Call for Interest - Programme Finance and Reporting Specialist

Organizational Setting

This Call for Interest is for a Temporary Professional Officer (TPO) position, which is a short-term contract for a duration of 11 months. The appointment of a short-term staff member carries no expectation of continuous employment or conversion to any other type of appointment with IFAD.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an international financial institution, and a specialized United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating rural poverty and hunger. It does so by investing in rural people. IFAD finances programmes and projects that increase agricultural productivity and raise rural incomes, and advocates at the local, national and international level for policies that contribute to rural transformation. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is one of the largest sources of development financing for agriculture and rural development in many developing countries. IFAD acknowledges climate-related risks as some of the factors affecting rural poverty and among the challenges it needs to address. While climate change is a global phenomenon, its negative impacts are more severely felt by poor rural people in developing countries who rely heavily on the natural resource base for their livelihoods.
The Department of Country Operations (DCO), under the leadership of an Associate Vice-President, is responsible for the overall programme of loans and grants of the Fund and is composed of five (5) regional divisions and the Private Sector Operations Division (PSD). The West and Central Africa Division (WCA), under the leadership of the Regional Director, oversees all IFAD operations and activities in the region including, but not limited, to the 24 country programmes: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Côte d¿Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.

The GCF Sahel Portfolio

The GCF portfolio in West and Central Africa Division includes the regional Programme ¿Integrated Climate Risk Management Programme in the seven Sahelian Countries (in Burkina, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, The Gambia) of the Great Green Wall (AICRM).- This programme was approved during the 28th meeting of the GCF Board US$ 143 million, of which US$ 82.8 million are grant resources from the GCF. The African Development Bank, Africa Risk Capacity and IFAD co-finance the programme. AICRM is one element of IFAD's One Sahel Initiative which ensures complementarity amongst all IFAD programmes in the regions and provides parallel co-financing to the IFAD ¿Joint Programme for the Sahel in Response to the Challenges of COVID-19, Conflict and Climate Change (SD3C) covering G5 Sahel Countries and Senegal- approved by IFAD board in December 2020. The AICRM Sahel Regional programme's main overall objective is to increase resilience and enhance the livelihoods and food and water security of smallholder farmers and rural communities through integrated climate risk management of natural resources (water, soil, ecosystems) in seven countries of the Green Great Wall (GGW). It also seeks to enable these countries to adopt low emission, climate resilient pathways for agricultural development by promoting, upgrading and scaling up risk management measures in agriculture while delivering various adaptation and mitigation co-benefits, including the avoidance of 21.5 million tCO2q GHG emissions. To achieve the expected outcome, the programme is divided into three mutually reinforcing and interlinked components that contribute to the following three outcomes: component 1 (risk preparedness); component 2 (risk reduction); component 3 (risk transfer). The programme will directly benefit 800,000 households and indirectly over 5.3 million beneficiaries of which 50 percent will be women.

Additionally, there is a second regional programme approved by the GCF called Inclusive Green Finance Initiative (IGREENFIN) Phase I and its regional support programme will establish innovative financing facilities within local financial institutions and banks (agricultural banks, microfinance institutions, commercial banks) to improve access to concessional blended finance (green loans at 0 percent with longer tenors) and technical assistance to smallholder farmers particularly women (50%) and youth (50%) organized into MSMEs, Cooperatives, Farmers Organizations. The USD 216 million investment cofinance by AfDB and IsDB will coordinate and synthesize impacts of individual GCF funded projects and programmes through enhanced knowledge management and exchanges, innovation and digital transformation technologies. IGREENFIN I intends to directly build the resilience and adaptive capacity of 380,000 smallholder farmers organized around 1,500 MSMEs and 2,500 FOs or cooperatives, and approximately 2.5 million indirect beneficiaries in the five selected countries (Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Senegal). The programme is expected to reduce 225,000 tCO2e annually (5,6 million tCO2e over a 25year lifespan of investments) from AFOLU, energy use and power generation.

