PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A LOCALLY RECRUITED POSITION

BACKGROUND:

The IUCN Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) operates in twenty-four countries in the Horn of Africa, eastern Africa, southern Africa and the Western Indian Ocean. IUCN ESARO engages directly in biodiversity conservation in the region through its innovative Biodiversity Conservation programme. The Biodiversity Conservation programme draws on evidence-based and best practice approaches to enhance the conservation and management of biodiversity and ecosystems in Eastern and Southern Africa. The Biodiversity Conservation programme operates through a “One Programme” approach working closely with IUCN members and Commissions to engage in a diverse set of biodiversity conservation actions ranging from the implementation of field projects to influencing policy and institutional frameworks at local, national, regional and global levels. The programme is focused on enhancing management effectiveness, governance and equity of protected and conserved areas, strengthening multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder engagement to improve biodiversity conservation at landscape and seascape level, and supporting effective local community engagement in biodiversity conservation. The thematic programme also contributes to building the capacity of IUCN Members and partners, as well as the ESARO Secretariat to tackle new and emerging biodiversity conservation challenges in the region and to implement relevant international conventions, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) , Convention on Illegal Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. The programme also links closely to relevant work and regional priorities of Regional Economic Communities, the African Union and the United Nations Environment Assembly.

IUCN ESARO is the Project Executing Agency (PEA) for two Southern African Development Community (SADC) Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) grant-making facilities. IUCN ESARO is looking to recruit a highly qualified Finance Officer to help with the accounting and financial management of the SADC TFCA Financing Facilities. A summary of the two financing facilities is as follows:

SADC TFCA Financing Facility;

Establishment and development of a regional and sustainable financing mechanism is a major component of the SADC TFCA Programme (2013). The TFCA Financing facility, was established in April 2020, with initial funding by the German Government (BMZ through KfW) of up to €12 million (plus an additional commitment for EUR 11 million to be made available in the near future) for an initial financing cycle of up to 6 years. The intention is to leverage additional funds from various partners, including further commitment from Germany, in order to reach an operational funding volume of approximately EUR 100 million in the medium to long term.

The SADC TFCA Financing Facility (FF) is intended to foster closer collaboration between stakeholders supporting TFCAs and provide the basis for longer-term and more sustainable funding opportunities to develop all TFCAs. The SADC TFCA FF will be fully aligned with the objectives of the SADC Programme for TFCAs (2013) aiming at contributions to various objectives and goals in other relevant SADC strategies and protocols.
Through the TFCA Financing Facility, investments in tangible measures strengthening ecological, economic, cultural and institutional connectivity within SADC TFCAs will be leveraged in a flexible, demand-and performance driven way. The measures shall integrate three dimensions:
1) improved habitat connectivity, especially for elephants and large carnivores as flagship species (“species” dimension),
2) improved management effectiveness and governance of TFCAs and protected areas PAs (“habitat” dimension) and
3) improved livelihoods for communities affected by human-wildlife co-habitation (“people” dimension)
The SADC TFCA FF will contribute towards: (i) faster implementation of projects, (ii) better dissemination and multiplication of innovative approaches, (iii) a pipeline of bankable projects, ready for funding and able to absorb additional funds, (iv) faster response and reaction to upcoming challenges, crises or opportunities, (v) better coordination and harmonisation of national, bilateral and multilateral programmes. Further, the financing mechanism shall contribute to the institutional development of TFCAs, including the preparation and constitution of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), treaties and other legal documents as required.

Training Facilities and Programmes for Wildlife Managers and Rangers in the SADC region;

Following negotiations between Germany and SADC in 2011, €10 million was committed in financial cooperation funds to promote the development of training infrastructure and programmes for protected area managers and rangers in SADC TFCAs. € 4 million of this funding was allocated to the development of infrastructure of the Southern African Wildlife College. € 6 million has been allocated for strengthening capacities of personnel in SADC TFCAs to help implement existing SADC programmes for TFCA management. To operationalize this a TFCA Capacity Development Facility has been created as a grant-making mechanism intended to finance skills-based training for Wildlife Managers and Rangers in SADC TFCAs, and will be informed by a detailed training needs assessment.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Finance Officer will be responsible for the effective financial management of Grants and day-to-day financial administration for the SADC TFCA Financing Facilities.

