Technical Analyst

The Government of the Republic of Serbia continued to pursue the Public Administration Reform (PAR) agenda at an accelerated pace and worked towards improving accountability and further rationalizing the use of public resources. In order to underpin fiscal consolidation and strengthen governance, the Government committed to implementing structural fiscal policy measures as part of Public Finance reform, aiming to increase fiscal transparency, introduce fiscal impact assessments of new legislative initiatives, strengthen cash management, internal control, and external audit and to raise the efficiency of revenue collection by further strengthening Tax and Customs administrations. 

As a successor to the previous strategic framework in this area, the new Public Finance Management Reform Programme for the period 2021-2025 (PFM RP) was adopted by the Government on Serbia in late June 2021. It complements the Public Administration Reform Strategy 2021-2030 (PAR Strategy) of April 2021 and bases its premises on the conclusions of the recently conducted Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) , the SIGMA  Monitoring Report , the key recommendations of the 2021 EU Progress Report for Serbia and pillar specific requirements which derive from the EU accession process and set five key medium term reform priorities  which aim to contribute to ensuring effective financing of Government policies through a sound system of public internal financial management and control and a sustainable public debt. 

The new PFM Reform Program relies to a great extent on the obligations that Serbia has assumed as part of EU accession negotiations under relevant chapters and even though Public Finance Management Reform is classified in the Fundamental cluster according to the new methodology for EU accession, it extends beyond encompassing several other horizontal issues which include macroeconomic stability, good governance, business environment and transparency. In that sense, it is an overarching framework which fundamentally integrates functional and EU accession requirements under chapters 5 – Public Procurement, 16 – Taxation, 22 – Regional Policy and Structural Instruments, 17 – Economic and Monetary Policy, 29 – Customs Union, 32 – Financial Control and 33 – Financial and Budgetary Provisions. The obligations assumed as part of the accession negotiations as well as the closing benchmarks (where they have been defined to date) will navigate the implementation of the PFM RP and serve as the fundamental source for the verification of the results that are anticipated to be achieved. 

The EU Public Financial Reform (PFM) Facility aims to provide effective technical support and assistance to the beneficiary institutions in Serbia in line with the draft IPA 2021 Action Document in key areas of Chapter 5 - Public Procurement, Chapter - 16 Taxation, Chapter - 29 Customs Union, and Chapter 32 - Financial Control of Serbia’s EU accession negotiations with a focus on strengthening IT systems of Tax and Customs Administration and Public Internal Financial Control issues. 

The overall objective of the PFM Facility Action is to enhance the efficiency of budget execution, public Finance Management and Public Internal Financial Control in line with EU standards and best practices. In order to achieve this objective, a set of focused activities will be defined during the inception phase and will be implemented under the following five outcomes: 

1. Preconditions for effective exchange of information on Value Added Tax with EU members states met
2. Operational and administrative capacities of Customs Administration strengthened and interoperability of the Serbian Customs IT system with the EU is ensured
3. Public sector management and accountability are improved through strengthened Financial Management and Control systems and Internal Audit
4. Efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of public procurement procedures in Serbia are enhanced
5. Selected priority areas of public finance management reform supported

UNDP has been actively supporting Public Administration Reform and in particular, Public Finance Management Reform since 2000. The activities increased and intensified over the years as UNDP’s relationships with the institutions which were established after the first democratic elections in Serbia strengthened, coupled with the need to modernize public sector management, and ensure a fully functioning and accountable public finance management system based on the highest international standards, and since 2014, EU accession requirements.

The UNDP CO in Serbia has implemented a total of 37 technical assistance projects in the field of PFM reform from 2004 to date, with an overall budget of 23 million USD. 

The EU PFM Facility will be implemented by the UNDP Public Finance Portfolio of the Good Governance Cluster.

In light of the abovementioned and the project document, the UNDP is seeking to engage the Technical Analyst for Public Internal Financial Control (PIFC), Public Procurement and horizontal support to PFM Reform, under the project Outcomes 3, 4 and 5. 

The Technical Analyst for Public Internal Financial Control (PIFC), Public Procurement and horizontal support to PFM Reform will be responsible for the provision of technical expert support in the implementation of project activities under three assigned project Outcomes (3, 4 and 5), regular liaison with project beneficiary staff, provision of support with mobilizing senior and junior experts, reporting on implementation of project activities with the assigned project Outcomes and other technical support to the Policy Specialists (for Public Internal Financial Control and PFM Reform Policy Coordination, and Public Procurement) and the manager in charge of the PFM Facility. S/he will report directly to the manager in charge of the PFM Facility.

The key responsibilities include:

• Provide technical expert advice and support in the implementation of programmatic activities under project Outcomes (3 and 4) and effective monitoring and internal project reporting on projects/interventions implemented under Outcome 5;
• Enable conditions and create environment for mobilizing and work of senior and junior experts, including preparation of Terms of Reference and other relevant project documentation;
• Coordinate, closely monitor the activities and consolidate inputs from national and international technical experts and consultants, to ensure the quality of the submitted work; 
• Provide expert advice in facilitating consultations with national partners and stakeholders on relevant regulatory and strategic recommendations and support the Policy Specialists in coordinating the implementation of the respective Outcomes; 
• Review, provide quality assurance, and finalize relevant technical documents and specifications produced by Senior and Junior Experts;
• Support policy advocacy and communication, draft monthly PFM policy briefs and provide technical and policy inputs to Policy Specialists for Outcomes 3,4 and 5;
• Monitor project and programme compliance with corporate and donor reporting requirements, review project reports prior to dissemination, and provide feedback to improve quality and timeliness of reporting. 
• Draft policy briefs and concept notes and provide inputs for reporting on implementation of project activities with the assigned project Outcomes; 
• Support effective coordination with M&E and Communication Teams and conduct research on project activities, identifying success stories/lessons learned and documenting it for further dissemination;
• Perform any other duties as required.             

Institutional Arrangement

The Technical Analyst for Public Internal Financial Control (PIFC), Public Procurement and horizontal support to PFM Reform will work under the overall guidance and supervision of the manager in charge of the PFM Facility. 

• Experience in managing large scale policy-level PAR/PFM projects is an asset;
• Experience in public sector institutional (re)structuring is an asset;
• Prior work in the UN system shall be considered an asset;
• Good organizational and time management skills;
• Good application of Results-Based Management;
• Good communication, coordination and facilitation skills;
• Consistently ensures timeliness and quality of portfolio work;
• Establishes lasting relationships and substantive dialogue with clients;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
• Strong oral and written communication skills;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Demonstrates integrity by modeling.

Languages:

• Fluency in Serbian and English (written and spoken).