Organization: IFAD – International Fund for Agricultural Development
Location: Nairobi
Grade: Administrative support – GS-6, General Service – No need for Higher Education – Locally recruited position
Occupational Groups:
Operations and Administrations
Administrative support
Banking and Finance
Closing Date: 2025-01-29
Job Title : Country Finance Associate, PFM – Nairobi, Kenya
ID : 25587
Location : NAIROBI
Date of issue : 01/08/2025
Close Date : (Midnight, Rome Time) 01/29/2025
Organizational Unit : Procurement and Fin Man Div
Full/Part Time : Full-Time
Regular/Temporary : Regular
Assignment Duration : 2 Years
Grade : G-6
Setting in an Organization
An international financial organization and specialized United Nations agency, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is committed to ending hunger and poverty in rural areas. It invests in rural residents to achieve this. At the local, national, and international levels, IFAD promotes policies that support rural transformation and funds initiatives and projects that boost agricultural production and rural incomes.
Setting and carrying out IFAD’s financial strategy and overseeing its material and financial resources are the responsibilities of the Financial Operations Department (FOD), a dynamic, strategic, and responsive business partner. FOD protects IFAD’s financial stability and fulfills its development promises by making ensuring that the Fund’s resources are used effectively, economically, and efficiently to meet its long-term goals. The Treasury Services Division (TRE), the Financial Controller’s Division (FCD), the Procurement and Financial Management Division (PFM), and a Development Finance (DF) team make up FOD, which is headed by the Associate Vice President & Chief Financial Officer.
Through strict procedures and controls, the Procurement and Financial Management Division (PFM) detects and reduces project procurement and project financial management risks, ensuring a strong fiduciary system across IFAD activities.
Position
The incumbent’s primary focus is on providing specialized services related to accounting, cash management, grants and loans, and budgeting. The application of financial regulations, rules, and procedures to various, unrelated processes and methods within a wide range of financial operations is referred to as specialized activities. This is semi-professional, highly skilled employment that may involve leading a final product or providing procedural leadership to less experienced employees.By serving as a responsive service provider that is results-driven and motivated by IFAD’s purpose and values, all finance staff members support the Funds finance strategy and dedication to financial integrity. The client offices served and the Department, Division, or Unit to which they are assigned find the incumbent to be a reliable and trustworthy assistance.
Responsibilities:
Key Functions and Results
1.FINANCE ADMINISTRATION LEADERSHIP: The incumbent provides leadership in the provision of specialized activities in support of a financial operation, typically either at the global or regional level. Activities assigned at this level concern the most complex functions requiring in-depth analysis, drawing conclusions and formulating systemic recommendations or adapting procedures. Accountabilities/key results expected are identified below by occupation.
2. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SERVICES: The incumbent supports IFAD staff in the efficient and effective delivery of IFAD-supported projects. This involves loan and grant adminsitration and other financial management tasks, including substantive support to mission-related activities, monitoring deliverables against established deadlines, data analysis, and support to oversight of project financial management, as required. The financial management tasks associated with loans and grants for regional and global portfolios as assigned. Activities performed typically include:
- assisting in the preparation of Financing Agreements and letters to the Borrower for new projects or as amendments and revisions for existing projects, as required;
- assisting in the initial review of audit reports and mission reports by identifying transactions or amounts that require examination or follow-up with Borrowers, following up on timely submission of financial and audit reports and reports indicating action taken on supervision mission recommendations; liaising with internal and external clients as required;
- finalizing and dispatching audit compliance and other financial management correspondence to Borrowers;
- performing a diligent review of selected Withdrawal Applications (WA) received from Borrowers/Recipients to confirm the Borrower’s entitlement to requested funds, to validate these Applications against approved loans and grants, through the risk based disbursement techniques, and to record these transactions into the institutional systems;
- assisting in determination of disbursement risk ratings based on documented fiduciary risks and characteristics of WAs, based on departmental guidelines, providing inputs to risk based disbursement master table to record; and
- researching and collecting data from internal and external sources for reports/queries, for monitoring closure status and ensuring appropriate follow-up;
- giving advice to internal and external clients and providing training to appropriate stakeholders where necessary;
- assisting with the development of improved practices and procedures; may be tasked to provide technical leadership in the operationalization of major new initiatives;
- supporting officers with the contract management of Regional FM Officers, including monitoring missions and contract cycle;
- assisting in the preparation of financial management workshops or other capacity building events; and
- ensuring that relevant financial documents are stored in FMDB and ARTS systems;
- performing analysis on programme-related financial data (e.g. annual work plans and budgets, disbursements, audits), including extracting and professional use of data from IFADs corporate systems;
- as appropriate, supporting activities related to the oversight of project financial management in coordination with and under the overall guidance of the (senior) finance officers.
