UNDP Jobs - 57427- HACT Macro Asssessment

HACT Macro Asssessment

Location :

GAMBIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

15-Jul-2015

Application Deadline :

30-Jun-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

20 working days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

20 working days

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

In April 2005 the United Nations Development Group (UNDG) formally released a harmonized Framework for Cash Transfers to Implementing Partners (hereinafter called as “the Framework”). A second version of the framework was issued in February 2014 (which is attached) for easy reference.

This framework was applied to the UNDG’s Executive Committee Agencies (ExCom Agencies) and other UN Agencies that choose to adopt it. It calls for an upfront assessment of the program country’s public financial management system (macro assessment) and similar assessments of Implementing Partners’ financial management capacity (micro assessment).

The purposes of the assessment undertaken by the Agencies utilizing harmonized procedures for cash transfers are:

Capacity development objective: The review supports the Agencies and Government to identify strengths and weaknesses in the country’s Public Financial Management (PFM) and areas for capacity development by government and other partners.

Financial management objective: The review (in combination with the assessments of Implementing Partners) assists in the establishment of appropriate cash transfer modalities, procedures, and assurance activities to be applied by the Agencies. The review also establishes the capacity of the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) to undertake audits of cash transfers provided to “low risk” Implementing Partners.

Within this context, UN Country Team in the Gambia has already conducted at the beginning of his country Programme (2012-2016) the micro-assessment of his implementing partners and is now planning to hire an international consultant to undertake a macro assessment of Gambia’s public financial management system, in order to enable them to take appropriate decisions on cash transfer modalities, procedures and assurance activities for their programmes/projects. The macro assessment will be conducted as a desk review of previous assessments conducted by international agencies like the World Bank, EU, DFID, ADB and other recognized agencies.

Duties and Responsibilities

Reporting Relationship:

The consultant will work under the direct supervision and guidance of the Resident Coordinator and the Gambia UNCT.

Scope

The assessment will be a desk review based entirely on PFM-related work conducted by development partners. Examples of such reports may include:

Assessments by the World Bank"

Country Financial Accountability Assessment. CFAAs vary in format and presentation;
Public Expenditure Review. This analyses a country’s fiscal position, expenditure policies, and public expenditure management systems;
Country Procurement Assessment Review. This reviews public procurement institutions and practices;
Institutional and Governance Review. This reviews the quality of accountability, policy-making, and service delivery institutions;
Capacity Assessments of Heavily Indebted Poor Country PFM. Done jointly with the IMF, this assessment covers some of the same issues as a CFAA;
Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability Assessment (PEFA): IMF/World Bank.

Assessments by Other Institutions

Fiscal Transparency Review. IMF. This uses the code of good practices on fiscal transparency adopted by the IMF in 1998;
Diagnostic Study of Accounting and Auditing;
Ex-ante audits of PFM systems undertaken by the EC;
Assessments by CIDA, DFID, EU, ADB and other Agencies.

The review will cover areas of the national budget development and execution process, the functioning of the public sector accounting and internal control mechanisms, audit and oversight, and financial recording and reporting systems and staff qualifications and capacity. It is not limited solely to the financial environment but also includes national procurement capacity, exchange rate volatility, presence of informal/black markets, etc.

Methodology

The assessment will begin with the collection of existing PFM reviews and will also consider the Agencies’ own experience and knowledge of the PFM. The assessment will also review the existing documentation and Agencies’ experience to address the issues raised in the checklist - annexed to these TORs.

The consultant will give special attention to PFM aspects and issues that relate to the management and utilization of official development assistance in general and technical assistance in particular.

The consultant will prepare a draft report on the results of the macro assessment. The UNCT Resident Coordination Office will share the draft report with government officials, development partners and the institutions who provided the materials used in the review. The UN Resident Coordinator Office will thereafter organize a stakeholders’ validation meeting for the consultant to present the draft report to representatives of the Government, the UN Agencies and other development partners and validate its results.

The consultant will finalize the report of the macro assessment by incorporating comments and inputs from the validation workshop. The copy of the final report will be presented to the coordinating government Ministry and relevant development partners.

Deliverables

The consultant will be required to submit a report of about four pages (excluding annexes) and conclude with a completed table of the risk areas (see Annex 1& 2).

The report should include the following main elements:

Objective of the review and statement of process and participating institutions;
Summary of findings—to address each of the issues identified in checklist;
Any key risks the PFM poses to the functioning of the cash transfer framework;
Assessment of the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI’s) capacity to undertake required audits;
Suggested opportunities for capacity development and harmonization of financial management procedures (if any);
Bibliography of information sources used in the assessment;
Annex—the completed checklist.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Excellent team player with good interpersonal skills;
Ability to manage workload with minimum supervision;
Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines;
Ability to accommodate additional demands at short notice.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Post Graduate Degree in Finance or an MBA.

Experience:

Minimum 10 years’ experience in Experience and expertise in reviewing public financial management systems;
Experience with international organizations, particularly UN Agencies, their financial management policies/practices and assistance projects.

Language:

Excellent communication skills in the English language is required.