Chief, Budget Section (P-5)

Organizational Context
Under the direct supervision of the Director of the Division of Management Services (the Director), the Budget Section ensures that the Registry puts in place adequate services with a strategic approach to the management and allocation of resources, for the benefit of all Major Programmes and activities of the Court while ensuring the best value for money in the achievement of the Court's objectives and mandate. The Budget Section provides effective, timely, accurate and strategic budgeting and control services to the Court as well as budget and forecast information and reports to management, Committee on Budget and Finance (CBF) and the Assembly of State Parties (ASP). The Section works in close cooperation with the Finance Section.

The Chief of Budget leads the Court’s strategic resource management function, ensuring that financial resources are aligned with institutional priorities, risks and expected results. The incumbent provides strategic advice to senior management on resource planning, financial sustainability and programme prioritisation, and oversees the development of modern budgeting approaches, including medium-term resource planning, results-based budgeting and performance monitoring.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the direct supervision of the Director, the incumbent will be performing the following duties:

Provide strategical advice and communication
•    Advise senior management on budgetary issues to ensure that the Court's resources are used and allocated strategically and contribute in the most efficient way toward the achievement of the Court's objectives, while keeping in mind a value-for-money focus.
•    Perform a strategic resource management function and advise senior management on strategic resource allocation, medium-term and risk-based financial planning, performance and efficiency monitoring, trust fund portfolio management, and financial sustainability and predictability.
•    Lead the development and implementation of a medium-term strategic resource planning framework aligned with the Court’s Strategic Plan and Risk Management, ensuring that financial resources are allocated to priority programmes based on strategic objectives, strategic and operational risks as well as expected results.
•    Ensure the strategic communication and representation of the Court’s budgetary policies, strategies and plans vis-à-vis States Parties and external stakeholders, in particular in the context of the budget cycle with the Assembly of States Parties. This includes among others drafting of budget narratives and implementation reports. 
•    Lead the development and further strengthening of results-based budgeting approaches linking resources to expected outputs, outcomes and strategic objectives, and support systematic monitoring of programme performance and resource utilisation, providing advice and guidance to headquarters and country offices on budgetary policies and procedures.
•    Provide high level expert advice and guidance to senior management with regard to budgetary practices, prioritisation of resources, results-based budgeting, and represent the Organisation before governing bodies and at external meetings when required by the Director.
•    Provide strategic oversight of the Court’s trust funds and voluntary contributions portfolio, ensuring alignment with the Court’s mandate, institutional priorities, financial sustainability and transparency. Manage Trust Fund accounts and voluntary contributions by providing support to programme managers on developing trust funds and voluntary contributions agreements, creating allotments, proposing implementation monitoring processes and supporting necessary budgetary transfers.
•    Provide sound replies and correspondence to the Office of Internal Audit, the External Auditor and other outside bodies such as the Committee on Budget and Finance, legislative bodies, member governments and other interested in the work of the Organisation.

Manage budget processes
•    Provide  forward-looking elements such as medium-term expenditure frameworks, strategic resource planning (including allocation scenarios), financial sustainability analysis, and multi-year budget forecasting.
•    Manage the annual budget process for the Court through the creation of guidelines and yearly objectives for budget holders, devising policy implications and ways to effectively prioritise budgetary requirements with a view to ensuring business continuity, coordinating and preparing budget submissions in cooperation with budget holders, maintaining financial data and documentation of changes on budget proposals, preparing final documents, including ASP resolutions, coordinating production of supplementary budget proposal documents and production of Contingency Funds notifications.
•    Integrate and align budget, risk management and strategic resource planning considerations, including, where appropriate, scenario analysis, contingency planning and financial risk assessments.
•    Bring in a new streamlined budget process and document in line with recommendations issued by different stakeholders, including for example the External Auditor, the Committee on Budget and Finance and  the Assembly of States Parties.  
•    Coordinate Court-wide efforts to enhance budget predictability and transparency for presentation in the budget document.
•    Implement budget allotments according to agreed time frames; monitor implementation of the budget in line with expected results; analyse and forecast expenditures; provide fund management information and strategic advice and management of transfers of funds requests.
•    Provide control to Court resources and related programmes by ensuring sound management practices through policies, procedures, standards, strategies and plans relating to the control of budget implementation and developing refinements to Court-wide integrated management information system through a panel of certifying officers. Ability to reprogram the budget to meet changing priorities and  developments.
•    Provide budgetary control to all Court resources and related programmes by ensuring adherence to the Financial Regulations and Rules and sound management practices through advice to the Director, other senior leadership and Section Chiefs in dealing with major events and activities.
•    Advise senior management on the introduction of gender responsive budgeting tools and methodologies in the budget process of the Court.

Produce relevant documents and reports
•    Coordinate production of high quality budget documents with inputs from both internal and external stakeholders following a well-documented consultation process.
•    Collect required input from all major programmes, analyse information for reasonableness and create Court performance reports and other reports to internal and external stakeholders on expenditure.
•    Review and analyse reports to identify deficiencies or redundancies in the administration of the Court and encourage remedial action and enhancements to ensure the best economical use of resources.
•    Oversee the development and management of Section's budget and financial resources and information management processes and report on these issues as required.

