Project Finance Specialist

Background

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) supports Jordan to achieve sustainable development that leads to transformational change, bringing about real improvements in people’s lives, through the design and implementation of policy and programming to address the development challenges that affect the country. #Nextgen UNDP also ensures that considerations such as the Gender Equality, Private Sector Engagement, Environmental Sustainability, and Innovation are addressed while aligning local demand driven development solutions to the 2030 Agenda.

UNDP and the European Union collaborate in improving public sector’s integrity, accountability and responsiveness to citizens’ needs in Jordan.  The European Union a grant to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the implementation of the project 'Decentralization, Accountability and Integrity at Local Level Programme (DAILL) in Jordan. A four-year initiative will support the decentralisation reforms and SDG16 “Peace, justice and strong institutions” implementation in the Kingdom, in line with the policy priorities of the Government of Jordan in the National Renaissance Plan 2019-2020.

DAILL will seek to institutionalise citizen participation in planning, following the execution of the plans, evaluation of the results and in holding the authorities and public officials accountable for their actions and omissions. Project’s implementation will be fundamentally focused on strengthening the administrative and downwards accountability in Jordan. The role of elected councils and the relationship between citizens and public administration throughout the planning/budget cycle will be enhanced.  Transparency will be strengthened through participatory planning processes for both, integrated territorial development plans (governorates and municipalities) and sectoral plans (health, education, social services). As a result, decision-making for the allocation of public resources is expected to be transparent (full disclosure and discussion) and will incorporate the demands and expectations of communities and citizens. Furthermore, development plans should reflect national policies and commitments to achieve the SDGs. Accountability will be enhanced during the execution of the plans and further evaluation of the results of the plans. 

The Specialist provides support to enable effective project  management and interacts with CO Programme and Projects staff throughout  projects’ formulation and during implementation by providing quality assurance and quality control in project  formulations (agreements, MoU, ..etc) and implementation. The Specialist is responsible for all PAC minutes, track signed project documents and budgets revisions, and regularly monitor project and budget revisions.

In addition, the Specialist will ensure programme and project quality assurance and supports the programme unit in ensuring compliance with UNDP’s programming guidelines, and project management rules, regulations and procedures.

Scope of Work

The Project  Finance Specialist will be responsible for the efficient and diligent financial management of the programme, in coordination with other projects and programmes, including daily financial transactions, compiling accountability and reporting on expenditure and other financial, administrative and operations tasks as needed. Furthermore, theProject  Finance Specialist will support the UNDP CO programme in monitoring delivery and compliance with financial dashboards, in collaboration with CO Programme Finance Analyst.

Duties and Responsibilities

Facilitate transparent financial management of the programme/projects that can stand up to regular audits and evaluation;

• follow up on cash forecasts and cash flow from the Programme/Project and liaise with the Finance Unit.
• Ensure proper procedures related to project staffing, procurement, finance, planning, administration and monitoring are in place and followed;
• Develop and monitoring of project  work plans, procurement plans, risk and issue logs; update these as needed in consultation with the supervisor;
• Monitor project budget against work plan and expenditure; work closely with relevant UNDP units to ensure financial monitoring actions are in place and issues are addressed in a timely manner; liaise with and advise the Programme Manager and relevant UNDP units on fund status, manage all programme-related financial transactions, budget revisions, and payment requests;
• Preparing quarterly Financial Statements and annual Financial Reports as per laws and regulations for projects.
• Elaborating the Programme annual Financial Report;
• Ensuring that project accountability is maintained in line with UN and EU rules and regulations and international accounting principles;
• Providing ad hoc financial information on request. Coordinates the preparation of budget submissions from managers;
• Oversees the review and finalization of budget performance reports; monitors variances between approved budgets and actual expenditures for development projects;
• Plans, integrates and coordinates the work of supervisors responsible for portions of the finance programme; monitors achievement of objectives;
• Provides advice and guidance, including training to programme team members on budgetary and financial policies and procedures, including results-based budgeting;
• Reviews and analyses financial policies and procedures related to the development projects, makes recommendations for changes and/or modifications

Facilitate building strong partnerships with UNDP CO government, donor, NGOS, and private sector partners and support resource mobilization, focusing on:

• Ensure all agreements, MOUs, RPAs are in compliance with UNDP requirements
• Undertake Due Diligence exercise and ensure compliance with UNDP Policy for Due Diligence and Partnerships with the Private Sector
• Advise programme staff on suitable partnerships agreements, review agreements and provide feedback
• Support office management to articulate the framework and conditions of contributions within the CO resources mobilization effort.

