Improved budget development
Support the development of 75 - 100 high quality budgets per year closely following funder instructions and templates. Advice on smart budget presentation for higher scores on funder assessment criteria, including on: (i) value for money, (ii) coverage for implementation, (iii) any budget related risks at the project implementation phase.
Contribute to processes, systems and tools that support improvement of the budget development culture, in which budget development is timely, efficient and allows quality reviews for better compliance with both funders and internal requirements.
Provide advice and facilitate coordination to Principal Investigator (PI), RM TL, finance manager budget and planning and the Director Corporate Services for the development of more complex budgets that require: (i) leveraged finance (public/ private), (ii) project co-financing, (iii) project investment from a variety of financial instruments, such as grants, loans, equity, blended finance, (iv) limitations for overhead recovery and (v) additional requirements (e.g. bank guarantees).
Budget Negotiations and mitigation of budget related risks
Provide verbal and written justifications to funders and internal teams to ensure compliance with both internal and funder requirements.
Consult and seek approval of the TL RMU, finance management budget and planning and Director Corporate Services through our systems, in particular in non-standard negotiation processes.
Ensure that re-negotiated budgets are reviewed and approved.
Improved collaboration between budget planning and implementation teams
Ensure budgets for high probability submissions are updated in both funder and CIFOR-ICRAF templates, and provide the required inputs for internal planning systems, such as the Planning of Work and Budget (PoWB).
Facilitate budget handover meetings together with the project lead, project management unit (PMU) and FSU.
Education, knowledge and experience
Master's degree in finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field and professional finance qualifications (an undergraduate degree with a minimum of 7 years' relevant work experience will be considered).
Minimum 7 years' experience supporting resource mobilization processes with proven track record of raising substantial funds for international organizations, UN agencies, and/or international non-governmental organizations.
Knowledge of financial requirements of key international and national funders.
Expertise in strategic budgeting with strong understanding of project cycle management.
Advanced Excel and spreadsheet proficiency.
Fluency in English (French and/or Spanish desirable).
The application deadline is10 Jan 2025
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