UNDP Jobs - 58794- Finance Specialist (Public Finance, Human Developm

Finance Specialist (Public Finance, Human Development & Inclusive Growth)

Location :

Juba, SOUTH SUDAN

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

15-Aug-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-3

Duration of Initial Contract :

One year

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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

The Republic of South Sudan became an independent state on July 9, 2011 after 99% of the population voted for cession from northern Sudan in the January 2011 Referendum. Whilst the attainment of independent by South Sudan opened an unprecedented window of opportunity to turn the devastation of over 20 years of civil war, displacement and underdevelopment into a new era of peace and prosperity, the December 15th 2013 conflict has altered the development context of the country.

The South Sudan Development Plan (SSDP) outlines priorities of the Government of the Republic of South Sudan in the interim period from independence to the end of 2016. The overarching objective of the SSDP is to ensure that: "South Sudan is a united and peaceful new nation, building strong foundations for good governance, economic prosperity and enhanced quality of life for all".

The SSDP identifies national policy goals and priorities across four priority pillars:

(1) Governance;
(2) Economic Development;
(3) Social and Human Development; and
(4) Conflict Prevention and Security.

The imperatives of economic development in South Sudan are to move away from its near complete oil revenue dependence and create conditions for economic diversification including through its unexploited reserves of natural and mineral resources. The recent volatility and sharp fall in global oil prices jointly with the drastic reduction in oil production levels since the onset of the conflict in mid- December 2013 has significantly reduced oil revenue receipts, impacted fiscal balances, fiscal sustainability and the overall macroeconomic stability in the country. The budgetary allocation to the subnational governments which stood at 20% of the national budget have also been severely impacted due to the extreme austerity measures adopted. The states have vast service delivery responsibilities at the subnational levels and there is a steep vertical imbalance between service delivery responsibilities and budgetary allocation to the states. Meanwhile, the domestic resource generation system of the state governments is still weak with the staff largely untrained.

The state governments particularly the ones in the relatively peaceful states, have an imperative to step up on their efforts on diversifying and generating domestic resources in a systematic manner, enhancing the capacity of tax officers and developing sustainable and efficient revenue generation system as a medium term objective. This is also expected to mitigate the extant risks of conflict spill-over in the relatively peaceful states, and prevent to some extent, potential adverse development fallouts at the local level.

The Finance Specialist will be responsible for day-to-day program management with the support of Programme Analyst and Programme Associates. The Finance Specialist ensures that all activities are implemented in close cooperation with UNDP Programme and Operation Units. The Finance Specialist will also maintain an active network with colleagues from UNDP, relevant UN Agencies, and other development partners engaged in the PFM space, related government counterparts, multi-lateral and bi-lateral donors. The Finance Specialist will report to the Portfolio Manager, Human Development and Inclusive Growth Unit for strategic Programme direction, harmonization, linkages and coordination and work closely with relevant staff.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Finance Specialist will take the lead on provision of substantive technical advice and advocate on the imperatives of building unified, transparent and sustainable domestic revenue generating system for state governments. Technical assistance will also involve capacity building of the subnational tax officers, and support to Public Account Committees of the State Legislative Assemblies on their oversight responsibility to protect Public funds.

Under the direct supervision of the Portfolio Manager, Human Development and Inclusive Growth, the PFM Technical Advisor will undertake the following specific tasks;
Provide technical assistance on core PFM country needs including around taxation and accountability roadmaps for adoption by the states;
Provide technical assistance to state governments to develop unified tax systems across the state on domestic revenue generation;
Provide technical assistance for the development of standardized training manual on domestic revenue generation for subnational governments and develop training Programmes on domestic revenue generation and conduct short and medium term training for subnational tax officers;
Provide technical assistance where feasible to state governments on the use of evidence based data for development planning, resource allocation, budgeting, budget execution and expenditure management;
Support capacity development of Public Account Committee of the State Legislative Assemblies on protection of public purse and financial accountability;
Advice sub-national government on evidence based domestic resource planning, mobilization and allocation for pro-poor budgeting including through technical advice to the National Bureau of Statistics on support to development information management system.

Ensure the effective application of RBM tools, formulation and implementation of project plans, build strategic partnership with government counterparts and development partners, prepare innovative proposals and project documents for resource mobilization in discussion with the international development partners engaged in the PFM space in the country.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

Building support and political acumen;
Building staff competence, creating an environment of creativity and innovation;
Building and promoting effective teams;
Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication;
Creating an emotionally intelligent organization;
Leveraging conflict in the interests of UNDP & setting standards;
Sharing knowledge across the organization and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning;
Fair and transparent decision making; calculated risk-taking.

Functional Competencies:

Building strategic partnerships: Identifying and building partnerships:

Effectively networks with partners seizing opportunities to build strategic alliances relevant to UNDP’s mandate and strategic agenda;
Identifies needs and interventions for capacity building of counterparts, clients and potential partners;
Promotes UNDP’s agenda in inter-agency meetings.

Innovation and Marketing New Approaches: Developing new approaches:

Seeks a broad range of perspectives in developing project proposals;
Identifies new approaches and promotes their use in other situations;
Creates an environment that fosters innovation and innovative thinking;
Makes the case for innovative ideas from the team with own supervisor.

Resource Mobilization : Implementing resource mobilization strategies:

Analyzes information on potential bilateral donors and national counterparts to recommend a strategic approach;
Identifies and compiles lessons learned;
Develops a resource mobilization strategy at the country level.

Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing: Developing tools and mechanisms:

Makes the case for innovative ideas documenting successes and building them into the design of new approaches;
Identifies new approaches and strategies that promote the use of tools and mechanisms;
Effective presentation and report-writing skills; strong analytical and strategic skills as well as good written.

Knowledge/Technical Expertise: In-depth knowledge of the subject-matter:

Understands more advanced aspects of primary area of specialization as well as the fundamental concepts of related disciplines;
Keeps abreast of new developments in areas of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself professionally;
Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;
Demonstrates comprehensive understanding and knowledge of the current guidelines and project management tools and utilizes these regularly in work assignments;
Experience of managing staff and consultants to ensure effective delivery of work plans.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree in Financial Management or Business Administration, Economics or relevant field is required;
UNDP Advanced Accountancy & Finance Test Required. If a candidate does not have it, if shortlisted, this will be administered by UNDP.

Experience:

Minimum of 5 years’ technical expertise on PFM issues including budgeting and planning, domestic resources mobilization in a post-conflict environment will be a distinct advantage;
Demonstrated experience in capacity development, coaching and mentoring, organizational development while working with government counterparts in particular Ministry of Finance will be an asset;
Excellent command of common Microsoft Office programs;
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Language:

Excellent Knowledge and ability to communicate clearly in written and spoken English.