets during project implementation, as evidenced by the current experience managing a fund of $ 5M USD within a dynamic and unpredictable industry and the interim role to manage a budget for the end stage of a project to track and register cashew farmers in Mozambique
- Proactive and challenged by solving different problems.
Timeline
Director of Program Finance - Hala Systems
03.2023 - Current
Senior Finance & Grants Manager - Hala Systems
11.2021 - 03.2023
Finance & Grants Manager - Hala Systems
10.2019 - 10.2021
Program Manager - TechnoServe
11.2017 - 09.2019
Financial Consultant - TechnoServe
08.2017 - 11.2017
Consultant -
07.2017 - 07.2017
Operations Consultant -
05.2017 - 06.2017
Associate Grants Manager -
08.2015 - 04.2017
Investment Analyst -
03.2015 - 08.2015
Fellow -
08.2014 - 02.2015
Consultant -
01.2013 - 08.2014
Intern Analyst - Royal Philips
09.2012 - 12.2012
Tilburg University - Master, Finance
01.2011 - 05.2012
HEC – Université de Lausanne, Faculté des Hautes Études Commerciales - ,
09.2009 - 05.2009
NOVA School of Business and Economics - Bachelor, Economics
09.2007 - 05.2010
Summary
Strong leader and problem-solver dedicated to streamlining operations to decrease costs and promote organizational efficiency. Uses independent decision-making skills and sound judgment to positively impact company success.
Skills
Workflow Automation
Cross-functional collaboration
Analytical skills
Critical thinking
Strategic Thinking
Innovation
Prioritization
Flexibility
Communication