Finally, a third programme in the region, fund by the GCF and GEF, the GGW Regional Support Programme (RSP) will increase the collective impacts of the individual GCF, GEF and AF projects and programmes through two outputs: i) Enhanced knowledge management and exchanges to accelerate the uptake of good practices, increase learning and inform policy and investments across GCF and other projects, and ii) Innovation and digital transformation technologies are mapped and a digital and innovation ecosystem built.

The Regional Coordination Unit (RCU) will be in charge of the overall coordination performance and monitoring of the programmes, reporting of results and impacts, knowledge management with the GGW, and south-south exchanges between countries.

Key Functions and Results

The Finance and Reporting Specialist supports the fiduciary administration and financial management of all programmes and works under the direct supervision of the Programme Manager (SD3C & 1Sahel Coordinator) together with the Head of Financial Operations Unit in the Procurement and Financial Management Division and to the Senior Finance Specialist in the Financial Controller's Division (FCD).

The incumbent provides specialised financial, administrative and operational support to ensure effective financial management of the GCF IGREENFIN and AIRCM programme funds, including financial reporting, budget monitoring, cash flow management, and compliance with donor requirements. The Finance and Reporting Specialist works under the general supervision of the One Sahel - SD3C Programme Manager, with close coordination with the Senior Programme Coordinators of AIRCM and IGREENFIN, as well as the PFM Senior Officer for WCA. The incumbent will report to Programme Manager (SD3C & 1Sahel Coordinator) and functionally to the Senior Finance Specialist in the Financial Controller's Division (FCD) and to the Head of the Financial Operations Unit (FIO).

In this context, the Finance and Reporting Specialist core duties/responsibilities will include the following:

1 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
(Responsibilities in this section require functional reporting to FCD and/or PFM)

• Ensure the effective implementation of the financial management information systems (TOMPRO or other) across all Project Management Units (PMUs), including the security of corresponding software and hardware and the backup of applications and data.
• Ensure that all PMUs have developed a comprehensive chart of accounts to allow for booking transactions and reporting in line with national and donors requirements.
• Coordinate and supervise the preparation of financial reports by PMUs. Ensure that PMUs have developed adequate financial reporting tools, and that Programme Executive Entities are fully compliant with financial reporting requirements.
• Ensure that PMUs, Executing Entities, and GCF Regional Coordination Unit can adequately report on all sources of funding, including co-financing, parallel financing, and in-kind contributions as applicable.
• Develop systems and procedures for the consolidation of financial data in line with donor requirements and templates.
• Ensure that all PMUs have exhaustive financial management sections in their project implementation manuals.
• Develop and maintain the financial section of the Programme Implementation Manual.
• Monitor programme cash flow, ensuring timely availability of funds and effective tracking of internal (government counterpart) and external (IFAD and partners) resource mobilization.
• Supervise the quality of PMUs- Financial Management: accounting, internal controls, bank reconciliations, assets- register and management, accuracy of balances, financial statements and financial reports, programmes- annual audits, and provide technical support to the PMUs as needed.
• Review eligibility and compliance with relevant Financing Agreement.
• Follow-up of VAT and customs duty exemption documents. 2. ADMINISTRATIVE AND BUDGET MANAGEMENT
  (Responsibilities in this section do not require functional reporting to FCD and/or PFM)
• Organise work plans to ensure the effective execution of administrative and financial transactions of the Regional Coordination Unit (RCU) in compliance with applicable procedures.
• Ensure adequacy and completeness of relevant supporting documentation for administrative and financial transactions and ensure proper retention/archiving of documentation.
• Prepare periodic and annual programme reports.
• Collaborate with internal audits and programme evaluations, respond to FAD internal audit findings related to administrative and financial matters, and oversee the implementation of resulting recommendations.
• Consolidate interim and annual financial and budget monitoring reports, in collaboration with the national coordination units.
• Prepare and monitor programme budgets, participate in defining guidelines for the development of activity forecasts and budgets, and implement all necessary measures for the preparation, submission, and review of programme work plans and budgets by Steering Committees.
• Perform any other tasks assigned by the Regional Coordination Unit. 3 AGENT OF CHANGE:
• The Programme Finance and Reporting Specialist understands and applies the principles of change management and proactively serves as a role model for transformation and capacity for acceptance of change. The incumbent uses a seasoned knowledge of results-based management and budgeting, enterprise resource planning (ERP) and other information technology to develop, analyze and promote acceptance of new methods of work and automated workflows.
• The incumbent manages change through consultations with finance colleagues and outreach to internal and external stakeholders to build understanding of and to ensure open and regular communications pertaining to current and planned changes in the Fund's financial standards, regulations and rules.

