About Job

BACKGROUND
This job will be based in Country Office Pakistan, and will typically report to Deputy Country Director or the designate.
The Budget and Programming mission is to support and enable operations by safeguarding resources and efficient management of WFP resources, risk- informed end-to-end planning, budgeting and reporting that enables WFP to deliver its key priorities, strategic objectives and achieve its zero hunger
goals.

Job holders are required to operate with minimal supervision to provide analysis and advice on resource planning and management issues. They are likely to be coaching a small team and working under the supervision of a more experienced staff member, receiving guidance and regular feedback on work
performed.

PURPOSE
To deliver budget and resource analysis and programming activities, and/or provide support to country office, partnering with and supporting managers in the application of best practice approaches for the efficient, effective and compliant utilization of funds.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive, within delegated authority):

1. Proactively taking the lead in the preparation and review of various budgets for accuracy, effectiveness and completeness, monitoring ongoing performance against operational budget, coordinating inputs from various units and providing regular feedback, including identifying opportunities for maximizing the allocation of funds.

2. Developing and implementing new procedures/SOPs for budget and programming activities including the SOP for RMC, weekly funding report, progress reports etc. Coordinate data analysis efforts and innovatively develop reports, to meet project specific requirements and enable informed decision-making, ensuring consistency of information presented to senior management and external stakeholders
3. Overseeing and leading preparations of pipeline requirements and shortfalls, identifying sourcing options including Advance Financing requests in collaboration with stakeholders at the operational level to ensure timely shortfall coverage and efficient utilization of contributions.
4. Leading meetings, with management, and other stakeholders on the utilization of incoming contributions to optimize funding received, as well as supporting the process of developing funding proposals. Coordinate the preparation of funds utilization for interim, progress and final reports as stipulated in various contribution agreements between WFP and specific donors, particularly for those locally negotiated contributions in close collaboration with CO, RB and HQ counterparts.

5. Organizing and convening the monthly, cross-functional, Resource Management Meeting, across Area Offices, that proactively discusses resource availability and upcoming shortfalls, while recommending timely mitigation measures.
6. Advising the Country Office and relevant spending units on complex programming requests and the utilization of funds (appropriateness, timeliness, accuracy, etc.) while proactively engaging fund managers to implement recommendations and possible corrective actions that enable reporting against original budgets and approved funding proposals.
7. Developing and/or revising the Country Portfolio Budget for the CSP.
8. Leading and coordinating, where appropriate with SO managers, all tasks relating to the project closure exercise.
9. Coordinating fund utilization and projections as well as the pipeline for all operations (the ongoing flood response, livelihoods and the host government funded Stunting Prevention Programme) in line with donor restrictions and programme requirements.
10. Representing the unit at internal meetings/committees/working groups as required, to obtain and provide information from a budget and resource programming.
 

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Education:

Advanced university degree in Business Administration, Statistics, Finance, Economics or other relevant field. OR. First level university degree with additional two years of professional experience.

Additional professional trainings in project management, statistical analysis and/or operational planning and management is desirable.

Experience:

5 years of professional / managerial level experience in preparing, managing and reporting on operational budgets.

• Experience in performing analytics of medium complexity and presenting the information to meet various audience needs.

• Experience in working with large datasets, extracting information from them in an easy to interpret manner.
• Experience coordinating operational planning and fostering discussions around resource projections and implications on a programme-wide level, integrating trend analyses and ongoing discussions to drive the way forward.

Knowledge & Skills:

• A demonstrated and adequate understanding of information and financial systems and how those support the implementation of operations.
• Thorough understanding of operational planning and business processes, rules and procedures and applying them consistently in the implementation and support of programme interventions.
• Adequate knowledge of programme operational requirements and how these translate into resource management requirements, enabling the proposition of recommendations for improvement in a proactive rather than reactive manner.
• Ability to consolidate and share resource management information in a way that supports decision making and emphasizes accuracy and consistency in numbers across teams.
• Ability to coach, train and mentor a team of staff to deliver at expected levels.

Language: Fluency (level C) in English language and the duty station’s language, if different.