The World Bank, a member of the World Bank Group, is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. Our mission is to fight poverty with passion and professionalism for lasting results and to help people help themselves and their environment by providing resources, sharing knowledge, building capacity and forging partnerships in the public and private sectors.
In 2015, the World Bank Group launched a recruitment mission to attract Sub Saharan African professionals to its work force. The initiative was the first of its kind for the institution and resulted in numerous hires into business areas such as Education, Health, Development Economics, Information Technology Systems, Social Urban/Rural & Resilience and Governance. The World Bank Group continues its commitment to hiring Sub-Saharan African professionals and announces its latest recruitment mission to again attract highly qualified Sub-Saharan African professionals who are looking for an exciting career, where their effort will contribute to the institution's goal of ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity.
Applications are invited for the position below:
Job Title: Financial Management Specialist
Location: Africa
Area: Financial Management
Job Summary
The World Bank is looking for a Financial Management Specialist (FMS) who is a professional accountant (CPA, CA or equivalent), with a relevant bachelors degree in accounting, business, finance or economics, and at least 5 years of relevant experience in financial management (FM). Public sector experience would be a distinct advantage.
The FMS will report to the Governance Practice Manager in charge of the implementation of FM policies who is part of the Governance Global Practice, based in Washington, DC. The FMS will work from the World Bank Rwanda Country Office, and assist in all financial management (FM) aspects related to the World Bank’s operations for Rwanda, Madagascar and Comoros. The FMS will perform as a member of the various Task Teams of the World Bank financed projects, and in addition lead special purpose initiatives.
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 term appointment.
Duties and Accountabilities
The FMS is expected to assume the following duties and responsibilities:
- 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 review of periodic interim financial reports;
- Assess the selection and engagement of auditors, ensuring their suitability including their independence, and competence to perform; and ensure that the borrower provides auditors with all the relevant information (including Terms of Reference and Bank requirements) necessary to carry out their engagement;
- Review audited financial statements received, monitor the Borrower's compliance with financial covenants including audit compliance, ensure adequate communication with the Borrower and the project implementing agencies with respect to audits and advise as appropriate;
- 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;
- Assess the financial and operational viability of implementing entities (e.g. with respect to revenue earning entities), and to advise on the design and use of financial performance covenants;
- Monitor implementation of the PFM action plans, and provide technical advice to the Government in the implementation of reform actions;
Selection Criteria
- Education: At least a Master's degree in Economics, preferably Ph.D.
- At least five years of relevant analytical work experience and proven skills in managing and exploiting large datasets; undertaking econometric analysis in the social sectors, preferably related to education, labor markets, poverty analysis, public expenditures.
- Authorship/ co-authorship (with substantial written inputs) of analytical reports or research papers, on Skills, Public Expenditure Reviews, education sector assessments or other relevant areas.
- Demonstrated combination of analytical rigor and practical and solution oriented approaches, including ability to contextualize research findings and apply them to specific country contexts.
- Excellent writing skills and ability to convey complex technical ideas to a non-specialist audience.
- Strong client orientation and excellent interpersonal skills.
- Proven ability to work effectively and collaboratively across within and across sector boundaries, inspire commitment to excellence and teamwork, and to liaise tactfully as a member of a multicultural team.
- High levels of energy, initiative, and flexibility in quickly adjusting to changing work program requirements
- Ability to juggle numerous competing demands and priorities, respond quickly to country and management requests, and set priorities for self and others
Competencies
- The FMS should be professional accountants (CPA, CA or equivalent) with preferably a Masters degree in accounting, business, finance or economics, and a minimum of 5 years of post-qualification experience in financial management. Experience and in-depth familiarity with public sector financial management in would be a distinct advantage.
- Also, the ideal candidates should have:
- Knowledge of International Accounting Standards and International Standards on Auditing
- The ability to understand public financial management issues and to adapt financial management knowledge acquired in the private sector to the public sector context (essential)
- Experience with internal audit and internal control systems and procedures (including familiarity with COSO), with the ability to assess such systems and recommend remedial action where necessary
- A good understanding of the review of financial statements including statements which link financial to non-financial information
- Experience in auditing, including assessing audit competence, and to the ability to analyze the impact of qualified audit reports and matters arising from management letters
- Understanding of management information systems and the application of new information technologies
- Capacity to function as a member of multi-disciplinary team, search for common ground, and where appropriate recommend decisive actions
- Ability to communicate effectively, in writing and orally, in French and in English and to negotiate substantive and difficult issues with senior government officials (essential)
- Demonstrated ability to deal with complex analytical and strategic work; process coordination; and interpersonal skills with the ability to work independently with the clients
- The FMS should be willing to travel frequently
- As requested by the PM, undertake other activities, as appropriate.
