Senior Financial Compliance Officer at African Development Bank - AfDB

Position N°: 50100551
Location: Abidjan, Cote D'ivoire
Grade: PL5

Objectives
The Private Sector Credit Enhancement Facility (PSF):

• The PSF is a captive credit risk participation facility that participates in the credit risks of the AfDB’s Non Sovereign Operations (NSOs) in countries eligible to borrow from the African Development Fund (ADF) - namely low income countries. Given its current capital base, the PSF’s target portfolio size stands at UA 1.1 billion of credit exposures.
• Given the specific nature of the PSF as a risk participant in the Bank’s NSO, the ADF Board of Directors exercises oversight over the Facility and approves risk participations by the Facility in each NSO in compliance with the PSF Framework and Guidelines. The PSF Administrator (PSFA) is responsible for the day-to-day management of the PSF and for mobilizing additional resources to increase the Facility’s risk bearing capacity.
• The PSF is financially and operationally autonomous with a total separation of resources from those of the ADB and the ADF. It sources certain middle and back office functions from the ADB.
• The PSFA works closely with relevant departments to ensure these functions are performed in a timely manner and in line with applicable standards and ensure that it meets all performance and financial planning, reporting and audit requirements.

The Position

• Under the Supervision of the PSF Administrator, the objective of the Financial Compliance Officer  is to ensure systematic and effective development and maintenance of statutory documentation, financial reporting and management  guidelines;  provision of technical leadership in the preparation of the PSF’s financial planning; preparation of the PSF’s Profit and Loss (P&L) Account information, (including the preparation of financial projections);  compliance reporting  specifically, compilation of financial statements, adoption of standards; coordination of the preparation and review of billing, income and financial statements, as well as audits and other fiduciary controls.
• The position holder will also coordinate the preparation and ensure follow up of all agreements between the PSF, service providers and third parties; contribute to the preparation of documentation regarding the compliance of candidate transactions for PSF risk participation; contribute to quarterly and annual statutory and contractual reporting activities of the PSFA; lead the preparation and execution of procurement-related activities; identify and monitor key operational and financial management risks and proposing and implement appropriate risk mitigation measures; and contribute to a continuous improvement of the PSF’s processes and guidelines.
• S/he will also be expected to leading internal monitoring and evaluation of the PSF’s performance against key business targets; contributing to initiatives augmenting the PSF’s risk bearing capacity; and any other activities as needed.

Duties and Responsibilities
The Financial Compliance Officer is responsible for:

Financial planning:

• Coordinate the production of the Facility’s Profit and Loss account.
• Lead the production and implementation of PSF operational budgets and program taking into account financial projections, business needs and strategic business objectives.
• Contribute to business planning by producing relevant outputs such as management accounts, financial performance reports, financial projections and budget proposals.

Verification and outsourced financial services:

• Contribute to monitoring the PSF financial data, flag emerging trends control weaknesses and risks, propose remedial action as appropriate, and follow up on recommendations.
• Provide technical guidance on program activities, including: (i) quality of PSF financial management; (ii) on all financial management issues; (iii) quality of preparation of billing, financial reporting and audit queries; (iv) outsourced treasury investment activities.
• Ensure compliance of PSF fiduciary functions both insourced and outsourced.
• Undertake the analytical work in order to provide management with a background for their decision making in support of PSF financial planning , reporting and audit reviews.
• Coordinate with officers of the finance organizational units to collect all the necessary financial management and audit information.
• Coordinate with officers of the Financial Control Department as regards production and verification of financial statements and billing.
• Coordinate with officers of the Treasury Department as regards PSF treasury investment and reporting.

