Job: Lead Financial Management Specialist

Location: Lusaka, Zambia
Deadline: Sunday, 28 July 2013

Description

Background / General description:

The Bank's Strategy for Africa, i.e. 'Africa's Future and the World Bank's Support to It', has two pillars - competitiveness and employment, and vulnerability and resilience - and a foundation, governance and public sector capacity. The Bank serves 48 client countries in the Africa Region (AFR), and AFR is the largest and most complex region in the Bank. The Region has an active and diverse work program encompassing significant IDA operations (about $8 billion in commitments per annum), a robust program of analytical work, and a large portfolio of over 700 projects and PRSPs and the accompanying PRSCs, post conflict countries (17 AFR countries are in fragile situations), HIV/AIDS, and regional integration. The Region is also scaling up significantly its engagement in African middle income countries. Over 1,500 staff work in the Region, of which about 60% are based in 38 country offices.

AFR is organized into fifteen Country Management Units (CMUs), a Regional Integration Unit, five Sector Management Units (i.e. Core Operations Services, Human Development, Finance and Private Sector Development, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management, and Sustainable Development), and three regional units (Chief Economist's Office, Resource Management, and Strategic Communication).

The mission of the Core Operations Services (AFTOS) Department is to provide proactive, efficient, high-quality and value-adding support to regional staff and management to enhance development effectiveness and ensure that operations meet Bank fiduciary and quality standards. AFTOS is currently made up of five units: Development Effectiveness (AFTDE), and Financial Management - East (AFTME) and West (AFTMW), Procurement - East (AFTPE) and West (AFTPW). The Department also has a GAC-in-Operations Team that supports task teams on governance and corruption aspects of operations, and a Safeguards Team that oversees compliance with the Bank's environmental and social development safeguard policies.

AFTME is responsible for:

(i) operational financial management support to the Region's portfolio;

(ii) policy advice to Government on PFM and private sector accounting and auditing; and

(iii) capacity building activities to improve borrowers' financial management systems, including support for designing lending operations that focus on PFM and private sector accounting and auditing reform or capacity development.

The current position to be based in Lusaka will cater mainly to the financial management and operational requirements in AFCS3countries (Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe) where there are major public financial management interventions managed by AFTME through programmatic multi donor funding mechanism administered by the Bank.

Note: If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 4 year term appointment.

Duties and Accountabilities:

The Lead FMS will report to the Sector Manager, Financial Management, AFTME.

The specific duties and responsibilities of the Lead FMS will be agreed with the SMFM and will include the following The Lead FMS will have Regional and country level duties and accountabilities in the following areas:

• Contributing to the development of the overall financial management strategy of the Region and overseeing its implementation
• Leading substantive technical input into policy and strategic work in the field of FM - e.g. providing inputs to CAS/CPS, sector strategies, policy and technical advisory notes. and for high visibility, politically sensitive context
• In coordination with other sectors, leading the design and execution of major Public Financial Accountability and Private Sector Financial Management policy initiatives in the Region and across the Bank, including task management of capacity building projects involving complex funding mechanisms using programmatic multi donor trust funds.
• Leading and sharing knowledge on major new corporate initiatives, instruments, and requirements - such as PforR, risk management reporting -
• Providing technical leadership for FM work including coordination and quality assurance
• Monitoring the Region's FM related work and supporting the SMFM
• Leading the FM team and accountable for delivering quality financial management fiduciary services and support in the country. This includes responsibility for timely delivery of the FM fiduciary work program, adequate work planning and assignments among the FM team, providing technical oversight and guidance, monitoring quality, relevance and timeliness of FM inputs, providing input on budget and work program discussions, and representing FM in country management unit and sector forums and initiatives. Take a lead role to support the preparation and supervision of high visibility, complex, and sensitive projects.

