UNDP Jobs - 89867- Public Financial Management Specialist (1 position

Public Financial Management Specialist (1 position), SB5 / Peg 1

Location :

Programme Coordination Unit (PCU), Kathmandu, NEPAL

Type of Contract :

Other

Starting Date :

15-Apr-2020

Application Deadline :

08-Feb-20 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

Other

Duration of Initial Contract :

One year with possibility of extension

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

July 2022

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 Constitution of Nepal turned Nepal into a federal state with three levels of government with the intent of transforming the country from a centralized unitary state into a federal country and to ensure economic equality, prosperity and social justice. The Constitution marks a fundamental paradigm shift in the system, structure and functioning of sub-national governance in Nepal and requires massive reorientation of the institutions, systems, work cultures and styles of functioning.

The Provincial and Local Governance Support Programme (PLGSP) is the national flagship programme of the Government of Nepal (GoN) to build institutional, organizational and individual capacity at all levels of government, with special focus on the provincial and local levels. The ultimate goal of the programme is to attain functional, sustainable, inclusive and accountable provincial and local governance. The Programme aims to contribute to delivery of quality services at provincial and local levels, promote better local infrastructure and enhance economic prosperity. The Programme will achieve 14 outputs under the following three outcomes:

Government institutions and inter-governmental mechanisms at all levels are fully functioning in support of federal governance as per the Constitution;
Provincial and local governments have efficient, effective, inclusive and accountable institutions; and
Elected representatives and civil servants at provincial and local governments have the capacity and serve citizens to their satisfaction.

The PLGSP serves as an umbrella programme of the Government in providing capacity development support to the provincial and local governments. As such, the programme will provide a common framework for coordination and coherence of all governance-related programmes at the provincial and local levels and accommodate other donor-funded programmes.

The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA) is the executive agency of the Program. The seven provincial governments, the 753 local governments, the restructured Local Development Training Academy (LDTA), seven provincial level training centers (Provincial Centers for Good Governances) are the implementing agencies of the Programme. The programme is supported by four international development partners, namely, the Department for International Development (DfID) of the United Kingdom, the European Union (EU), the Government of Norway, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and the United Nations. In the area of Public Finance Management (PFM), PLGSP will work in close coordination with the Financial Comptroller General Office (FCGO), Ministry of Finance (MoF) and other federal agencies to strengthen the PFM capacity of province and local governments.

The Programme Coordination Unit (PCU) headed by the National Programme Director (NPD) functions as the Secretariat to the governing bodies of the Programme at the federal level namely, National Executive Committee chaired by the MoFAGA Secretary, and the National Steering Committee chaired by the Hon. Minister of the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration. With regards to the Programme implementation, the PCU will have dual tasks: (i) provide technical support to federal agencies on demand basis, (ii) serve as the federal anchor point to guide, backstop and mentor the Provincial Programme Implementation Units (PPIUs).

MOFAGA is partnering with UNDP to receive Technical Assistance (TA) for the implementation of the Programme. As the first step, a key priority of the TA is recruitment of TA staff, their capacity building and knowledge enhancement, including orientation and continuous backstopping support in coordination with the Programme Management so that they deliver on the intended outputs.

This Terms of Reference (ToR) describes the objectives of the assignment, scope of work, expected results/deliverables, and qualifications/ experience required of the Public Financial Management Specialist in the PCU.

Duties and Responsibilities

Functions / Key Results Expected
The overall responsibilities of the assignment are to:

Provide strategic advice on Public Finance Management (PFM) related issues and lead the programme initiatives on PFM and on fiscal federalism;
Coordinate with the PFM experts in PPIUs to achieve Output six of the Programme: Provincial Governments manage provincial public administration functions more effectively; and provide technical inputs and backstopping support to achieve Output eight: Modernized LGs have strong administrative systems and accountable public financial management (PFM) system;
Serve as the focal person of the PFM Experts at the PPIUs and provide them with backstopping support as required;
Support Programme activities as the PCU focal person for FCGO and the provincial governments on PFM and fiscal federalism issues and related PLGSP interventions;
Ensure mainstreaming of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) throughout Programme interventions;
Perform any other tasks assigned.

1. Provide strategic advice on Public Finance Management (PFM) related issues and lead the programme initiatives on PFM and on fiscal federalism:

Provide advice and direction on strategic and policy issues to strengthen the PFM systems and fiscal federalism at all levels;
Lead the planning of the PLGSP activities related to Output 6 and provide inputs on the preparation of the Annual Strategic Implementation Plan (ASIP) and trimester workplans of the Programme particularly in relation to Output 6, Output 8, Output 12 among others;
Provide support and guidance to the PPIU and PCGGs in the preparation of ASIPs and trimester workplans relating to PFM and fiscal federalism;
Take stock of actions on PFM related issues based on findings of the Capacity Needs Assessment and the Local Institutional Self-Assessment tool (LISA) on areas related to PFM and provide necessary inputs to the annual work plan based on the current context;
Support MoFAGA and the PCU in providing necessary technical guidance in relation to fiscal federalism and PFM related issues; and
Review the initiatives, knowledge products, and training packages created for various stakeholders on PFM and fiscal decentralization.

