Head of Programme & Budget Division

Organization Information

Reports to: Director of Finance
Directorate/Department/Organ: Finance
Division: Programme and Budget
Number of Direct Reports: 2
Number of Indirect Reports: 6
Job Grade: P5
Number of Positions: 1
Contract Type: Regular

Purpose of Job

To provide leadership in designing of strategies and policies and engagement of relevant stakeholders including supervision and management of the Division.

Main Functions

• Leads the programs planning, budgeting and reporting for the Union;
• Responsible for advising senior management in setting key annual program and project priorities and targets;
• Ensures that departments and Organs adhere to AU Financial Rules governing budget planning, programming, execution, monitoring and reporting;
• Custodian of the AU Budget manual, cost catalogue and other instruments for budgeting, budget execution, monitoring and execution, and facilitate their revisions where necessary;
• Acts as the Secretariat to the Sub-Committee on General Supervision Coordination on Administrative, Budgetary and Financial matters, F15 (Committee of 15 Ministers of Finance), Sub-committee on Programs and Conferences, Ministerial Committee on the Scale of Assessment and Contributions;
• Initiates and leads the institutional budget reforms where necessary;
• Guides in developing strategies on resource mobilization in collaboration with Resource Mobilization Division;
• Oversees preparation of quarterly budget execution reports for the attention of Commission management, PRC and its sub-Committees, and Executive Council;
• Coordinates with departments to review plans, determines budgetary needs, gathers information, monitors programs, and makes recommendations on budget preparation, presentation, implementation and interpretation;
• Coordinates with departments to design performance measures and responsible for reporting models to demonstrate that objectives are being met;
• Assures the accuracy of budgetary information and research.

• Supervises and evaluates assigned staff, including hiring, training and providing appropriate feedback on performance;
• Plans, coordinates, prioritizes and reviews work of assigned division staff;
• Responds to inquiries related to budget issues;
• Directs the preparation of budget reports;
• Analyzes department budgets to maintain control of expenditures and Ensures that budgets are executed in accordance with generally accepted accounting practices;
• Analyzes trends affecting expenditures and adjust budgets accordingly and Performs cost- benefit analyses on all programs and operational Budget in order to Match appropriations with specific programs;
• Examines budgets for accuracy and compliance with AU Budget Manual and rules;
• Provides technical assistance to the relevant departments of the Commission and other AU Organs with cost analysis and is the custodian on the implementation and management of budgetary policies and procedures;
• Monitors Organization policies and develops new operational procedures for AUC in order to increase efficiency (Budget Guideline Operational Procedure, and the first AU Budget Midterm review).

Specific Responsibilities

Programme Management

• Leads design of programs, and their implementation in conformity with the AU Budget manual, AU FR and other relevant policies and rules;
• Identifies the key annual priority programs in line with the Agenda 2063 “Africa we want” and advising senior management;
• Leads the budget preparation;
• Documents key lessons learnt, challenges and recommendations in program implementation;
• Provides input to the annual program planning meeting organized by the AU-AUDA, APRM and other organs;
• Ensures synergy and complementarity in AU programs
• Facilitates the organization of the meetings of the sub-committee of program and conferences to approve the annual programs and the budget framework paper;
• Takes lead in providing input in the preparation of the budget framework paper;
• Institutionalizes the results based approach methodology in AU programming and reporting.

Program Planning

• Supports the departments and Organs to develop project plans in line with approved programs;
• Provides leadership, coordinates, and administers the strategic planning process for programs and projects of the Union;
• Participates in development, implementation and maintenance of policies, objectives, short-and long-range planning;
• Monitors and reports on the first 10-years implementation plan of Agenda 2063;
• Reviews, analyses and finalizes the preparation of plans and their revisions, taking into account recommendations and decisions of various AU policy organs;
• Reviews the overall AU program and operational objectives and related financial/budgetary policies and procedures affecting AU planning and reporting systems; makes recommendations on improvements or modifications; takes lead in planning design and implementation of required changes.

Budgeting and Reporting

• Develops and manages annual capital and/or operating budgets; oversees, monitors, and coordinates program budgets, as appropriate;
• Issues the budget call including the budget overview paper; develops the AU budget calendar;
• Provides substantive support to relevant AU policy organs in their review of budgets and plans; assists in securing approval from the Executive Council;
• Acts as Certifying Officer for funds availability under AU Financial Rules;
• Leads the development of AU budget (both projected revenue and expenditure), including the development of the budget overview documents and templates, creation of tools to develop work plans and reconciliation of budgets with programmatic work plans and expected results;
• Leads processes and communications regularly working with department/organs budget owners across the organization to monitor and revise budgets throughout the year and life of project(s);
• Ensures compliance with current budget and spending policies, and propose improved policies and systems regarding spending guidelines, cost savings, cost allocation, and annual planning.

Academic Requirements and Relevant Experience

• Master’s university degree in Business Administration, Finance or a related field with twelve (12) years of relevant work experience in Budgeting, Reporting, Program Planning seven (7) years of which should have been served at managerial level and five (5) years at supervisory level;
• Certification as a Chartered Accountant (CA), Expert Comptable or equivalent is an added advantage;
• Hands-on experience in managing budget functions, coordinating budget preparation process, and directing the implementation and reporting of budgets;
• Demonstrate experience in applying International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) specifically for budgeting reporting and in-depth understanding of financial rules and budgetary processes of a large international organization;
• Extensive experience in managing complex stakeholders in similar role;
• Experience in the development of policy, guidance or guidelines in budgeting in large international organizations;
• Work experience in the use of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems such as SAP;

Required Skills

• Ability to initiate and promote collaborative approaches between geographically and culturally disparate partners
• Ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations both internally and externally
• Ability to develop and delegate clear program goals, plans and actions, including budgets, that are consistent with agreed strategies
• Ability to effectively lead, supervise, mentor, develop and evaluate staff
• Proficiency in one of the AU official working languages (French, English, Portuguese, and Arabic) and fluency in another AU language(s) is an added advantage.

Leadership Competencies

Core Competencies

Functional Competencies