Finance Specialist

JOB TITLE: Finance Specialist
TYPE OF CONTRACT: International Consultant 
UNIT/DIVISION: Myanmar Country Office 
DUTY STATION (City, Country): Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar
DURATION: 6 Months (non-consecutive) Contract (Start June 2021) This expert will be engaged for a total of 6 months over a period of 6 years. The exact periods of engagement will be defined later and ultimately validated at the start of the project.  (Start June 2021) 
 

WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles. Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis, and we are committed to promoting diversity and gender balance.

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

The 2020 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to WFP is recognition that ending hunger is a critical first step towards global peace. WFP recognizes that one of the greatest contributions it can make to humanity is to provide a voice to the 690 million hungry people in the world. The Nobel Peace Prize gives us a platform to make their needs heard and to mobilize support for the assistance they need.
 

The Republic of the Union of Myanmar has received financing from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to implement a 6 years project named Resilient Community Development Project (RCDP).The Department of Rural Development (DRD) under the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MOALI) is the implementing Agency. The Main Implementing Consultant and its team of expert will be contracted to support the implementation of the programme in all its aspects. 

The main outcome of the project is to improve standard of living and resilience of targeted communities through three outputs: (i) development of climate and disaster resilient community infrastructure; (ii) development of resilient livelihood activities for poor men and women; and (iii) strengthening of institutional and organizational capacity of communities and government. The project will adopt a proven Community-Based Development (CBD) approach to deliver community infrastructure and livelihood subprojects to 17 poor, vulnerable townships covering 791 village tracts and 2,942 villages with a population of about 1.8 million people.
 

Finance Specialist (FS). The specialist  will liaise closely with DRD union level, PMU and PIUs, and SSPs to provide financial management support to RCDP activities. 

• Ensure financial management controls are in place to ensure that generally accepted financial procedures are adhered to and that all project funds are utilized for the purposes that they are intended;
• Prepare quarterly budgets and ensure that sufficient project funds are available for all project activities planned for the months/quarter;
• Prepare and submit withdrawal applications under the project loan/grants;
• Submit Financial Reporting as required under the project loan/grant agreements;
• Financial Control: Implement financial policies, control procedures and financial data management systems that are compliant to ADB and DRD financial management policies and guidelines;
• Budgeting: In consultation with the Team Leader (PM/TL) and the PMU counterparts; prepare annual and quarterly budget projections according to annual and quarterly work plans: (i) analyze project expenditure patterns and prepare budget plans to cover planned activities for each quarter; (ii) ensure that sufficient funds are available for scheduled disbursement of community block grants; (iii) advise to PM/TL of potential/anticipated fund flow problems and recommend measures to address them; and (iv) undertake analyses of budget projections and fund utilization patterns in collaboration with the PM/TL to respond to queries from DRD and/or ADB;
• Disbursements: Verify that disbursement requests are in accordance with approved available budget procurement plan and are processed according to approved project procurement procedures;
• Withdrawal Applications: Work closely with the DRD Finance Team in managing grant disbursement and withdrawal applications and ensuring the project has sufficient funds for planned activities in each cycle: (i) collect and record grant acquittals submitted by village tract committees to the PIUs; (ii) review grant acquittals and ensure that project grants are being utilized in accordance to ADB and DRD policies; (iii) in coordination with the PMU Finance Officer, prepare acquittals and supporting documents for the withdrawal applications; (iv) support DRD in submitting withdrawal applications to ADB and ensure that project funds are available as needed; and (v) respond to ADB queries and instructions on the withdrawal applications and other financial matters;
• Reporting to Government: Ensure that the financial report and other financial records are prepared for the regular audit by the office of the Auditor General:
• Clarify the categories detail for SSPs as per original budget line; (ii) prepare the trial balance, statement of receipts and payments, balance sheet, statement of budget vs actual, statement of withdrawal applications; statement of expenditure, and statement of advance account;
• Reporting to ADB: Ensure that Quarterly Financial Reports for ADB are prepared and submitted to the PM/TL one week after the end of each quarter at the latest: prepare the balance sheet, bank reconciliation, receipts and expenditure, disbursement by expenditure categories, statement of sources and uses of project funds, and statement of project financial position;

• Capacity Building: In collaboration with the PM/TL, develop and implement training activities and capacity building inputs on project and subproject financial management: (i) develop and implement training activities on financial management systems and procedures and to improve the financial management skills of the finance teams of the PMU, PIUs, SSPs; and (ii) in collaboration with the PMU, PIU and SSP finance and procurement teams develop and implement training activities on community procurement and financial management and ensure that the village tract finance and procurement subcommittees have the sufficient knowledge and skills to undertake subproject procurement and financial management in accordance with RCDP policies and procedures:
• QAR: In collaboration with the PMU Finance Officer, lead the conduct of the end of the cycle subproject financial quality assurance reviews (QARs); and consolidate and analyze the findings from the QAR and use them as basis for formulating recommendations for improving project procurement and financial management policies and procedures and for developing training modules for village and village tract committees; and
• Audit: coordinate with and provide information in a timely manner to government and independent auditors to enable a smooth audit process to take place.
   

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Financial Management/Accountancy or similar

Work Experience: 

• 10 years of professional experience in accounting / financial management

Knowledge & Skills:

• Preferably having extensive experience in installing and establishing computer based accounting and financial management systems
• Experienced in preparing and delivering training modules
• Extensive experience during implementation phase of donor-financed projects and programmes
• Working experience in Myanmar and/or South East Asia is essential
   

Language: 

• Fluency in written and spoken English

25 November 2020, Midnight, Bangkok Time.

Female applicants and qualified applicants from developing countries are especially encouraged to apply

WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status. No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity in our organisation. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.