Municipal Finance Expert (Business Licensing & Local Revenue Systems) at UN-Habitat

OBJECTIVES OF THE CONSULTANCY  

• The overall objective of this consultancy is to review the existing local government municipal finance instruments and produce a clear concise and user-friendly booklet to guide the day-to-day operation of the local government staff and enhance municipal finance management of the local governments. The consultancy also intends to design and develop a uniform, transparent, and efficient approach to streamline business licensing processes of Adado, Kismayo, Jawhar and Barawe local governments.
• This is part of the programme’s effort to unlock the potential revenue of businesses within the jurisdiction of the local governments.
• Furthermore, the consultancy aimed to design on-the-job training tailored to the needs of the local governments.  

SCOPE OF WORK  

The consultancy is focused primarily on the following outputs  

Manual for standardized and harmonized business licensing processes:

This is a manual that provide a step-by-step procedure for registering and licensing businesses within the jurisdiction of the local government that is based on the State and local government laws, policies and regulatory frameworks.  
Municipal finance booklet: The booklet will comprise of the essence of and key contents of key municipal finance instruments namely 

• Local government finance policy 
• local government budget guideline 
• domestic revenue mobilization plan 
• harmonized chart of accounts and 
• internal audit charter.   
• Under the overall supervision of the Head of Programmes and the direct supervision of the Dowlaadkaab Project Manager and in close cooperation with the national field staffs the consultant is required to:   

Task 1: 

• Develop a manual for standardized and harmonized business licensing processes 
• Review the business licensing processes and procedures currently used by the local government administrations of Jawhar, Kismayo, Barawe and Adado; and analyse governing state and local government legal, policy and regulatory frameworks; 
• Identify and examine challenges, inconsistencies, and gaps and where appropriate, propose a way to better adjust them; 
• Based on the review, develop a comprehensive business licensing manual for local governments to serve as a standard reference guide that ensures consistency, transparency, and efficiency in how business registration is conducted across all local governments or districts; 
• Ensure that the manual includes standardized business licensing procedures, forms and templates to enable local staff to easily follow and apply the process. 
• It should also provide clear operational step-by-step implementation, approval procedures and guidelines for fee collection and revenue tracking; 
• Develop transparency and accountability mechanisms for business licensing to improve the management of business registration and revenue collection; and  
• Convene a one-day validation meeting together with the local government and related stakeholders  

Task 2: 

• Review municipal finance instruments and produce a simple and user-friendly municipal finance booklet 
• Review the existing urban planning instruments  
• Local government finance policy 
• local government budget guideline 
• domestic revenue mobilization plan 
• harmonized chart of accounts 
• internal audit charter and 
• manual for standardized and harmonized business licensing processes which shall be produced under this consultancy.  

Produce a concise and practical booklet that guides local governments in implementing coherent municipal finance system effectively.

• The consultant needs to ensure the booklet includes maps, visuals and policy recommendation into a readable and publishable format;
• Ensure the booklet have template, checklist, graphics and illustrations to make it interactive, engaging and facilitate learning and application and it is written in simple language and presented in a clear and concise manner  
• During the booklet development, ensure  the coherence, interconnection, sequency and the synergy between the instruments and their complementarity, and how should the local government and other end user use it for their day-to-day operations;  
• Organize the booklet around five thematic areas: Planning and budgeting, Revenue collection and management, Expenditure management, Financial reporting and auditing and  Accountability, internal controls and auditing.

Qualifications/special skills

• An advanced university degree (master’s or equivalent) in Public Finance, Economics, Public Administration, Local Governance, Urban/Regional Planning, or a related field is required.  
• A first-level university degree, combined with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience, may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.
• Minimum seven (7) years of progressively responsible professional experience in municipal finance, public financial management, or domestic revenue mobilisation is required Demonstrated experience in the design or reform of business licensing systems, revenue administration procedures, or local taxation frameworks is required
• Demonstrated track record in translating government policies and technical guidelines into clear operational manuals, toolkits or reference booklets is an added advantage Solid understanding of local government structures and fiscal systems in decentralised or post-conflict environments, with exposure to sub-national regulatory frameworks, budget cycle processes, and financial reporting requirements is desirable

Languages

• For the position advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required.