4 MANAGERIAL FUNCTIONS:

• The Programme Finance and Reporting Specialist is accountable for integrity, transparency, and equity in the management of IFAD resources

Working Relationships

The Regional Coordination Unit (RCU) will be in charge of the overall coordination performance and monitoring of the programmes, reporting of results and impacts, knowledge management with the GGW, and south-south exchanges between countries.

The Finance and Reporting Specialist will work in close coordination with the AICRM and IGREENFIN-1 coordinators.

Job Profile Requirements

Education:

• Level: Advanced university degree from an accredited institution in a technical relevant area.
• Areas - Business Administration, Finance, Banking and other relevant areas.
• Degree must be an accredited institution listed on https://www.whed.net/home.php Experience:
• At least five (5) years' of progressively relevant sound international professional experience in private or public sector financial management in rural development programme (accounting, auditing, finance, economics, financial analysis, business administration and in project administration).
• Perfect mastery of procedures in terms of fiduciary management, and specifically in terms of internal control and audit, procurement, request for withdrawal of funds and budget monitoring.
• In-depth knowledge of the SISCOHADA accounting framework.
• Experience in consolidating financial statements from multiple implementation units.
• A good knowledge of the management of contractual procedures and the legislation in the countries of the Region.
• Working knowledge of procedures for mobilizing counterpart funds.
• A perfect command of computer programmes for financial and accounting management, in particular mastery of the TOMPRO software would be an asset.
• Knowledge of the usual computer tools and software: Word/Excel/PowerPoint.
• Knowledge of IFAD procedures will be an asset.
• Experience with an international financial institution, audit firm, NGO with global outreach or other relevant institution would be an asset. Languages and other skills
• Required: English and French (4 - Excellent)

Other Information

This call is advertised as a short-term assignment with a duration of initially 11 months and expected to start shortly after selection. Should an external candidate (including consultants and staff members not meeting IFAD HR Implementing Procedures' definition of 'internal') be selected, the contract type would be that of a short-term professional (TPO). In the event an IFAD staff member, holding a Fixed Term contract be selected, the movement would be implemented as a Temporary Assignment through the applicable provisions. The temporary assignment is expected to start shortly after selection and applicants should verify and obtain their supervisors' support to be released in the event they are selected, noting that the temporary assignment with a duration of initially 11 months is expected to start shortly after selection.

Applicants should note that IFAD staff members are international civil servants subject to the authority of the President of IFAD. In accordance with IFAD's Human Resources Policy, the President can decide to assign them to any of the activities of the Fund. All International Professional staff members are required to be geographically mobile and positions in the professional category are subject to changes in location at any time in line with strategic priorities and reform initiatives in IFAD.

IFAD is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate based on ethnic, social, or political background, colour, nationality, religion, age, gender, disability, marital status, family size, or sexual orientation. This is in line with our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Strategy and our Policy to prevent and respond to sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse. Persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. For more information, please refer to the UN disability-inclusive language guidelines.

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In the interest of making most cost-effective use of funds and resources, we are only able to respond to applicants who are short-listed for interview. Candidates who do not receive any feedback within three months should consider their application unsuccessful.