PROGRAMME SPECIALIST UNCDF

Objective and purpose UNCDF’s interventions in Gaza Province, Mozambique are a key component of the Belgian Fund for Food Security (BFFS) partnership framework and focus on the design and management of a Local Development Fund, which will finance the development of food security related infrastructure at district level. These interventions will be closely coordinated with the activities of the other partners in the BFFS framework, notably WFP and FAO, the Belgian Technical Cooperation, and two Belgian NGOs to ensure a coherent and integrated approach to supporting the public expenditure management cycle at local level. In this context, the programme specialist will be supporting the Government of Mozambique in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the food security programmatic interventions in Gaza province. Background Building on previous and successful collaboration between the Government of Mozambique and UNCDF in the area of decentralization and local development, the BFFS partnership framework aims to accelerate progress and enhance local government capacity to improve food security in Gaza Province, Mozambique. The main objective is to strengthen decentralized service delivery and thereby improve social and economic development, through the introduction of transparent funding mechanisms which improves the accountability of local authorities to their citizens. Specifically, the project will support the Government of Mozambique to: Reinforce local public expenditure management in the selected districts of the programme to contribute to increased sustainable food and nutritional security; Strengthen national policies, reinforced by the experiences of integrating sustainable food and nutritional security into local public expenditure management. This is a Development Project funded position.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of key functions: Ensure strategic advocacy and resource mobilization activities for the BFFS programme; Undertake project assurance role within the programme, including oversight of monitoring and evaluation activities, project reporting and compliance with UNCDF rules and regulations; Oversee strategic direction of project implementation; Take responsibility for any and all other duties, as required by the management of UNCDF Regional Office. More specifically the Programme Specialist is responsible for: Ensure strategic advocacy and resource mobilization activities for the BFFS programme. More specifically, the Programme Specialist is responsible for: Participating actively in the write-up of the Strategic Results Framework, Integrated Work Plan and Results-Oriented Annual Report, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Planning and Development and the Technical Secretariat in Food Security; Liaising regularly with the UNCDF Regional Advisor for information sharing; Mobilizing resources from Mozambican development partners for the BFFS programme. Undertake project assurance role within the programme, including oversight of monitoring and evaluation activities, project reporting and compliance with UNCDF rules and regulations as well audit follow-up: Support the Government of Mozambique in the follow-up of development interventions to ensure that appropriate planning and reporting mechanisms and tools are completed, Annual Work Plan – AWP & Quarterly/Annual Progress Reports; Review purchase orders and requisitions to ensure these are in accordance with the AWP; Support relevant ministries and line ministries in the implementation of programmatic interventions in Gaza province; Provision of support for the monitoring of project progress against the overall objectives and the annual work plan; Managing assigned resources efficiently. In close collaboration with UNCDF Regional Office, ensure regular budget revision exercises are completed and contribute to meeting the annual programme resource expenditure targets; The Programme Specialist is also responsible for producing monthly financial analysis reports, providing information on the overall programme approval level, outstanding obligations as well as planned and actual expenditure status; Support the Government of Mozambique in the follow-up on the recommendations of programmatic interventions and audits to ensure compliance with the existing rules and regulations. Provide technical support and oversee strategic direction of project implementation. This involves: Review the implementation progress of the project in line with UNDAF and the UNDAF Action Plan; Maintain working relationship with key Government counterparts to ensure their continuing engagement with and understanding of the BFFS programme. Discuss further development interventions with UNCDF Regional Advisor and UNDP Country Office in the country; Initiate and support discussions across and within ministries on decentralized service delivery, capacity development, fiscal decentralization and funding of food security driven local development initiatives; Support for the management of the knowledge generated from the former Decentralized Participatory Planning and Finance programme in northern Mozambique to further enhance programmatic interventions in Gaza province. Provision of support to the Government of Mozambique in the creation of innovative solutions to the challenges of decentralization, fiscal management, and financing food security through local authorities; Contribute to government’s debate on decentralisation, capacity and local development funding for food security policy development; Provision of technical support to forums and workshops to reinforce the implementation of BFFS activities as approved by the Coordinating Institution– Technical Secretariat in Food Security- at local and national level, including the design and delivery of targeted capacity development activities; Provisions of technical support for the generation of food security good practices and ensure their incorporation into national policies, systems and processes; Oversee the development and implementation of the national and local capacity initiatives to support decentralization, fiscal management, as well as the operation of the Food Security driven Local Development Fund. Ensure technical support for the establishment of the Food Security based Local Development Fund, and further reinforce linkages with other related development initiatives and instruments in Mozambique; Establish monitoring frameworks for implementation of the Belgian Fund for Food Security and provide regularly monitoring progress against the identified indicators; Provide technical support to the provincial directorates, responsible parties under the Belgian Fund for Food Security programme, and the Coordinating Agency to ensure progressive implementation of work plans and budgets; Support the development of tools and guidelines that facilitate the achievement of the anticipated food security based outcomes with respect to decentralization and fiscal management. Take responsibility for any and all other duties, as required by the management of UNCDF Regional Office: Be responsive to ad hoc requests and opportunities for contributing to other initiatives to which the post holder is qualified; Expand partnerships with local, national, regional and international partners in the interest of UNCDF and the UN in general.

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