Papua New Guinea - Securing the Project Implementation Unit's Capacity and Competences in Finance and Contracts Management and EDF Compliance

Lot:7 - Governance and Home Affairs - EuropeAid FWC Beneficiaries 127054

DONWLOAD Terms of References

Only one senior Expert is required for a total of 110 working days.

Profile per expert or expertise required:

- Category and duration of equivalent experience

One senior Expert with ten (10) years’ experience working in developing countries, of which at least a minimum of four (4) years should have been using the 9th EDF procedures.

- Education

Degree in Public Accounting and Finance or be a professionally qualified Accountant.

- Experience

The Expert’s experience should comply with the following pre-requisites;

1. Previous successful assignments with EC funded projects implemented under the 9th EDF and specifically in the area of Finance and Contracts;
2. Operative knowledge of the Practical Guide to Contract Procedures for EC external actions and the Practical Guide to Procedures for Programme Estimates Finance and Contracts;
3. Evident awareness of Project Cycle Management and monitoring principles;
4. Well proven practise of implementing financial systems that comply with best international practises and the 9th EDF; and
5. Obvious mentoring skills supported by, at least, five years’ training capacity in financial management. A training certificate will be an asset,

- Language skills

The Expert should possess an excellent command of English.

LOCATION AND DURATION

Starting period

It is assumed the assignment may start on or around July 2010. The final starting date shall be confirmed later.

Foreseen finishing period or duration

The assignment will have the duration of 110 working days (inclusive of travelling ) over a period of one year and divided in three (3) missions. Each mission should not exceed more than 60 calendar days in country. At the end of the each mission, the Expert will submit an activity schedule for the next intervention.

Location(s) of assignment

The assignment will be located at the office of the PIU established at the DPLGA in Port Moresby. Some field visits to projects may be undertaken upon approval by the Project Manager. The transport will be paid under the on-going PEs.

The administrative and operational complexity of the Project allied with the requisite to comply with the European Development Fund (EDF) framework have accentuated technical weaknesses within the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) and called for the intervention of a short term Expert in the area of Finance and Contracts.

This intervention took place between January and May 2010 and resulted in immediate corrective measures followed by obvious improvement in terms of (1) better understanding of EDF framework and provisions, (2) improved financial management capacity and (3) a steadier accounting and reporting system. It is therefore considered that, for terms of further impact and sustainability, the mission should be followed by another intervention to build on the human and technical foundations already laid within the PIU and extending its scope to DPLGA (Component 3) as well as other potential direct or indirect beneficiaries (Component 2 and Component 4) of the Programme.

 Global objective

As the Programme would transit from the 9th to the 10th EDF programme and the number of grant projects increases and sub-projects under Component 4 are set in motion the global objective of the assignment is to pursue regular compliance with best practises in the financial and contracting areas and acknowledgment of EDF stipulations in terms of project management and implementation.

 Specific objectives

The assignment should ensure the following specific objectives are attained:

1. The consolidation or continuing enhancement of the current administrative, financial and contracting systems and measures already in place at the PIU and extend them to other partners / beneficiaries of the Project;
2. Securing the PIU’s regular compliance with the framework applying to EDF funded projects; and
3. To build and reinforce capacity and competences among PIU staff members as well as DPLGA, selected district and LLGs members and other beneficiaries of the Project in finance and contracts procedures applying to the 9th and 10th EDF programmes.

 Requested services

The assignment shall be carried out on the basis of in-house training or mentoring actions followed by corrective measures and ad-hoc monitoring actions. As a result the Expert shall not intervene in the execution of the duties and functions falling under the direct responsibility of the PIU and its Finance and Contracts unit or third parties benefiting of the assistance / funding of the project.

The requested services are as follows:

1. To reinforce the current internal administrative and financial systems and procedures put in place at the PIU, including;
1.1 Steady observation of best practises in the financial and accounting areas;
1.2 To analyse actual financial record keeping and check the compliance of all documents prepared by the Finance and Contracts unit at the PIU;
1.3 To provide recommendations for suitable use of selected EDF templates as well as acknowledgement and implementation of EDF procedures and supervise their application,
1.4 To supervise the grants disbursement process (compliance and endorsement);
1.5 To assist in the drafting and closure of programme estimates of the project; and
1.6 To mentor selected PIU staff members on the basis of the findings resulting of all above mentioned tasks.

2. To ensure the updating of the Manual of Procedures in use by the PIU.

3. To be part of mentoring visits to grant scheme beneficiaries imparted by Component 2 and contribute to their timely and accurate reporting;

4. To link up with initiatives promoted under Component 3 and aiming at reinforcing DPLGA capacity to manage and deliver EDF funded projects. This activity will also be coordinated with the NAO SU and the Expert will report on specific training needs detected, contribute to the outline of training programmes and, as appropriate, will intervene in training activities.

5. To coordinate with the PIU and the EUD and the NAO SU interventions under Component 4, namely:
5.1 Specific technical assistance to the Imprest Accounting Officer of each one of the 4 Programme Estimates,
5.2 To liaise with monitoring / audit activities organised by the NAO SU and contracted by the EUD, respectively.

 Required outputs

The following major outputs are expected:

1. Monthly analysis of the current internal administrative and financial systems and procedures as well as of the financial record keeping followed by a presentation –written or Power Point- of conclusions and corrective measures;
2. An updated version of the Manual of Procedures including all necessary changes resulting from the intervention of the Expert;
3. A minimum of 3 mentoring visits to grant scheme beneficiaries;
4. Regular reporting on the situation of the projects sponsored under C4;
5. To intervene in training related actions (subjects and role to be determined) as considered appropriate by the stakeholders (EUD, NAO SU) and the PIU;
6. To deliver a complete training kit for every training delivered;
7. To produce a succinct yet comprehensive document describing the common constraints affecting the steady delivery of all programme estimates and the performance of each management team; and
8. A mission report with follow up tasks and the end of each input. A final report shall be prepared covering all periods of the assignment.

PLEASE NOTE: ONLY SELECTED CANDIDATES WILL BE CONTACTED