Ensure Proper Planning and implementation of Projects

• Ensure all projects’ AWPs are prepared in the beginning of the year
• Ensure all projects/pillars’ procurement plans are prepared annually and uploaded in the system.
• Manage, coordinate, and supervise project implementation to ensure the overall project relevance and performance, the effective realization and quality of outputs within the specified constraints of time and cost as outlined in the project document, and adherence to applicable UNDP policy and programme management procedures and Government standards, rules, and regulations.
• Ensure proper execution of all administrative activities associated with project implementation, including mobilizing goods and services, preparing Terms of Reference, completing contracting processes, recruiting/selecting consultants and experts, and managing financial arrangements/transactions and their correct authorization.
• Identify opportunities for synergies with other projects within UNDP and beyond, to advance the key objectives and grow its focus.
• Ensures effective management of the programme-related country office resources. 
• Ensures the effective monitoring of programme resources allocation and delivery, raises delivery gaps and proposes adequate and sound solutions, in collaboration with CO Programme Finance analyst.

Ensure facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing and provide guidance to all stakeholders on  financial matters.

• Assist and contribute to the facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing in the project team;
• Capacity building of implementing partners on overall financial management 
• Sound contribution to knowledge network of communities of practice

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary forthe efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Institutional Arrangement

The Project Finance Specialist will report to DAIL Project Manager 

Competencies

• Achieve Results:

LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact 

• Think Innovatively:

LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems 

• Learn Continuously:

LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences

• Adapt with Agility :

LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands 

• Act with Determination:

LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results

• Engage and Partner:

LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration

• Enable Diversity and Inclusion:

LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

Thematic Area: Business Management (Resource Management)

• Allocate and use resources in a strategic or tactical way in line with business needs and priorities and principles of accountability and integrity.

Thematic Area: Finance (Due diligence management)

• Ability to conduct a comprehensive appraisal of an organization or opportunity to be undertaken by a prospective investor or partner, especially to establish its assets and liabilities, as well as evaluate the potential opportunity and its related risks; knowledge of respective methodology and tools.

Thematic Area: Partnership management (EU Partnerships)

• Knowledge and understanding of EU strategies, approached, processes and systems 

Thematic Area: Administration & Operations (Assets management)

• Knowledge of policy & procedures on PP&E; 
• Ability to prepare financial statements on PP&E; 
• Maintain Asset Management Module in ATLAS, Asset Dashboard; 
• Develop supporting tools for assets
• Certification and further enhancements for AM module;
• Design and run training programs, etc. on assets management and assets recording; run AP- AM
• Interface; perform AP-AM-GL reconciliation; perform analytical review of AM reports and asset information to ensure completeness and accuracy of asset information

Thematic Area: Finance (Budget management)

• Ability to support budgetary aspects of work planning process, drawing and management of team budgets

Thematic Area: Finance (Financial planning and budgeting)

• Ability to create and manage processes to achieve UNDP's long and short-term financial goals, including through planning, budgeting, forecasting, analysing and reporting.

Thematic Area: Business Direction & Strategy (System Thinking) 

• Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

A professional accounting qualification from an internationally accredited institute of accountancy, and/or  Advanced (Masters) University Degree in Finance and/or Accounting is required. 

Or

 A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas mentioned above, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree 

Candidates with professional  accounting qualifications from an internationally accredited institute of accountancy will have a distinct  advantage. 

Candidates with no professional accountancy qualifications, but with degrees that major in accountancy and/or  finance must complete the Finance Training and Certification Programme (FTCP), if recruited. 

Candidates satisfying the two above criteria are exempted from undertaking the UNDP Advanced Accountancy  and Finance Test (AAFT). 

Candidates with MBA or master's in finance with no accountancy qualification but with relevant experience  must successfully undertake the UNDP Advanced Accountancy and Finance Test (AAFT) to be eligible for  shortlisting.

Experience:

Minimum of five (5) years of experience (with a Master degree) and minimum of Seven (7) Years (with a bachelor degree) of experience in financial management with a strong background and work experience in Accounting and Finance is required.

Required  skills:

• Experience in the use of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and advanced knowledge of spreadsheets and web-based management systems such as ERP financials and database packages is required.  
• Proven knowledge of Results based management (RBM) and accounting is required.

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section:

• Proven track record of excellent analytical skills and writing skills is desired. 
• Experience in providing project/ programme financial management services is desired.
• Experience in understanding of UN/UNDP Finance Rules and Regulations, policies, and procedures is an asset.
• Experience in budget management and Direct Project Costing is an asset.
• Experience in developing budgets for NGOs and in monitoring and tracking variances is an asset,
• Experience with audit missions and well experienced in European Union and United Nations financial systems and requirements is an asset.

Required Language(s):

Fluency in Arabic and English is required. 

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination. 

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles. 

Right to select multiple candidates

UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

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