Call for Interest - Consultant, Financial Management Services Division (FMD) - Grants Team

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 Financial Operations Department (FOD) is a dynamic financial, strategic and responsive business partner and service provider fully supporting IFAD in developing its financial strategy and managing its financial, investments and material resources. FOD ensures that these resources are efficiently, economically and effectively used to achieve IFAD's objectives in the long-term and deliver on its development commitments.

The Financial Management Services Division (FMD) oversees financial management practices in IFAD-funded operations, including financial reporting, audit, project liquidity management, and fiduciary compliance. The division is responsible for IFAD's financial management workforce including consultants.

In accordance with IFAD's risk-based approach for design and supervision activities, the Financial Management Consultant will use IFAD's FM Assessment Questionnaire as the basis to collect and analyse relevant information concerning the strengths and weaknesses of financial management systems, internal controls and financial reporting systems relating to financial management and financial administration of project funds. This will include monitoring compliance with IFAD's fiduciary requirements, assessing the adequacy of FM systems and assessing projects- financial progress. Based on the findings the consultant will make appropriate recommendations.

The consultant may at times be called upon to perform implementation support activities including capacity building. Other assignments could involve follow-up of specific FM tasks and establishing the implementation status of prior recommendations at national, regional and/or local level.

The consultant will work in close collaboration with the Grant Team, as well as other programme management and technical staff; to ensure    consistency, cohesion, and synergy in the application of technical support and provision of programme development support.

The consultant will carry out the following tasks:

• Perform a Financial Management Assessment (FMA) based on the FMA questionnaire (FMAQ) at supervision, as per FMD guidelines.
• Re-assess the strengths and weaknesses of financial management systems and suggest mitigation actions.
• Review Statements of Expenditure (SOE) and related transaction lists to verify expenditure eligibility, and adequacy, completeness and validity of claims (at least 30%), as well as value for money.
• Document findings, noting down clearly any ineligible expenditure and whether already claimed for reimbursement (indicate WA/SOE item and disbursement category).
• Review and analyse the project financial performance (annual and cumulative).
• Review bank account reconciliations and the status of advances given to implementing partners, if any; include ageing analysis.

• Review the adequacy of internal controls in place including the level of segregation of duties, authorization levels, financial procedures and manual and periodic account reconciliations.
• Review the project's most recent financial reports and audit reports and check whether reports have been submitted within the prescribed time limit, scope and content.
• Review the recipient's most recent audited financial statements and management letter and provide comments as appropriate. Follow up with external auditors, as needed.
• Review the internal audit arrangements including reports and status of recommendations.
• Review follow up from audit management letter recommendations (if applicable)
• Assist in compiling financial reports from Grantees in order to prepare the financial report to the donor.
• Review and provide clearance on the financial management sections of the donor report
• Assessing the need of field missions (in person or desk review) and if needed, attend missions to support an audit simulation
• Review grant documents in French and providing feedback (ie, Grant Audit TORs, amendments, reallocations, etc)
• Provide implementation support as necessary.

In light of the above, he/she will provide implementation guidance and agree upon the necessary measures and activities to be undertaken to ensure timely project implementation and improve implementation performance. She will draft the relevant sections of the SM aide- memoire, and the grant status report on the areas covered above.

Key Performance Indicators for financial management consultants include accurate performance of assigned finance operations, technical quality in terms of both substantive depth and adaptive relevance to client needs and customer service approach to problem resolution.

The FM consultant may represent FMD at the project level and work relationships normally require an exchange of information with a range of outside sources including staff from governments, specialized agencies acting as Co-host agencies, Borrowers, Recipients, Cooperating institutions and other IFIs.

Organizational Competencies - Level 1

•             Demonstrating Leadership: Personal leadership and attitude to change.

•             Learning, sharing knowledge, and innovating: Continuously seeks to learn, shares knowledge and innovates.

•             Focusing on clients: Focuses on clients.

•             Problem solving and decision making: Demonstrates sound problem solving and decision-making ability.

•             Managing time, resources and information:  Manages own time, information and resources effectively.

•             Teamwork: Contributes effectively to the team.