Lead and manage the Section
•    Lead and manage the Section, ensuring that all programmed activities are carried out in a timely, reliable and effective fashion with high quality standards.
•    Identify deficiencies and redundancies within the Section and with other close Sections (in particular Finance) and related processes and encourage remedial action and enhancements to ensure the best economical use of resources.
•    Plan and oversee the programme of work of the Budget Section, including the management of the Section's human resources (either directly or through Unit heads) by ensuring high calibre staffing within the Section, and ensuring that the Section follows best practices regarding the development and performance management of staff and in interpersonal relations within the Section.
•    Ensure that the staff in the section work in unison, actively share information, cooperate and achieve synergies to achieve the Section's mission and to deliver high-quality services.
•    Ensure best practices and compliance with the policies related to the work of the Section, with clarity within the Section's guidelines, manuals and procedures, and to identify policy gaps and propose any necessary amendments to related Administrative Issuances.
•    Develop and ensure a good working culture in the Section, including on matters of diversity and inclusion, recruitment and conflict resolution.
•    Other duties as required by the Director.

Essential Qualifications

Education:
An advanced University degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in business administration, management, public administration, social sciences or related area. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. Membership and certification from an internationally recognized accountancy body is an advantage.

Experience:
•    At least ten (10) years (twelve (12) years with a first level university degree) of progressively responsible and relevant working experience in budget strategy, development, implementation and/or management is required.
•    Demonstrated experience in advising senior management at a strategic level in the efficient use of an organisation's financial resources is required.
•    Demonstrated experience in the negotiation of complex budgets and/or the coordination and preparation of complex annual budgets for international organisations is required.
•    Proven track record in strategic resource planning, financial sustainability or budget modelling, and budget and financial analytics is required.
•    Demonstrated experience in the functioning of international organizations, preferably with a judicial mandate.
•    Demonstrated experience in managerial and leadership positions in international organisations.
•    Demonstrated experience or knowledge of enterprise risk management, ERP-based planning systems, SAP or similar ERP systems.
•    Demonstrated experience or knowledge of the financial rules and regulations of an international organisation. Knowledge of IPSAS is desirable.

Skills and abilities:
•    Proven ability to develop and implement a strategy that includes buy-in and support from key stakeholders.
•    Proven analytical and critical thinking skills with experience in trend analysis and reporting.
•    Ability to produce reports and papers on technical issues and to review and edit the work of others to a high standard.
•    Ability to accurately do complex calculations and verify data in reporting documents.
•    Proven track record of leadership while providing support services to substantive offices within an international organization and a complex multicultural team environment.
•    Ability to manage and mentor a team by demonstrating leadership and recognize and respond appropriately to ideas, interests and concerns of others, appraise staff fairly and objectively and provide ongoing feedback and recognition.
•    Proven ability to provide direction, to plan and establish priorities and to ensure an effective work structure to maximize productivity.
•    Demonstrated experience of driving innovation within an organisation and eliminating unnecessary barriers to effective work practices.
•    Excellent decision-making skills, with a well-developed ability to balance interests and translate general strategic plans into concrete strategies and actions for the Section.
•    Excellent communication and negotiation skills, both oral and written, including the ability to defend and explain difficult issues with respect to key decisions and positions.
•    Demonstrates a commitment to diversity and inclusion and the Court's geographical and gender representation goals.
•    Operates with a high degree of professional and personal integrity by taking decisions with only professional considerations in mind while dealing honestly and openly with issues and staff while maintaining confidentiality when required.
•    Experience and knowledge on gender responsive budgeting would be considered an asset.

Knowledge of Languages:
Proficiency in one of the working languages of the Court, English or French, is essential. Working knowledge of the other is desirable. Knowledge of another official language of the Court (Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, and Russian) would be considered an asset.

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People
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Professionalism
Teamwork
Learning and developing
Handling uncertain situations
Interaction
Realising objectives

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General Information

Candidates appointed to posts at a P-5 grade or in the Director category are subject to a maximum aggregate length of service of seven years. This is pursuant to a decision of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP Resolution ICC-ASP/23/Res.2 - ICC-ASP-23-Res.2-ENG) to implement a tenure policy at the Court as of 1 January 2025.

- The selected candidate will be subject to a Personnel Security Clearance (PSC) process in accordance with ICC policy. The PSC process will include but will not be limited to, verification of the information provided in the personal history form and a criminal record check.

- Applicants may check the status of vacancies on ICC E-Recruitment web-site.

- Post to be filled by a national of a State Party to the ICC Statute, or of a State which has signed and is engaged in the ratification process or which is engaged in the accession process. This is pursuant to a decision of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP Resolution ICC-ASP/23/Res.3 - ICC-ASP-23-Res.3-ENG) to introduce a moratorium on the recruitment by the ICC of staff of non-States Parties’ nationality.

- In accordance with the Rome Statute, the ICC aims to achieve fair representation of women and men for all positions, representation of the principal legal systems of the world for legal positions, and equitable geographical representation for positions in the professional category.

- Applications from female candidates are particularly encouraged.

- The International Criminal Court applies the Inter-Organization Mobility Accord and can support secondment of staff from organizations of the United Nations Common System.