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Home > Jobs > Employment Opportuni... > Professional/Technical

Job #	092015
Job Title	Senior Financial Management Specialist
Job Family	Financial Management
Location	Washington, DC
Appointment	International Hire
Job Posted	09-Nov-2009
Closing Date	01-Dec-2009
Language Requirements	English [Essential]; French [Desired]; Portuguese [Desired]; Spanish [Desired]
Appointment Type	See Job Description Below

Background / General description

Note: If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 3 year renewable term appointment.

The Financial Management unit (AFTFM) is a part of the Africa Region’s Quality and Knowledge Department (AFTQK). It advises and supports Regional Management and Task Team Leaders on financial management in operations, and works on public financial management (PFM). Specifically, AFTFM is responsible for: (i) operational financial management support to the Region’s portfolio; (ii) policy advice to Government on PFM and private sector accounting and auditing; and (iii) capacity building activities to improve borrowers' financial management systems, including support for designing lending operations that focus on PFM and private sector accounting and auditing reform or capacity development.  

The Senior FMS will report to the Regional Manager for Financial Management (RMFM) and will be part of the regional financial management team. She/he will work with AFR FM Team and country teams, including Task Team Leaders and Administrative and Client Service (ACS) staff. AFTFM is highly decentralized (about 90 percent of staff is located in Country Offices). As an experienced staff member, she/he will perform the full range of duties with minimal supervision and works independently on complex problems, in terms of meeting work-program targets. She/he will provide leadership for FM work in a Cluster.  She/he will assure the quality of FM operational work, particularly FM inputs into investment operations; and have overall responsibility for the delivery of FM work program in their Cluster.  She/he will also function as PFM Specialist, and work directly on the use of country systems and corporate financial management capacity development in some countries. She/he will participate directly in fiduciary work in selected operations, particularly complex and very high-risk operations. She/he will coach and mentor new and junior staff.

Duties and Accountabilities

The specific duties and responsibilities of the Senior FMS will be agreed with the Manager and will include the following operational tasks:
	Provide substantive technical input into policy and strategic work in the field of FM – e.g. providing inputs to the CAS, etc and for high visibility, politically sensitive projects.
	Contribute to the development and implementation of approaches to make greater use of country systems for Bank-assisted operations
	Develop strategies for harmonizing FM/disbursement approaches with other donors, playing a leading role in departmental or institutional task forces on developing and implementing policies and practices, fiduciary safeguards and the efficiency and effectiveness of business processes.
	Provide leadership, technical oversight, mentoring and coaching for the other members of the FM team in a Cluster, and coordinate FM work in each country in the Cluster, ensuring synergies between all aspects of FM work. 
	Assure the quality of FM operational work, particularly FM inputs into investment operations; and have overall responsibility for the delivery of FM work program in their Cluster.  
	Participate directly in fiduciary work in selected operations, particularly complex and very high-risk operations, and whenever there are temporary staffing gaps.
	Lead corporate financial management capacity development in some countries. 
	Function as PFM Specialist, and play a leadership role in carrying out diagnostic work in public financial management, formulating policy recommendations, and supporting country authorities to implement reforms.
	Provide guidance and advice to borrowers and Bank staff, and play a leading role with respect to public sector financial management capacity building, including budgeting, budget execution and internal controls, accounting and financial reporting, IFMIS, treasury operations, and National Audits.
	Assess the adequacy of the Borrower’s project financial management systems and their ability to manage and monitor World Bank financed projects. This includes budgeting, policies and procedures, internal controls, accounting, financial reporting and auditing.
	Carry out supervision work to ensure that projects financial management systems are functioning appropriately, including the periodic review of project financial management reports for financial performance.
	Provide advice and support to Borrower and the World Bank Task Teams on matters affecting financial management.
	Provide financial management guidance for the development of technical assistance programs and evaluate and monitor their implementation.
	Provide guidance and advice to borrowers and bank staff on capacity building in projects and with public sector accountability institutions.
	Play a leadership role in carrying out diagnostic work in the field of public and private sector financial management, formulating policy recommendations, and working with country authorities to implement agreed reforms
	Take a proactive role in working in defining practice in the new areas of business and operational approaches– e.g. DPC, programmatic lending; sector wide programs involving donors jointly funding through the consolidated fund of Government, and decentralization to local governments; other financial management sector work e.g. anti-corruption, governance, new lending products.
	Review the fiduciary aspects of new areas of business and provide relevant information on country specific issues to country units, sector staff and task teams on generic country specific financial management and disbursement issues.

Selection Criteria

	Relevant degree plus membership of an internationally recognized professional accounting institute (CPA, CA or equivalent), with a minimum of 8 years of post-qualification experience. For candidates with an advanced degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. Public Sector Finance, etc.) together with solid relevant professional public sector financial management experience, the requirement for a professionally licensed accounting qualification (CPA) is desirable but not essential;
	Knowledge of International Financial Reporting Standards, International Standards on Auditing, International Public Sector Accounting Standards, and current issues in FM. 
	Experience in designing and assessing internal control systems and procedures using internationally accepted control frameworks such as COCO.
	Strong experience in conducting fiduciary and PFM diagnostic and implementing reforms in this area. Ability to understand cross-cutting issues beyond FM/disbursement (e.g., procurement, governance, public sector management) at sector/country level.
	Demonstrated expertise in PFM, including knowledge of the various dimensions of the PFM cycle (budget formulation and execution, controls, accounting and reporting, auditing and oversight of public finances) , and experience in PFM reform and the application of PEFA PFM Performance;
	Proven ability to conceptualize, design and implement FM capacity building initiatives.
	Demonstrated expertise in the development and implementation of integrated financial management systems.
	Experience in advising clients on the design and implementation of FM systems, including financial and management reports. 
	Experience in conducting audits, assessing auditor competence, and following up on issues raised by the audits.
	Experience in evaluating financial and project management reports and determining remedial actions to be taken by the Bank or borrower.
	Knowledge in the application of financial management systems and software packages, and good understanding of information systems and the application of new technology.
	Experience in financial statement analysis, their use in comparison with industry benchmarks and their application to particular circumstances.
	Ability to communicate effectively, in writing and orally, including situations requiring negotiation with Borrower representatives.
	Demonstrated ability to integrate sector specific knowledge with broader operational strategy and policies.
	Demonstrated ability to function as a team leader and to work collaboratively with various client stakeholders, including country teams and colleagues, government officials, and other donors; to search for common ground and where appropriate to recommend decisive action.
	Ability to deal sensitively in multi-cultural environments and discuss politically charged issues with confidence and finesse; to inspire trust and confidence in clients and colleagues at all levels; willingness to travel and to work flexibly on a range of assignments, and adjust to and prioritize a variety of complex evolving tasks.

The World Bank Group is committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality, culture and educational background.  Individuals with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply.  All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.

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