Financial Management Specialist at Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries

Job Description

RE-ADVERTISEMENT OF VACANT CONSULTANCY POSITIONS

The Government of Kenya has received Project Preparation Advance from the World Bank towards preparing the Kenya Marine Fisheries and Socioeconomic Development Project (KEMFSED). The KEMFSED project covers a period of 5 years. The development project’s overall goal is to enhance economic benefits and coastal livelihoods from marine fisheries and coastal aquaculture while safeguarding associated ecosystems’ integrity. The implementing agencies will be the State Department for Fisheries & the Blue Economy (SDF &BE) on behalf of the Government of Kenya. In addition, five(5) Counties along the Coast have been selected to be beneficiaries for the project namely Kwale, Mombasa, Kilifi, Lamu, and Tana River.

The project comprises of the following four components:

• Governance and management of marine fisheries and aquatic resources which aims to strengthen marine fisheries and coastal aquaculture governance so as to control over-fishing maintain or improve stock productivity and enhance associated ecosystem integrity.
• Promote investment in marine fisheries and coastal aquaculture which aims to promote efficient utilization and value-addition of the resources by increasing investment in the marine fisheries and aquaculture sector.
• Strengthening Marine Fisheries and Aquaculture-based Livelihoods for Coastal Communities which aims to enhance social and economic benefits that coastal communities derive from sustainable use of marine living resources.
• This will be on project management which covers establishment and operationalization of a project secretariat, fiduciary, environmental and social safeguards, and monitoring and evaluation.

DETAILS OF VACANT CONSULTANCY POSITIONS Applications are invited from qualified persons for the positions shown below. 3. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST (ONE POSITION):V/NO.7/2017

Remuneration: Negotiable

Terms of Service: One (1) year Contract

Reporting and location: The Consultant will be based at State Department of Fisheries and the Blue Economy offices in Nairobi and will report to Acting Director General (Project Coordinator) and work closely with the World Bank Team for guidance and advice.

For appointment to this grade, a candidate must have:

• Membership with professional bodies such as ICPAK, ACCA, CIMA. 
• Masters degree in Finance, Accounting, Auditing, Public Financial Management or Business Administration. iii. At least 10 years experience in Financial Management, Pubic Finance Management, Public Administration, Business Administration, Organizational Development, Economics, Public Finance Management or related fields;
• Bachelors degree in any relevant discipline; Finance, Accounting, Business Administration or Financial Management;
• At least (5) years of demonstrated work experience as a Technical Advisor in Financial Management; 
• Must have good knowledge of Financial Management policies and procedures of the GoK, Multilateral Financial Institutions (e.g. the World Bank) and development co-operation agencies; as well as good knowledge of the institutional, technical, and commercial aspects of financial management; vii. Excellent skills in project management demonstrated in previous jobs; viii. Proven track record in working effectively within multidisciplinary teams;
• Computer proficiency in standard office applications (Spread sheets, word processing, Internet Explorer), excellent communication, interpersonal and team working skills; and
• Fluency in English.

Duties and Responsibilities

• The Financial Management Consultant will provide support to the Finance and Administration department of KEMFSED, to ensure that throughout KEMFSED implementation there are adequate financial management systems in place both at HQ, sub-national levels and at MDAs (where relevant) and that the KEMFSED is adhering to the PFM stipulations made in the PFM Act 2012.
• Specific duties and responsibilities will include: 
• Maintaining and operating the WB projects designated account and making payments to contractors and service providers and verifying and authorizing payments for all activities under the project; 
• Working closely with the Principal Accountant Controller (PAC) to oversee and guarantee compliance with financial covenants such as submitting quarterly Interim Unaudited Financial Reports (IFRs), maintaining internal controls over projects expenditure and engaging external auditors;
• Facilitating the training of staff members and other stakeholders on World Bank policies and procedures;
• Preparing a financial management manual, establishing chart of accounts and having a computerized accounting system installed to carry out activities in accordance with the agreed procedures and provisions of the WB Loan/Grant Agreement, and the national laws and regulations; 
• Maintaining proper accounting records and preparing financial statements that provide true and fair view and are in compliance with the WB Financial Accounting, Reporting and Audit Handbooks;
• Maintaining the projects bank accounts, organizing the process disbursements of amounts from the Loan/Grant account and replenishment; 
• Ensuring a proper management and disbursement of projects funds following a sound accounting, budgeting, financial control and audit procedures acceptable to the World Bank Group and the Government of Kenya; 
• Managing and maintaining designated and operation accounts and their reimbursements;
• Together with the Project National Coordinator and the Teams within the KEMFSED, preparing the project’s budget; 
• Preparing monthly, quarterly and annual financial reports for the Project National Coordinator and arranging timely financial information for internal and external; audits of project accounts;
• Ensuring that all project transactions are booked timely and accurately; 
• Preparing all request for payments;
• Preparing withdrawal applications and their supporting documents according to the World Bank procedures;
• Maintaining contracts signed under the project and execution of payments under such contracts; xv. Reconciling World Bank Disbursements and SOE records to projects accounting records;
• Carrying out control and filing of all payment documents, invoices and other financial documents relating to project transactions; 
• Ensuring that all documents are kept in safe custody and are readily made available to the independent auditor and World Bank Supervision Missions for examination;
• Facilitating the audit of project accounts by independent auditors xix. Taking prompt remedial action in respect to irregularities detected by the Auditor or World Bank;
• Ensuring implementation and compliance with the provisions of the legal agreements between the GoK and WB and with the Project Implementation Manual; 
• Cooperating with World Bank, Government and other partners to improve project financial management, particularly in terms of following up the action points agreed in the project legal documents, during the World Bank supervision missions and the recommendations of external auditors; and 
• Providing the Auditor with access to copies of all the necessary documentation, information and supporting materials.