Technical Advisor for Public Investment Planning & Management

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is the implementing agency of the Federal Republic of Germany for technical and international cooperation. It offers flexible, sustainable and effective solutions in political, economic and social change processes. Most of the work of GIZ is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). GIZ also operates on behalf of other German ministries as well as public and private bodies in Germany and abroad. These include the European Commission, the United Nations, the World Bank and governments of other countries.

The Good Financial Governance (GFG) Programme 2019-2022 phase is foreseen to focus on increasing transparency, efficiency, and accountability of public financial governance in Zambia. Its main partner institutions are envisioned to be the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of National Development Planning, selected line ministries, the Zambia Revenue Authority and the Zambia Public Procurement Authority. The GFG Programme is set to provide advisory services and capacity development measures in the areas of enhancing revenue mobilisation and supporting the reforms in budget planning, management and execution, as well as the revision of intergovernmental fiscal relations, to its partner institutions.

In this context, GIZ is seeking a suitable candidate for the following position:

Technical Advisor for Public Investment Planning and Management (Lusaka based)

REF: GIZ_GFG_PIPM                                  

Main tasks and responsibilities:

• Supporting the programme management in reaching programme objectives and team objectives, especially in the area of public investment planning and management as well as public procurement
• Providing technical advice, individually and in close collaboration with other team members/ short term experts, on questions of public financial management with a focus on investment planning, management and procurement to the Ministry of National Development Planning, the Ministry of Finance, selected line ministries and the Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA)
• Conducting research activities and studies related to strengthening public investment planning, public procurement and management systems in Zambia
• Supporting programme management in preparing Terms of Reference for short-term experts related to the strengthening of public investment planning, public procurement and management systems
• Designing, preparing and implementing workshops, seminars or other events on issues connected with the area of activity, both individually and with other team members
• Assisting the programme management in monitoring the development and implementation of operational plans and activities in close consultation with the partners
• Supporting the programme management in maintaining regular contact and dialogue with partners for programme steering purposes
• Preparing appropriate input for various programme reports including annual reports and other reports required by programme management
• Performing tasks on an ad hoc basis at the request of programme management

Qualifications and requirements:

• Minimum of a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as Economics, Public Finance, Investment Planning and Finance, Public Policy or Development Studies; a master’s degree is an added advantage
• Membership of the Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants (ZICA) and/or other relevant professional bodies or specific qualifications relating to public procurement, investment appraisal, planning and management and/or economics, is an added advantage
• At least five (5) years’ professional experience in public investment appraisal, procurement and monitoring/execution processes and practices in Zambia and/or other countries in the region
• Experience in managing political processes surrounding the identification and selection of public investment projects and the procurement processes used
• Experience in linking the public investment appraisal system with the annual budget process through its interface with processes used to formulate the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) is an additional asset
• Experience in risk identification, assessment and management including the implementation of formal risk management frameworks
• Professional experience in a technical assistance advisory role, in organisational development and change management, including leadership buy-in and stakeholder identification and involvement is an added advantage

Other knowledge, additional competences

• Excellent analytical skills, particularly when reviewing public investment project proposals in terms of their technical, financial and economic feasibility
• Fluency in English, both written and oral
• Excellent report writing skills
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to build trust, consensus and respect required for good working relationships with internal and external contacts
• Knowledge in the design of training programmes, curricula, training courses and materials, as well as training delivery and evaluation is desirable
• Ability to manage the development of competences, skills and abilities (mentoring)
• Must be proactive and be able to manage and prioritise workload and be accustomed to working under pressure with high resilience and self-motivation
• Ability to work in a multicultural and multidisciplinary team
• Strong IT skills, i.e. very good working knowledge of MS Office and the ability to and the ability to use financial information systems with a high degree of proficiency; experience in using SAP software, especially the Project Management module, and/or other systems used for the appraisal of public investment projects and the ZPPA e-procurement processes is an additional asset
• Willingness to upskill; corresponding measures to be agreed with management

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