Financial control and reporting:

• Monitor and review quantitative and qualitative data and analyze periodic financial and operation performance ofagainst targets to proactively identify issues that should engage management attention and review consistency with policy and guidelines;
• Coordinate the preparation of the PSF’s periodic financial reports for the ADF Board, Management and audit purposes.
• Prepare management accounts and at a glance reports and tables of exposure indicators as well as of lending monitor program.
• Ensure quality and timely financial management and reporting advice including by making sure PSF periodic reporting is completed using the most recent and updated financial, risk and project information available to the Bank.
• Track key performance indicators for Private Sector Operations (PSO) in which the PSF risk participates.
• Contribute to other PSF reporting, including on the capital relief impact of the PSF on the ADB and the incremental development results of the PSF portfolio.
• Contribute to reporting to support the PSFA’s activities aimed at augmenting the PSF’s risk bearing capacity.

Systems improvements:

• Coordinate periodic review of guidelines, processes and tools, and to ensure they are compliant and aligned with financial management standards.
• Assess the continued compliance with and adequacy of operating accounting systems and related financial controls.
• Liaise with operational, risk, financial management and legal functions to produce and update process maps and identify improvements to current processes and systems. (Including: budgeting, internal control, treasury management, accounting, financial reporting and external auditing).
• Contribute to the preparation and review of PSF guidelines in respect of financial planning, compliance verification, financial reporting and control, performance monitoring and evaluation.

Contributing to initiatives augmenting the PSF’s risk bearing capacity:

• Engage with external investors, donors and guarantors to ensure the financial planning and reporting requirements of their support to the PSF are systematically complied with;
• Coordinate with the financial management and disbursement organizational units, to ensure that related guarantee and administrative fees preparation and payments (to and from third party providers) are undertaken timeously and accurately

Selection Criteria

• At least a Master’s degree or equivalent in Master’s Degree in Finance, Financial Management, Accounting and/or Business Administration.
• Additional qualifications like Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) or similar is highly desirable.
• At least five (5) years of relevant experience in audit, banking and/or financial management– with experience working with IFRS and IAS accounting standards as well as implementing updates;
• Financial management in line with evolving international standards for the credit insurance/guarantee industry.
• Sound understanding of the interrelationship of risks (financial, operational) and application of an integrated risk management approach in assessing the PSF’s performance and proposing remedial action
• Experience in a similar function with credit insurance and/or guarantee providers
• Capable toproactively propose changes and revisions the financial management related guidelines of the PSF to ensure that the PSF maintains a sound financial management framework and that it is not exposed to foreseeable risks;
• In the constantly and fast changing business environment applicable to financial reporting standards- the financial compliance officer alerts the PSFA early enough about new standards and practices that are emerging, formulates and recommends an appropriate policy response;
• Provide technical knowhow working through Bank departments or third party service providers to ensure that the range of financial management related activities associated with the PSF are undertaken timeously and effectively
• Experience working in the Africa region and/or other frontier/emerging markets is highly desirable.
• Proactively proposes changes and revisions the financial management related guidelines of the PSF to ensure that the PSF maintains a sound financial management framework and that it is not exposed to foreseeable risks;
• Proven outstanding analytical capabilities, report writing skills and ability to deal with FM issues innovatively and independently.
• Proven professional report writing ability.
• Problem solving : Applies business knowledge to the resolution of problems and identifies solutions to the benefit of the client (internal and external) and the organization;
• Communication: Provides clear and concise oral and written communication; presents oral information with clarity and appropriate style and adapts language and style to suit the requirements of a particular audience;
• Operational effectiveness :The Commitment to ensure that full use is made of the systems, procedures and culture within the organization in order to deliver the required results;
• Innovation & Creativity: The commitment to search for and produce innovative and creative approaches to activities in order to enhance performance and create added benefits to the Bank and its clients;
• Teamwork & Relationships: Works with others to maximize the effectiveness of the team as a whole, sharing the knowledge and workload. Develops strong working relationships with colleagues and contributes to creation of a positive team environment;
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French with a good working knowledge of the other language.
• Proficient in the use of standard MS Office software applications, particularly Word, PowerPoint, and Excel as well as SAP. Knowledge of SAP would be an advantage
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English is a requirement for this position. (Bilingual in English and French, desirable)