2. Coordinate with the PFM Experts in PPIUs to achieve the Output six: Provincial Governments manage provincial public administration functions more effectively and provide technical inputs and backstopping support to Output eight: Modernized LGs have strong administrative systems and accountable public financial management (PFM) system:

Provide necessary guidance and support the review and implementation of interventions on Output 6, Output 8 and areas pertaining to fiscal federalism, and PFM at federal, provincial and local levels;
Periodically review the programme activities across the provinces and vertically between the federal government and provincial governments relating to PFM interventions;
Ensure that the activities are aligned with the PLGSP outputs and their indicators and create synergies in achieving the results;
In close coordination with Experts in PCU, PPIU and PCGG, organize regular review meetings with PFM Experts pertaining to implementation of interventions outlined in Output 6, 8 and 12 and regularly take stock of PFM issues; and
Meet regularly with technical specialists and experts of the PCU and provide inputs on progress and any issues with regard to PFM.

3. Serve as the focal person of the of the Public Financial Management Experts (PFM Experts) at the PPIUs and provide backstopping support as required:

Provide backstopping and coordination support to PFM Experts, Local Governance Experts and Innovation Partnership Fund Experts on PFM and fiscal federalism issues;
Ensure regular communication with the PFM Experts and serve as their focal person on PFM issues, providing guidance and support on a regular basis and as needed;
Support the PFM Experts to monitor and analyze the trends on PFM and fiscal federalism at provincial and local government levels in order to ensure provincial and local governments received the required support to manage public administration functions more effectively and strengthen their PFM systems through the PCGG;
Coordinate with NPM/NPD and UNDP to provide training and other capacity development activities to the PFM Experts and facilitate learning and experience sharing among them;
Review reports received from PPIU relating to PFM and financial reporting, and provide inputs to the financial and progress reports;
Regularly monitor the risks and issues pertaining to PFM and the mitigation measures in discussion with PFM Experts and PCU team and provide inputs to the overall risk log of the Programme; and
Participate in field visits to the provincial and local governments, as required.

4. Support Programme activities as the PCU focal person for FCGO and the provincial governments on PFM and fiscal federalism Issues and related PLGSP interventions:

Serve as the focal point in relation to the Programme support to the FCGO on PLGSP activities pertaining to PFM and fiscal federalism interventions and issues;
Enhance coordination among federal agencies for the effective implementation and coordination of PLGSP activities particularly on strengthening PFM systems at the provincial government level in coordination with FCGO and concerned ministries and agencies including provincial ministries; and
Provide technical support to the federal agencies for strengthening the revenue administration systems and procedures and other areas of fiscal federalism of province and local governments in close coordination with the concerned experts in PCU and PPIU.

5. Ensure mainstreaming of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) throughout Programme interventions:

Support the mainstreaming of GESI throughout programme interventions related to PFM;
Provide advice and direction on strategic and policy issues to strengthen GESI initiatives in the programme plan and implementation strategy, in relation to PFM and fiscal federalism efforts;
Facilitate in creating an environment to support the promotion of GESI and address GESI issues through PFM and fiscal federalism related programming;
Ensure gender and inclusion issues are substantially incorporated in policy notes and briefs where ever possible; and
Liaise with CO Gender Specialist and the PCU GESI Specialist as per the need for effective implementation of the GESI strategy and other guiding tools.

Impact of Results

Streamlined and coordinated PFM support is provided to the Province and Local Governments;
Strengthened PFM systems are available and used at the provincial and local levels.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the Government of Nepal (GoN) and UN’s values and ethical standards;
Serves and promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of the GoN and of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Good inter-personal skills;
Clear and upfront communication skills;
Treats all people fairly without favouritism;
Display cultural and gender sensitivity and adaptability;
Collaborates effectively in a team environment;
Organized and good with following-up on pending issues; meets deadlines;
Promote learning and knowledge management/sharing;
Focused on delivering results by taking calculated-risks and problem-solving approach;
Fair and transparent decision making; regularly shares information with team members; and
Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development.

Functional Competencies:

Promotes sharing of knowledge and experience, and actively works towards continued learning and development on personal level as well as for supervisees;
Good practical knowledge of inter-disciplinary development issues;
Ability to go beyond established procedures and models, propose new approaches which expand the range of projects;
Demonstrates strong numerical and analytical skills;
Has experience working with Monitoring and Evaluation tools;
Experience in developing business plans for financial institutions including energy enterprises;
Experience in coordination, technical assistance and advisory support top government and private institutions;
Experienced in delivering training and other needed capacity/ institutional building support to a wide range of stakeholders including financial institutions;
Demonstrates excellent organizational and administrative skills;
Identifies and communicates relevant information for a variety of audiences for advocating GoN and UNDP’s mandate;
Analyzes and selects materials for strengthening strategic alliances with partners and stakeholders;
Understands and applies fundamental concepts and principles of a professional discipline or technical specialty relating to the position;
Possesses basic knowledge of organizational policies and procedures relating to the position and applies them consistently in work tasks;
Demonstrates good knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;
Effectively networks with partners seizing opportunities to build strategic alliances relevant to GoN and UNDP’s mandate and strategic agenda;
Assesses project performance to identify success factors and incorporates best practices into project work;
Monitors specific stages of projects/programme implementation; and
Researches linkages across programme activities to identify critical points of integration.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree in Finance, Accounting, Public Administration, Business Administration, Economics, or any other related fields.

Experience:

At least seven years of practical experience of working in public finance management;
At least three years of experience in working on the area of fiscal federalism and/ coordinating programmes related to PFM;
Sound understanding of the ongoing the federalization process in Nepal;
Sound understanding of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and their implications to the local governance;
Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of the Government of Nepal’s financial management system and procedures;
Previous experience of working on governance-related issues is required, including field-based experience;
Experience in inter-governmental coordination;
Demonstrated skills in coordinating with different stakeholders including Government, UN and international agencies and facilitating discussions; and
Demonstrated skills on preparing quality reports and other knowledge products.

Language requirements:

Fluency in English and Nepali, both written and oral, at professional level are essential.