• Providing technical leadership for fiduciary quality assurance of FM work and compliance with the guidelines issued by the FM Sector Board (FMSB) to ensure relevance of FM inputs and use of appropriate internal controls measures
• Leading and sharing knowledge on major new corporate initiatives, instruments, and requirements - such as PforR, risk management reporting -
• Strengthening FM performance of Bank's financed operations and enhance countries' capacity to effectively use and manage public funds to achieve development results
• Overseeing preparation of ESW/AAA products (including policy papers, technical reports, etc.)
• Leading and/or taking a proactive role in ground-breaking initiatives and plays a key role in developing innovative practical approaches to difficult policy and operational issues ate the Regional, Country, and/or Sectoral level
• Serve as an advisor to SMFM, the Regional front office, AFTOS Director, and regional staff on FM strategies and issues
• Developing and building client relations at senior levels and plays and contributes to generating new business for the Region and/or the Bank
• Proactively engages with senior government , public sector institutions, accounting and auditing bodies, and regional organizations on capacity building issues across countries in the Region
• Leading the development and implementation of approaches to make greater use of country systems for Bank-assisted operations;
• Providing technical oversight, mentoring and coaching for less senior staff at HQ and country office including consultants
• Promoting sharing of FM knowledge and expertise with task teams and sector staff and within FM regional team and network
• Leading departmental or institutional task forces on developing and implementing changes to financial management policies and practices, fiduciary safeguards and the efficiency and effectiveness of business processes and risk management;
• Facilitating and promoting regional cooperation with other development partners in the area of FM including diagnostic work, capacity building initiatives, use of country systems and harmonization.

Selection Criteria:

Minimum Education:

• Relevant degree plus membership of an internationally recognized professional accounting institute (CPA, CA or equivalent).
• The CPA requirement may be waived for candidates with Advanced Degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. Public Sector Financial Management etc.) together with very strong experience in the public sector.
• Essential Specialized Skills/Experience:
• Prior substantive and sustained work experience (typically not less than 10 years) in achieving results on the ground in more than one world region , or in one world region and one central/network VPU.
• Recognized technical leadership in FM.
• Extensive experience in PFM reforms and PFM analytical work, including the PEFA Performance Measurement Framework, and superb knowledge of the various dimensions of the PFM cycle (budget formulation, execution, controls, accounting and reporting, auditing and oversight of public finances).
• Advanced and broad knowledge of all aspects of financial management: among others (a) knowledge of International Financial Reporting Standards and International Standards on Auditing; (b) extensive experience with internal control systems and procedures (in particular COSO); (c) extensive experience in auditing including assessing auditors competence; and (d) experience in advising clients on the design and implementation of FM systems, including financial and management reports.
• Recognition as an expert in the field as evidenced either through a proven track record of managing and delivering highly complex lending operations or equivalent assignments (e.g. leading complex policy dialogue, delivering other non-lending services).
• Demonstrated intellectual leadership and ability to integrate sector specific knowledge with broader Regional operational strategy.
• Proven record of generating client interest and buy-in for FM reform or improvement activities
• Respected as a mentor and action-oriented leader.
• Experience in managing large trust funds and completion of Bank's mandatory accreditation program for management of trust funds.

Technical Competencies:

• FM Sector Dialogue and Policy Advice - Conducts sector dialogue:
• (i) disseminating good/best practice to clients, and
• (ii) helping clients adapt Bank strategies, best practice to meet priority needs in a realistic fashion, taking into account prevailing constraints in the country/sector
• Budget Formulation and Execution - Demonstrates expertise of the budget comprehensiveness, processes, classifications, documentation, directives, treasury and cash management, and the links and impacts of the budget in Bank's financing and project implementation including full understanding of Integrated Financial Management Information Systems (IFMIS) in government treasuries and experience in managing IFMIS projects.
• nternal Controls, Internal Audit, and Risk Management - Demonstrates expertise and the ability to implement internal control and risk management frameworks, internal control activities at transaction and entity levels, and the use of internal control measures to prevent and detect fraud.
• External Audit and Oversight - Demonstrates in-depth knowledge of international auditing standards issued by IFAC and INTOSAI
• Capacity Building Support the reforms and modernization of internal and external oversight instructions. eg internal audit functions and supreme audit institutions.
• Accounting and Financial Reporting - Demonstrates thorough understanding of the individual IFRSs, IPSAS or comparable national standards, the latest trends in the area of corporate financial reporting, and the principles and processes applied to standards development. with

Behavioral Competencies

• Client Orientation - Maintains client relationships in the face of conflicting demands or directions and provides evidence-based advice and solutions based on sound diagnosis and knowledge.
• Drive for Results - Identifies the needed resources to accomplish results involving multiple stakeholders and finds solutions to obstacles affecting key deliverables.
• Teamwork and Inclusion - Shows leadership in ensuring the team stays organized and focused, and actively seeks and considers diverse ideas and approaches.
• Knowledge, Learning and Communication - Leads in the sharing of best practice, trends, knowledge and lessons learned across units and with clients and partners, articulating ideas verbally and in writing in a clear and compelling way across audiences of varied levels.
• Business Judgment and Analytical Decision Making - Serves as a trusted advisor to others on their decisions, ensuring alignment across units and optimal impact on the organization as a whole

More Info and Application