The Finance Officer is expected to have a solid grasp of financial procedures for grant management operations, and be part of a continuous learning process of the team. The relation with grants beneficiaries will require a good financial compliance background, proactive attitude, patience and creative approach. Under the guidance of the Finance and Administration Manager in Pretoria, South AFRICA, the Finance Officer will also work closely with the regional SADC TFCA FFs Project Management Unit team to contract grantees, ensure reporting in line with donor requirements, and manage all internal and external financial reporting related to the two facilities.

SPECIFIC DUTIES:

The Finance Officer will be responsible for the following main duties:

Financial accounting, management and reporting:
Take responsibility for implementing all SADC TFCA FF processes required at both country and regional level for all financial accounting and management and reporting ensuring that they are delivered in a timely, effective and accurate manner;
In conjunction with the Administrative Assistants, ensure that transactions are updated timely in the NAV ERP accounting system and that the relevant supporting documents are properly filed;
Create, update and maintain the Grant sub-awards and accounts in NAV.
Prepare monthly bank reconciliation statements;
Assist Finance and Administration Manager to prepare NAV checklists;
Prepare monthly financial Reporting Package, including supporting documents, as a contribution for the consolidated Financial Report in ESARO;
Prepare bi-annual financial Reporting Package, including supporting documents, as a contribution for the consolidated Financial Report to the donor
Work closely with the SADC TFCA FF team in ESARO during the annual expenditure verification to ensure a smooth process;
Ensure compliance with all SADC TFCA FF project donor contractual requirements in respect of finance, administration and reporting;
Identify issues of eventual conflict between IUCN policies and donor requirements;
Ensure timely facilitation of procurement process clearances;
Prepare monthly payroll;
Prepare statutory returns for review and payment, EMP201 PAY AS YOU EARN (PAYE) and VAT201 submissions;
Assist the Finance Manager with EMP501 mid-year and annual reconciliations and submissions to SARS;
Assist the Finance Manager in preparing and distribution of IRP forms to employees.

Preparation of the Calls for Concepts for the Financing Facilities:
Develop a thorough understanding of the SADC TFCA FF budget mechanism;
Assist in preparing guidelines and templates for the Calls for Concepts;
Acquire thorough knowledge of the financial rules for grant applicants, templates and forms in the Calls for Concepts;
Participate in the Regional webinars for potential applicants and address the applicants’ queries
Provide advice and support to the applicants during the budget preparation stage;
Play an active role in Frequently Asked Questions compilation and regular updates for the purpose of continuous improvements.

Proposals evaluation, selection and awards:
Support the project review process through appraisal of budgets submitted by applicants
Perform primary review of the due diligence questionnaire submitted by the applicants;
Ensure all the requested supported documents are provided by the applicants for the due diligence check;
Interact with the applicants to ensure the completeness of the due diligence questionnaire and its consistency with the supporting documents;
Ensure the final financial risk rating is correctly included in the ranking of the applications for the Steering Committee;
Provide active support in the finalization of the awards’ budgets;

Monitoring projects under implementation:
Work together with the SADC TFCA FF team, to ensure integration and compliance with the TFCA Financing Facility Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS);
Assist the SADC TFCA FF Team Leader with financial monitoring of the projects under implementation: timely flag up potential financial issues (level of expenditure, compliance of procurement rules, etc) and bring to the attention of the Team Leader and Finance and Administration Manager;
With guidance from the Finance and Administration Manager support the Grantees by providing advice and guidance through capacity building efforts on financial issues;
Participate in and contribute to the technical/financial reporting webinars organized for the projects in the regions;
Perform financial spot checks and field visits scheduled for the projects with medium/high risk ratings;
As part of the field visits advice the PMU on the status of projects financial implementation, weaknesses or critical failures in internal controls, and make recommendations on the improvement of financial project management;
Review periodic project financial reports, support the grantees in correcting the reported data in close interaction with the PMU team;

Grants financial reports and audits:
Set up and maintain a regional tracking table for projects reporting deadlines, sending reminders to grantees;
Review periodic interim and final financial grant project reports, support the grantees in correcting the reported data;
Make sure the financial reports are supported by appropriate supporting documents;
Ensure timeous clearing of grantee reports and processing of cash advances
Follow up with the grantees on the auditors’ queries;
Check the supporting documentation submitted by the grantees and assist the grantees in resolving any issues;
Maintain clear and consistent records of projects audit related exchanges and documentation;
Support the PMU team in preparing the annual consolidated audit: legal commitments and eligible expenditures of the grants;
Assist in providing the relevant information to any reviews including Mid-term Evaluation in the region as required.

Other responsibilities:
Perform other duties as may be assigned from time to time, provided that they complement, and do not impact negatively, on the main duties above.