•             Communicating and negotiating: Communicates effectively and creates understanding between self and others.

•             Building relationships and partnerships: Builds and maintains effective working relationships.

Education:

•             Minimum: Bachelor’s degree in accounting, economics or finance-related areas OR a professional qualification/designation/certification in finance-related areas (i.e. accounting/economics/auditing/financial management) issued by an internationally recognized body (i.e. CPA, CA, CPFA, CFA, CIMA, CIIA).

•             Areas of focus: Finance (i.e. accounting/economics/auditing/financial management)

•             Degree(s) must be from an accredited institution listed on https://www.whed.net/home.php.

Work experience:

•             Minimum: At least 2 years of relevant professional experience in areas with direct exposure to international standards in public financial management (including accounting and auditing), financial accounting and financial controls in international organizations or donor-financed development projects.

•             Desirable: At least 4 years of relevant professional experience in areas with direct exposure to international standards in financial management (including accounting and auditing), financial accounting and financial controls in international organizations or donor-financed development projects.

•             Experience with an international financial institution, audit firm, NGO with global outreach or other relevant institution is considered an asset.

Languages:

•             Required (depending on the country of nationality/residency):  English or French or Arabic or Spanish (4 – Excellent)

•             Desirable (different from the required language and depending on the region): English or French or Arabic or Spanish or Russian (3 – Good)

Skills:

•             Project Financial Management: Know-how in project financial management, e.g. internal controls, rural investments, project audit and funds flow, including strong know-how in Programme/Project development, implementation, and management (knowledge or project procurement mechanisms is desirable). Knowledge of procedures and processes relating to EU grants (e.g. Pillar Assessments) and experience with grants FM-procedures/assessments experience on EU-grants procedures is considered an asset.

•             Financial Reporting: Know-how in financial reporting, statutory and other reporting as well as advanced application of International accounting standards, loan credit risk, financial regulations, policies, rules, and procedures applicable to IFAD and IFIs.

•             Disbursements, Payroll and Payments: Know-how in financial checks required for disbursements of loans and grants, project payments and payroll transactions to reduce risk of error, fraud and non-compliance with rules, arrears, and management of loans.

•             Problem solving: Strong systemic and structured thinking, ability to identify and dissect problems into components and formulate a comprehensive set of creative viable and sustainable solutions and strategies

•             Written communication: Ability to use written communication as a main tool in profession; clear, succinct and convincing written communication; highly professional, balanced and diplomatic language.

•             Client orientation: Strong critical thinking combined with communication skills to liaise between the business and technologies to understand business problems and needs, document requirements and identify solutions.

•             Verbal communication: Clear, succinct, and convincing verbal communication; highly professional, balanced, and diplomatic language.

•             Time management: Adherence to deadlines under time constraints and pressure.

•             Risk management (e.g. financial, operational, reputational): Know-how in identifying and assessing of potential legal, reputational, ethical risks and potential liabilities arising from financial or operational risks in relation to the Fund's activities;

Consultants who are already included in the IFAD FM Consultants Roster do not need to re-apply to this call for interest.

Applicants to this call for interest will undergo a first level screening and those candidates meeting the minimum requirements will be short-listed for a more in-depth assessment. 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. Candidates who do not receive any feedback within three months after the closure of the Call for Interest should consider their application unsuccessful.

Rostered consultants may be contacted for short-term project missions and the remuneration will be commensurate with the candidate's education, qualifications, experience and skills as well as the nature of the assignment in terms of:

•             Responsibilities and complexities of the assignment

•             The degree of specialization required

Inclusion in the IFAD FM Consultants Roster does not represent a confirmation or commitment of current or future consultancy opportunities with IFAD. 

IFAD is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of ethnic, social or political background, colour, nationality, religion, age, gender, disability, marital status, family size or sexual orientation.

Please be aware of fraudulent job offers. IFAD does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process. Official communication from IFAD will always come from e-mails ending in @ifad.org.

Consultants are not considered staff of IFAD. Consultancy assignments do not carry any expectation of employment, extension or conversion to another type of contract with the Fund. Consultants can be recruited for a maximum of 240 days in 1 calendar year and 960 days in 5 calendar years.