3 COUNTRY-SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE BUILDING AND KNOWLEDGE SHARING SUPPORT: The incumbent supports the collation and dissemination of good practices, lessons learnt and results in close collaboration with the country and regional teams and other IFAD staff. This may include identification of project training needs, organization of related trainings and workshops and contribution to capacity building of project staff in program implementation, financial and budget management. The position will also support organizing knowledge sharing events at country-level, and prepare short analytical knowledge management papers on relevant thematic issues to promote knowledge sharing between various programmes, within the division and the remainder of IFAD.
4. MANAGERIAL FUNCTIONS: Is accountable for integrity, transparency, and equity in the personal use of assigned IFAD resources, including equipment, supplies and, as applicable, staff supervised.
Key Performance Indicators
The incumbent provides input into the design and development of improved services and delivery processes. Working with a high degree of operational independence the incumbent is accountable for the achievement of overall service delivery results, handling of complex and intricate finance operations and financial reporting on which the supervisor provides authoritative financial advice which impacts the fundamental work of the Fund. Incumbents play a lead role in the delivery of a complete finance operation and/or oversight of the work performed by other members of the finance team. The position thus also has an impact on the delivery of client departments- programs.
Working Relationships
The incumbent is constantly involved in working closely with colleagues at a senior level on the finance team and with client departments and staff in the handling of specialized and complex processes. The position works seamlessly with other finance analysts, adopting a pooled approach across all regions and portfolios to handle incoming requests from senior finance colleagues. These relationships are important to ensure that financial deadlines are met and that proposals and action adhere to financial policies and rules, including IFRS. The incumbent maintains a wide range of contacts with managers in client departments and staff throughout the organization as well as with colleagues at all levels. External work relationships normally require an exchange of information with a range of outside sources including staff from projects, governments, consultants. A positive outlook of IFAD as a credible/reliable development partner is emphasized in the maintenance of relationships with counterparts.
Requirements:
Organizational Competencies:
Level 1:
- Building relationships and partnerships – Builds and maintains effective working relationships
- Communicating and negotiating – Communicates effectively; creates understanding between self and others
- Demonstrating leadership – Personal leadership and attitude to change
- Focusing on clients – Focuses on clients
- Learning, sharing knowledge and innovating – Continuously seeks to learn, shares knowledge & innovates
- Managing performance and developing staff ejTS9mR PHMNB
- Managing time, resources and information – Manages own time, information and resources effectively
- Problem-solving and decision-making – Demonstrates sound problem-solving and decision-making ability
- Strategic thinking and organizational development – Personal influence
- Team working – Contributes effectively to the team
Education:
- Level – High school diploma (Baccalaureate is preferred)
- Areas – accounting, finance, business administration or other job related field
Degree must be an accredited institution listed on https://www.whed.net/home.php
Experience:
- At least 6 (six) years of progressively responsible experience in finance.
- 2 (two) years, preferably in the United Nations or an international financial institution, or another multi-cultural organization or institution or a national organization providing support on a global scope.
- Position-specific experience: Qualifying work experience in country programme analysis, finance operations management and/or loan/grant administration with International financial institutions, development cooperation agencies, etc., would be an asset.
Languages:
- Required: English (4 – Excellent)
- Desirable: Knowledge of French, Spanish, or Arabic, with French being highly desirable.
Skills:
- Procedure interpretation: Ability to interpret established, formal guidelines to address and recommend solutions or further actions required
- Written communication: Ability to use written communication as a main tool in profession, including for speech writing; clear, succinct and convincing written communication; highly professional, balanced and diplomatic language
- Project financial management: Excellent know-how in project financial management, e.g. internal controls, rural investments, project audit and funds flows
- Disbursements, Payroll and Payments: Know-how in financial checks required for disbursements of loans and grants, payments and payroll transactions to reduce risk of error, fraud and non-compliance with rules, maintenance of clean vendor master files, arrears and debt management of loans
- Financial reporting & accounting: Know-how in financial reporting, statutory and other reporting as well as advanced application of IFRS standards, derivatives, loan credit risk, financial regulations, policies, rules and procedures applicable to IFAD and IFIs
- Time management: Adherence to deadlines under time constraints and pressure (e.g. to deliver governing body documents on time); ability to coordinate and manage complex workflows and in-house and external teams
- Client orientation: Strong critical thinking combined with communication skills to liaise between the business and technologies to understand business problems and needs, document requirements and identify solutions
- Interpersonal skills: Ability to deal patiently and tactfully with others (e.g. visitors, clients, callers, etc.), including senior individuals (e.g. high-level meeting participants)
- Problem solving: Strong systemic and structured thinking, ability to identify and dissect problems into components and formulate a comprehensive set of creative viable and sustainable solutions and strategies
- Loans & grants: Know-how in designing loan and grant operations and managing loan and grant preparation process
How to apply
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