Project Finance Manager

Job Description

The role – The Project Finance Manager is responsible for the financial management of the Co-Delegation Agreement for the GCCA+ SUPA project including the output delivered by SPREP, and in accordance with donor (EU) requirements. This includes areas such as project accounting, audit, budgetary controls, procurement, monitoring of project and financial performance/progress, disbursement of funds and contracting with Pacific Island countries and territories. This role will also assist the Project Manager with the operational project management activities, and deputise for the Project Manager when required.

The key responsibilities of the role include the following:

1. Develop, implement and oversee the financial management of the GCCA+ SUPA project, including the output delivered by SPREP, and in accordance with donor (EU) requirements
2. Ensure the planning and delivery of the substantive project activities (for the PMU and Output3) by the SPC Project Team are in complete harmony with the financial requirements laid down in the Co-Delegation Agreement, and are in accordance with SPC procedures.
3. Manage all project accounting, audit, budgetary controls, procurement, monitoring of project and financial performance/progress reports, disbursement of funds and contracting with Pacific Island countries and territories.
4. Deputise for the Project Manager and undertake other project management activities where required; collaborate with partners, especially SPREP and USP; liaise with the EU and other development partners.

For a more detailed account of the key responsibilities, please refer to the job description provided.

Key selection criteria

Qualifications

• Tertiary degree in accounting, financial management, business administration

Knowledge and experience

• At least 10 years’ experience in financial project management with in-depth procurement knowledge
• Demonstrated experience and competence in budgeting, project accounting and financial reporting procedures for large, complex aid-funded projects and efficient systems for international funds transfer
• Previous experience working with other CROP agencies in the delivery and financial management of large, complex aid-funded projects

Essential skills

• Knowledge of budgetary processes in PICTs and working directly with PICTs in project financial management
• Ability to liaise with donor agencies and national government agencies
• Sound coordination, administrative, networking, and collaborative skills
• Excellent PC-based computer skills, including knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook

Language skills

• Excellent English communication skills (oral and written)

Interpersonal skills and cultural awareness

• Ability to work in a multicultural, inclusive and equitable environment

Salary, terms and conditions

Contract Duration – Three years

Remuneration – The Project Finance Manager is a Band 10 position in SPC’s 2019 salary scale, with a starting salary range of 2,451‒3,063 SDR (special drawing rights) per month, which currently converts to approximately FJD 7,229–9,037 (USD 3,480–4,350; EUR 2,934–3,667). An offer of appointment for an initial contract will normally be made in the lower half of this range, with due consideration given to experience and qualifications. Progression within the salary scale will be based on annual performance reviews. Remuneration of expatriate SPC staff members is not subject to income tax in Fiji; Fiji nationals employed by SPC in Fiji will be subject to income tax.

Benefits for international employees based in Fiji – SPC provides a housing allowance of FJD 1,170–2,625 per month. Establishment and relocation grant, removal expenses, airfares, home leave, medical and life insurance and education allowances are available for eligible employees and their recognised dependents. Employees are entitled to 25 days of annual leave and 30 days of sick leave per annum, and access to SPC’s Provident Fund (contributing 8% of salary, to which SPC adds a matching contribution).

Languages – SPC’s working languages are English and French.

Equal opportunity – SPC is an equal opportunity employer. Recruitment is based entirely on merit; in cases where two short-listed candidates are judged to be of equal rank by the selection committee, preference will be given to Pacific Island nationals.

Child protection – SPC is committed to child protection, irrespective of whether any specific area of work involves direct contact with children. SPC’s Child Protection Policy is written in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Police clearance – Successful candidates will be required to provide a police clearance certificate.

Application procedure

Closing Date – 27 February 2019

Applicants must apply online at: http://careers.spc.int/

Hard copies of applications will not be accepted.

For your application to be considered, you must provide us with:

• an updated resume
• contact details for three professional referees
• a cover letter detailing your skills, experience and interest in this position
• responses to all screening questions

Please ensure your documents are in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format.

Applicants should not attach copies of qualifications or letters of reference. These documents may be requested at a later stage.

For international staff in Fiji, only one foreign national per family can be employed with an entity operating in Fiji at any one given time. The Pacific Community does not support dual spouse employment.

Please ensure that you respond to all the screening questions. If you do not respond to the screening questions, your application will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed at shortlisting stage.

Screening Questions

1. Based on your experience with donor-funded, complex multi-country projects, identify and explain three key financial management lessons learnt that would assist you in this role.
2. The role involves oversight of the expenditures incurred by a partner organisation based in a different Pacific Island country. Identify two challenges that are likely to result from this arrangement and describe how you would address these challenges.
3. The role involves financial reporting to the one donor. Furthermore there will be opportunities to share some costs across different projects funded by the same donor. Based on your experience, describe and justify two key factors that will need to be considered in setting up a financial reporting system to cover such an arrangement.

About the Organization

Description

The Pacific Community (SPC) is the principal scientific and technical organisation in the Pacific region, supporting development since 1947. We are an international development organisation owned and governed by our 26 country and territory members. In pursuit of sustainable development to benefit Pacific people, our organisation works across more than 20 sectors. We are known for our knowledge and innovation in such areas as fisheries science, public health surveillance, geoscience, and conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.

The Geoscience Energy and Maritime Division provides advice, technical assistance, research and training support to Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs). There are three areas of scientific programming and two areas of focus within this division:

1. Oceans and Maritime – Driving growth in blue economies through well-informed and inclusive action from integrated solutions for ocean and coastal management and maritime and transport.
2. Geo-resources and Energy – Strengthening the management of the Earth’s non-living resources through responsible harnessing of mineral resources, including metalliferous and development minerals, and clean and renewable energy resources, such as solar, wind, and geothermal for sustainable development.
3. Disaster and Community Resilience – Improving resilience and sustainability through the management of disaster risk and assessment of hazards. This includes building resilience through wider support for climate change, disaster risk management (DRM) initiatives, and water and sanitation initiatives. Several regional climate change projects are housed in this programming area.
4. The other two focus areas within this division are Programming and Operations, responsible for driving integrated programming excellence and operational support across the division, and Geo-informatics, which is responsible for providing diverse, integrated, and unique and demand-driven services across SPC work programmes, projects and countries. This includes developing, managing, building on and retaining or preserving spatial data and information for the benefit of all scientific areas.

The EU-funded Global Climate Change Alliance Plus Scaling up Pacific Adaptation (GCCA+ SUPA), which aims to enhance climate change adaptation and resilience within ten Pacific Island countries (Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Tonga and Tuvalu) is housed in the Disaster and Community Resilience Programming area.

The three outputs of the GCCA+SUPA project are: (i) Climate and disaster risk information, knowledge management, monitoring and strategic planning capacities strengthened at national and regional levels led by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP); (ii) Planning and decision making capacities to address climate change and disaster risks at sub-national and community level strengthened, applying participatory, gender-sensitive and rights-based approaches led by the University of the South Pacific (USP); and (iii) Strategic and local interventions for climate change adaptation and mainstreaming scaled up in up to five sectors led by SPC.