Job Title

Assistant Project finance Manager

Program

Education

Job Function

Financial management

Location

Pakistan/Islamabad

Reports to

Practice Finance Manager  

Job Level of Manager

C5

No of Direct Reports

0

No of Indirect Reports

0

A. Job Description

1. Purpose/Key Objectives of the Job

What is the primary purpose of this job? Describe the 5-6 main objectives of the job and the approximate % of time spent performing each objective.

The Data and Research in Education (DARE) project is a £9.3 million programme. The Assistant Project finance Manager will be part of the DARE management team, working alongside the project management team, specifically the Programme Manager and Programme Director – as well as the OPM Pakistan Central Finance team. The role will support in the implementation of the DARE programme  within a 5% variance of forecast and in line with FCDO’s requirements as set out in the Terms and Conditions. The Assistant Project finance Manager will also lead on the management of KPI performance tracking. Key elements of the role will be tracking the financial status of the project, support client reporting, invoicing and project financial forecasting.

The Assistant Project finance Manager will also work with the OPM Pakistan Pvt ltd Finance Manager to ensure costs are correctly recorded against account codes, resource codes and deliverable workstreams in order that they can be recovered under the terms of the cost recovery client contract. The Assistant Project finance Manager will develop and maintain client reporting that shows costs incurred and costs expected to be incurred in a timely and value added manner in order that the variance from forecast is minimized as exceeding the allowed variance puts the performance funding at risk.

The expected objectives of the role are:

• Providing reports, estimates and forecasts for client consumption: 30%
• Providing relevant analysis to the DARE Management Team: 30%
• Collecting & analyzing financial data for DARE Management team and Client: 15%
• Working with and building the capability of project officers in country: 15%
• Working with non-finance colleagues in country (information gathering, implementation of senior management decisions, feedback): 10%

2. Responsibilities

Describe the responsibilities as clearly as possible. Which tasks is the job holder responsible for and in what way? What results are to be achieved?

• Acquire an excellent understanding of the project’s commercial proposal and sufficient knowledge of the project’s technical focus.

• Work with the project management team and project director to develop value-added client reporting that demonstrates performance according to the commercial metrics in the proposal.

• Provide financial reports as per client requirements, adapting to client needs including quarterly client invoicing.

• Monitor financial performance against budget and forecast providing financial analysis, informative commentary and advice at project performance monitoring meetings, explaining & verifying variance on budgets & forecasts and ensuring all issues and risks are highlighted to Practice Finance Manager and the Project Managers as appropriate.

• Work with project management and technical team leads in country to ensure coding information, the detailed workplan and the days worked is made available to the project officer in a timely manner.
• Prepares forecasts for project and grant activities in collaboration with team members, including supporting the Programme Manager and Deputy Program Manager with quarterly FCDO forecasting.
• Monitor financial performance against budget and forecast providing financial analysis, informative commentary, and advice at project performance monitoring meetings, explaining & verifying variance on budgets & forecasts, and ensuring all issues and risks are highlighted to Practice Finance Manager and the Project Managers as appropriate.
• Develop trusted relationships with relevant stakeholders.
• Monitor and advise project teams to ensure projects are compliant with the client, statutory, and internal control requirements.
• Review costs at the time of posting to ensure accuracy and minimize recodes.
• Liaise with financial accounting and project teams to ensure project accounting records, including client invoicing and project data, are accurate & complete.
• Keep track of invoices and ensure Pakistan sales tax is properly recorded and deposited in a timely manner.
• Regular review of the project cash book.
• Review and approve the project budget and provide recommendations to the Program Manager for approval.
• Engage with the Client on a regular basis to support project financial reporting and project oversight. Maintain an effective working relationship with FCDO.
• Leads on the preparation of detailed activity budgets for projects based on implementation plans in collaboration with the DARE Management team, Program Director, Research Director, and Thematic Leads.
• Ensure compliance with the OPM Finance guidelines and regulatory compliance in collaboration with the DARE Management team.
• Ensure that all the projects’ procurements are as per OPM & client’s policies and procedures.
• Support project audits required by clients and provided requested project financial information to the annual audit.
• Support the project finance team to continually improve delivery.

3. Level of Autonomy

What decisions may the job holder make without first seeking approval from higher manager/supervisor?

The job holder may respond to client requests for financial information with prior approval, copying in the DARE Management Team and ensuring client communications are logged in the agreed location.

4. Examples

Please give two examples of the typical challenges or problems the job holder faces in their daily work and what they must do to overcome them.

Communicating implications of cost recovery financial model to client officers in country and agreeing ways of working. Clear understanding of the contractual relationship and of best practice client relationship management will assist in formulating concise presentation of OPM’s interests.

Bringing technically oriented in country team leads on board with the increased focus on project planning and financial management implicit in the cost recovery model. Providing swift feedback on the financial implications of proposed workplan developments and variations to support forward planning.

5. Job Requirements

Essential educational qualifications, relevant experience and requested skills.

Skills and Experience:

Proven experience of financial management of UK Government NPAC projects from estimation through reporting against budget and funder audit.

Solid understanding of core accounting, period end routines and management reporting.

Strong analytical ability and capability to find creative solutions with regard to project financial reporting.

Strong financial modelling skills (creation and ownership of financial models).

Proven track record of dealing effectively with stakeholders at all levels.

Qualifications & Accreditations:

Graduate with finance industry professional qualification.

At least 4 years post-qualification experience acquired in a range of organizations.

Excellent IT skills: Excel, Visio, Word, PowerPoint, MS Office 365.

B.   Regional/Programme Differences

If there are roles aligned to the one described above, but that have some distinct variations please indicate them. These will be assessed to determine if a new level is appropriate.

None

C.   Job Levelling

Job Ladder	Job Level	Levelled by	Evaluation Date
Individual Contributor	IC3	Click to enter a name	Click to enter a date.

D.   Job Levelling

Do the variations affect the job levelling?