The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Govern­ment of the Republic of Tanzania (GoT) have entered into a partnership agree­ment in order to improve the livelihoods of rural people through an intervention focused on smallholder dairy producers.The project goal is to contribute to the transformation of the dairy value chain to improve livelihoods, increase food safety, and to mitigate the impact of the dairy sector on climate change. The development objectiveis to improve income, climate resilience and nutrition of smallholder dairy producers and their participation in a competitive and safe value chain.

The project aims to deliver on the following two interlinked development out­comes, backed with effective project management, monitoring and evaluation; (i) increased climate-smart production, productivity, and resilience of dairy smallholder production systems and; (ii) improved market access for smallhold­er farmers and reduced environmental footprint of the dairy value chain; Climate Smart Smallholder Dairy Transformation Project (C-SDTP) targeted geographical area areMbeya (Rungwe, Mbeya, Mbarali), Iringa (Mufundi, Kilolo, Iringa), Njombe (Njombe, Makete, Wanging’ombe), Tanga (Lushoto, Muheza, Korogwe, Pangani, Tanga), and Morogoro (Mvomero, Kilosa, Morogoro rural) and for Zanzibar, in Unguja (West A, West B, Central, NorthA, NorthB and South districts) and Pemba (Wete, Micheweni, Chakechake and Mkoani districts)anda total of 120,000 households representing 600,000 people, will directly benefit from the project, of which 40% of direct beneficiaries will be women and 30% are youth. The C-SDTP will be managed under the Minisrty of Livestock and Fisheries (MLF) aligned with ministries finance and planning, Vice President’s Office (VPO) and President Office-Regional Administration and Local Govern­ment (TAMISEMI) for mainland; and First Vice President Office in Zanzibar (VP1), Ministry of Finance and Planning President’s Office for Zanzibar, as well as representatives from the private sector and farmers’ organizations.

The Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Office wishes to recruit suitable candidates for the following positions in the project supported with the financial contribution from IFAD

Financial Senior Officer- Dodoma

Reporting directly to the Project Coordinator with technical responsibility to Director of Finance/Chief Accountant MLF, the Finance Senior Officer is a key Project’s personnel responsible for the overall financial management aspects, implementing financial policies, strategies in line with IFAD and Government of Tanzania requirements and international standards.

The main responsibilities of this position will be:

• contribute to the preparation and consolidation of the Annual Work Plan & Budget (AWPB);
• implementation and maintenance of the off-the shelf accounting system ensuring that the chart of accounts and reporting system thereof provides information to link between project activities by category, component and funding source;
• timely input of budget data into the accounting system and production of monthly and quarterly reports regarding aspects of project financial monitoring bringing out variances and advising technical specialist as to the limits of expenditure;
• prepare Interim Financial Report (IFR) quarterly on actual status of funds utilization and cash forecast for next quarters project implementation;
• prepare yearly consolidated statements of project accounts as an integral part of the Management Information System to be submitted to the Project Steering Committee, and subsequently to IFAD;
• prepare financial statements in accordance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) – Cash basis with the prerequisite disclosures for non-cash items and liaise with external auditors to audit the project accounts to meet the required submission dates by IFAD;
• oversee tax matters of the project, ensuring that tax exemptions and tax refunds for the procurement of goods and services for the project are secured at the appropriate time.
• provide training and guidance to project beneficiaries and implementing partners for AWPB activity preparation and submissions and participate in the development and implementation of plans, and procedures for budget request submission activities to ensure that project objectives are achieved in accordance with prevailing government practices which are acceptable to IFAD;
• calculate the cost of services and associated analyses and propose actions to be taken to improve cost-efficiency of services, without affecting quality;
• process documentation and follow up on disbursements from the government and IFAD to ensure that releases are not delayed; ensure that funds for project implementation are disbursed in a timely manner to enable project interventions to be carried out on time;
• prepare and submit regular withdrawal applications (for fund withdrawal and expenditure justification) to IFAD based on IFAD IFR- based disbursement procedures including quarterly cash forecast to ensure adequate liquidity for project implementation;
• follow-up on all project funds released to implementing entities and technical partners for timely retirement and proper utilization;
• ensure that supporting documents to WA are carefully checked for eligibility with relevant financial agreements;
• maintain effective internal control environment for the project by ensuring that:
• All project funds are used in accordance with the conditions of the financing agreements, with due attention to economy and efficiency, and only for the purposes for which the funds were provided;
• counterpart funds have been provided and used in accordance with the conditions of the financing agreements, with due attention to economy and efficiency, and only for the purposes for which they were provided;
• goods and services financed have been procured in accordance with the financing agreement and in accordance with government and IFAD’s rules and procedures;
• all necessary supporting documents, records and accounts are kept in respect of all project activities, with clear linkages between the books of account and the financial statements presented to the financiers;
• designated accounts are maintained in accordance with the provisions of the financing agreement and in accordance with the financier’s rules and procedures;
• provide any support to the procurement unit to assist in procurement for the project in accordance with procedures laid down by Financing Agreements of IFAD and Co-financiers;
• ensure that fixed assets are well accounted for and annual verification is undertaken of the condition of assets and their location;
• ensure the effective and efficient operation of administrative aspects of the Project;
• carry out any other activities that are assigned by the Project

Academic qualifications, experience, skills, and attitudes:

1. Master’s degree in Finance and Accounting, and registered with National Board of Accountants and Auditors (NBAA);
2. At least seven (7) years of experience in financial management of international development project
3. strong managerial skills and demonstrated capacity to manage people and interact with a wide range of private sector partners and government representatives;
4. strong organizational skills. Versatility, ability to multi task and meet deadlines;
5. excellent organizational and analytical skills;
6. excellent computer skills and well-versed in the use of Excel, Word and accounting software;
7. good communication skills and ability to interact with a wide range of private sector partners and government representatives.
8. Holder of NBAA professional courses at Certified Public Accountant (CPA) level;

Required Work Experience

1. At least eight years of relevant work experience, including at least four as a financial manager or accountant in government/donor projects or large institutions;
2. knowledge of work planning, budgeting and reporting;
3. preparing withdrawal applications for external funding agencies;
4. audit management experience in donor funded program.

Duration:

The duration of the assignment will be for five (5) years of yearly performance- based contract, and 6 months’ probation period.. The Finance Senior Officer identification and hiring will be based on competitive recruitment from seconded government staff and/or external candidates.