Required Competencies
Financial Management –Reforms/Development and Integration:
- Demonstrates in-depth knowledge and implements the Bank's FM risk model at the project level. Understands the use of country PFM systems for Bank-financed operations (UCS-FM).
- Understands Public Financial Management (PFM) reforms. Understands issues affecting the development of the accountancy profession and accountancy regulatory frameworks. Under senior staff guidance, performs assessments and contributes to capacity building on PFM reforms/regulations, and development of the accountancy profession and regulatory frameworks. Under senior staff guidance, performs assessments and contributes to increasing UCS-FM.
FM Sector Dialogue and Policy Advice:
- Understands the Bank sector strategies at the corporate, regional and country levels. Knows basic best practice in the sector of expertise. Understands the core elements of a client sector policy, strategy and expenditure programs.
- Knows the characteristics of a good sector expenditure program (objectives, indicators, agenda, regulations, norms, tools, systems).
- Understands time/resources, including institutional capacity necessary for sector reform/improvements to be discussed, decided upon and implemented.
- Prepares/reviews draft of ToRs/specifications and propose comments for senior staff review. Provides inputs to sector studies.
Operational Project Management:
- Interprets background analysis results and proposes tailored solutions to specific project issues.
- Objectively identifies key risks to not achieving project's expected objectives, understands likely risks evolution trends over project life, and possible mitigation measures. Supports senior staff, specialists and clients in using the main processes related to project preparation and implementation (including, as maybe the case, planning, budgeting, project financing, procurement, disbursement, Governance and Anti-Corruption (GAC), and Safeguards) Drafts meetings' minutes, as well as sections of project-related documents. Able to manage, under senior staff guidance, day-to-day activities under straight-forward projects.
- Demonstrates basic knowledge and understanding of the project management concepts.
- Understands World Bank Group financial products and options available to support the project, trade-offs of each option, and potential for customization.
Accounting and Financial Reporting:
- Understands the individual IFRSs, IPSAS, or comparable national standards.
- Performs assessments, provides advice and contributes to capacity building on accounting and financial reporting at the project level.
- Under senior staff guidance, performs assessments and contributes to capacity building on public sector accounting and financial reporting practices.
- Under senior staff guidance, performs assessments and contributes to capacity building on national accounting and financial reporting practices, with reference to international standards and good practice.
Lead and Innovate:
- Contributes new insights to understand situations and develops solutions to resolve complex problems.
- Adapts as circumstances require and manages impact of own behavior on others in context of WBG's values and mission. Identifies and pursues innovative approaches to resolve issues.
Deliver Results for Clients:
- Adds value by constantly looking for a better way to get more impactful results; sets challenging stretch goals for oneself.
- Immerses oneself in client experiences and perspective by asking probing questions to understand unmet needs.
- Demonstrates accountability for achieving results that have a development impact and financial, environmental and social sustainability.
- Identifies and proposes solutions to mitigate and manage risks.
Collaborate Within Teams and Across Boundaries:
- Appropriately involves others in decision making and communicates with key stakeholders.
- Approaches conflicts as common problems to be solved.
- Actively seeks and considers diverse ideas and approaches displaying a sense of mutuality and respect. Integrates WBG perspective into work.
Create, Apply and Share Knowledge:
- Leverages department's expertise and body of knowledge across WBG to strengthen internal and/or external client solutions.
- Seeks to learn from more experienced staff to deepen or strengthen their professional knowledge and helps others to learn.
- Builds personal and professional networks inside and outside the department unit.
Recruitment Timeline
End of July - September 2016 - Review applications and update application status to candidates
August - September 2016 - Contact all shortlisted candidates and conduct interviews in Washington, D.C. and locations in Africa
Application Closing Date
7th August, 2016.
Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online
Note
- Shortlisted candidates may be contacted as early as August 2016 for interviews which may be conducted in Washington, D.C. or locations in Africa. Interviews will be conducted through September 2016. Based on the availability of interviewers and candidates some interviews may be conducted virtually.
- Candidates who have previously submitted applications through the Recruitment Drive for African Nationals in 2015 must submit a new application to be considered for opportunities in this year's campaign. We apologize that we are unable to consider previously submitted applications.