Chief Regional Financial Management Coordinator, SNFI4

African Development Bank

THE BANK:

Established in 1964, the African Development Bank (AfDB) is the premier pan-African development institution, promoting economic growth and social progress across the continent. There are 81 member states, including 54 in Africa (Regional Member Countries (RMC)).  The Bank's development agenda is delivering the financial and technical support for transformative projects that will significantly reduce poverty through inclusive and sustainable economic growth. In order to sharply focus the objectives of the Ten-Year Strategy (2024-2033) and ensure greater developmental impact, five major areas (High 5s), all of which will accelerate our delivery for Africa, have been identified, namely: energy, agro-business, industrialization, integration and improving the quality of life for the people of Africa.

THE COMPLEX:

The Senior Vice-Presidency (SNVP) is responsible for supporting the President in the day-to-day management of the Bank Group to achieve it strategic objective, and drive performance culture that will align all processes and systems to deliver high impact results. The Senior Vice-Presidency provides leadership and exceptional coordination to ensure implementation and monitoring of key corporate decisions as well as the identification of necessary corrective measures and actions. The Senior Vice-Presidency leads senior management discussions, decision-making processes, and the implementation of key Board and Management decisions.

THE HIRING DEPARTMENT:

The SNVP supervises the Fiduciary and Inspection Department (SNFI), which acts as the custodian of Procurement, Financial Management, and Inspection functions. SNFI has the following responsibilities: (i) developing and interpreting fiduciary policy, strategy and related guidance notes and manuals; (ii) providing fiduciary advisory services and support to operations throughout the project cycle;  (iii) preparing annual post review reports on the Bank's Financial Management and Procurement Operations for the Board; (iv) developing a training strategy for internal and external clients; (v) dialoguing with global partners with a view to building partnerships and fostering harmonization; (vi) providing the secretariat for the Procurement Review Committee (PRC); and (vii) inspecting and reporting on the performance of Procurement and Financial Management activities undertaken by the regions.

THE POSITION:

The Chief Regional Financial Management Coordinator (RFMC) will be based in Nairobi, Kenya, and will functionally report to the Manager, Financial Management Division, and administratively to the Regional Implementation Support Manager. He/she is expected to lead a team of Country Office based Financial Management Specialists (FMSs) within the East Africa Region in conducting (i) national or sector level fiduciary diagnostic work; (ii) operational support missions at the request of Project Team Leaders (PTL) throughout the project cycle; and (iii) technical support activities to improve borrowers' financial management systems, including support for designing operations that focus on FM reform/development.

KEY FUNCTIONS:

Under the supervision of the Division Manager, Financial Management, the Chief Regional Financial Management Coordinator will perform the following duties:

- Providing technical guidance at the Country Offices in the financial management activities of projects and programs within the framework of the Bank's policies and guidelines throughout the project life cycle;
- Taking a proactive role to ensure 'Quality at Entry' in assessing the adequacy of the Borrower's project financial management systems and the Borrower's ability to manage and monitor Bank financed projects. This includes budgeting, internal control, treasury management, accounting, financial reporting and external auditing;
- Undertaking Country Fiduciary Risk Assessment (CFRA) during the preparation of Country Strategy Paper (CSP) or  latest at appraisal stage for consideration in eligibility criteria for the use of Country Public Financial management Systems;
- Overseeing the review of and provision of comments on financial management aspects of assigned projects and programs as documented in concept notes, feasibility studies, appraisal reports and other relevant documents to ensure consistency and enhance the quality of projects/program from the financial management perspective;
- Attending negotiations and ensuring FM issues are appropriately taken into account in the financing agreement and other associated documentations;
- Participating in project/program launching missions to assist the project/program team and building the capacity of executing agencies in the area of financial management;
- Undertaking on-site and desk supervision missions based on assessed risk, and providing inputs to the aide memoires and FM performance ratings;
- Carrying out supervision work to ensure that project financial management systems are functioning appropriately, including the periodic review of project financial management reports for adequacy of financial performance;
- Ensuring compliance with the Bank's audit and other FM requirements;
- Providing advice and support to borrowers and the Bank Project Teams on matters affecting financial management and disbursement;
- Providing financial management guidance for the development of technical assistance programs and evaluating and monitoring their implementation;
- Assessing the selection and engagement of external independent auditors, ensuring their suitability including their independence, and competence to perform;
- Applying remedial actions in case of non-compliance with financial management requirements in accordance with Bank policy;
- Ensuring the quality of the Bank portfolio at country level and at regional level through agreed portfolio KPIs;
- Participating in PEFA, SAI-PMF, and ROSC-AA assessments and on that basis, providing inputs to Bank operations and other initiatives in the countries concerned;
- Playing a leading role in CPPRs from the financial management perspective and drafting the FM part of the CPPR report;
- Undertaking Capacity building on FM issues in the countries and in sector departments in the Bank;
- Participating in donor coordination meetings within the country or region (if applicable) and in country dialogue platforms between the country and the donors on the basis of the Bank's overall strategy to support aid effectiveness;
- Supporting the accountability institutions (PAO, SAIs, Parliaments) in the Country or Region on the basis of the Bank's overall strategy to support aid effectiveness; and
- Supervising and coaching of country FMSs.

SELECTION CRITERIA:

- A minimum of a Master's degree in accounting, finance, business administration, economics or a related discipline and a professional accounting certification (such as CPA, CA, ACCA, Expert Comptable or equivalent);
- A minimum of seven (7) years of relevant experience, preferably with a donor organization working on public sector financial management;
- Knowledge of International Financial Reporting Standards, International Public Sector Accounting Standards and International Standards on Auditing;
- Sound knowledge of the African Development Bank's FM Policy and Procedures or other multi-lateral development Banks' FM Policy and Procedures or other similar International Financial Institutions;
- Experience in designing and assessing internal control systems and procedures using internationally accepted control frameworks such as COSO with the ability to assess such systems and recommend remedial action where necessary;
- Proven ability to conceptualize, design and monitor the implementation of country or sector level financial management capacity building initiatives;
- Demonstrate an understanding of cross-cutting issues beyond financial management (e.g. procurement, governance, public sector management) at sector/country level;
- Ability to develop and implement complex and multiple tasks and to recommend decisive action under pressure and tight deadlines;
- Willingness and ability to travel frequently in the region;
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in the English language is required for this role.  A working knowledge of French language will be an added advantage;
- Competence in the use of Bank standard software (SAP, Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint).

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Sector: Nonprofit/Community/Social Services/International Cooperation

Role: Other

Working hours (%): 80-100% / 100%

Job type: Staff (Permanent and Fixed Term)

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