Senior Grant and Public Finance Management Specialist

Description Are you a passionate advocate for education? Do you want to make a difference in the lives of children in the world’s poorest countries? The Global Partnership for Education Secretariat would like to hear from you. Established in 2002, the Global Partnership for Education ("GPE”) has grown and evolved to become the premier partnership focused on basic education in developing countries. Its members include 68 of the world's poorest developing countries, over 30 bilateral, regional, and multilateral agencies; development banks; the private sector; civil society groups; and teachers’ organizations. The Board of Directors is GPE's governing body, sets its policies and strategies and approves all funding. The mission of GPE is to galvanize and coordinate a global effort to ensure that every child receives a quality basic education, prioritizing the poorest, the most vulnerable and those living in fragile and conflict-affected countries. To that end, GPE helps its member countries to develop and implement sound education sector plans and has allocated nearly $5 billion in education grants to date. With over 100 staff, the GPE Secretariat is hosted by the World Bank in Washington, D.C. The Grant Operations Team (GO) is a new team within the Secretariat which will take on the role as the Secretariat’s primary interface on grants. The team will serve as interlocutor with grant agents and where relevant with government, coordinating agencies, and development partners in assigned member countries, in coordination with the Country Engagement and Policy Team (CEP) which serves as the primary interface with developing country partners. Duties and Accountabilities The successful candidate will report to a Grant Portfolio Team Lead under the Finance and Grant Operations Manager. As a Senior Grant and Public Finance Management Specialist, the incumbent will serve as interlocutor of the Secretariat with grant agents and where relevant with government, coordinating agencies, and development partners in assigned member countries. As such, she/he will promote the Partnership’s goals and objectives, collaborating closely with grant agents and partners in developing countries to facilitate access to and monitor the use of GPE resources. This includes support for potential opportunities in the short and medium term to better use country’s public financial management system for the implementation of GPE grants. The Senior Grant and Public Finance Management Specialist works closely with colleagues in Finance and Grant Operations and the Country Engagement & Policy (CEP) Team to ensure relevant, quality support to countries on GPE grants and identify and manage risks related to the implementation of the GPE financial support. Key responsibilities include the following: Relationship management

Serve as relationship manager to lead GPE Secretariat’s engagement with assigned Grant Agent representatives;
Ensure consistency in Secretariat messaging and requests to assigned countries and ensure these are adapted to country context and dynamics;

Support to GPE Program Development, Monitoring and Implementation Processes

Inform partners about and provide guidance on GPE’s grants/funding mechanisms, in particular the GPE funding model, its requirements and quality standards and grant application processes;
Closely work with the CEP and FGO quality assurance unit to provide upstream quality support to grant applications;
In close collaboration with CEP and risk, finance and monitoring colleagues, assess risks through the GPE Operational Risk Framework, develop risk management plans and liaise with grant agents on implementation monitoring; facilitate compilation of reports and data for annual portfolio reviews and results reports, and engage with external evaluations of the use of GPE funds.

Support to GPE Alignment Roadmap

Assess potential opportunities in the short and medium term to better use country’s public financial management system for the implementation of GPE grants
Participate in the Secretariat' planning of work in support of the Alignment Roadmap
In close collaboration with CEP, provide support to stakeholders in targeted countries, including the Developing Country Partner government, coordinating agency and other development partners on possible options in the short and medium term to better use country’s public financial management system for the implementation of GPE grants as well as other donor funding;

Additional Responsibilities In addition to the responsibilities above, the Grant Portfolio Specialists participate in other areas of GPE Secretariat work, including:

Engage in committees and workgroups to strengthen GPE’s operational work, including through procedural consistency and rigor and the development and enhancement of standard operating procedures, guidelines and tools;
Support engagement with stakeholders on GPE’s efforts to increase alignment and harmonization.

Selection Criteria

Master’s degree in public financial management, economics, international development or a relevant related field with at least eight years relevant experience (or equivalent combination of education and experience);
At least eight years of relevant experience, including at least 5 years working for or with a Ministry of Finance in a developing country;
Expertise in public financial management and at least one of the following areas: financing and management of education systems, education planning, education in fragile contexts, girls’ education, learning, inclusive education, teacher development, or other areas relevant to the work of the Global Partnership;
Experience with cross-cultural dynamics, political sensitivity, strong negotiation skills;
Willingness to work in a complex environment and travel frequently to support country level processes;
Strong analytical, writing and facilitation skills;
Ability to work independently and under pressure and to work effectively in teams;
Ability to communicate and write competently in English;
Working proficiency in French, Spanish and/or Portuguese is also of value;
Enthusiasm and commitment to the mission of the Global Partnership for Education.

COMPETENCIES

Country Operations Knowledge and Application - Ability to provide high quality advice to teams on the appropriate use of policies, procedures and instruments.
Stakeholder Engagement - Ability to advance and make substantive contributions to the country dialogue.
Project Design for Impact and Sustainability - IL - Contributes to the design of projects and programs, based on an understanding of the country public financial management system.
Operational Policies Application to the Project Cycle (fiduciary, disbursement, safeguard and Governance and Anti-Corruption policies) - IL - Possesses a strong understanding of procurement and disbursement policies; knows what issues might arise and who to involve in problem resolution.
Knowledge of Fragile and Conflict-affected Contexts - Applies to operations and analytical tasks a substantive understanding of fragility, conflict and violence, including polarization of state-society relations, diminished client capacity, relevance of partnerships, etc.
Lead and Innovate- Develops innovative solutions with others.
Deliver Results for Developing Partner Countries - Achieves results and identifies mission-driven solutions for the DCP.
Collaborate Within Teams and Across Boundaries - Initiates collaboration across boundaries and broadly across the organization, and brings differing ideas into the forefront.
Create, Apply and Share Knowledge - Creates, applies and shares knowledge from across and outside the organization to strengthen internal and/or external client solutions.
Make Smart Decisions - Recommends and takes decisive action.

The selected candidate may be based in the Washington, DC or the Paris, France office. This is an international recruitment subject to compensation on the local pay scale for the defined duty station, and global mobility benefits may be applicable as per World Bank Group policy. Poverty has no borders, neither does excellence. We succeed because of our differences and we continuously search for qualified individuals with diverse backgrounds from around the globe. Deadline: 12th August, 2020 APPLY HERE

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