International Lead Consultant – Public Financial Management Reform Prioritization and Institutional Strengthening Support for Botswana – MGD

Job Description

Result of Service

A comprehensive, government-endorsed PFM Reform Prioritization and Sequencing Plan that provides a clear, actionable, and evidence-based framework for implementing early-stage PFM reforms in Botswana. The plan will enhance fiscal credibility, strengthen institutional coordination, and lay the foundation for sustainable modernization of the country’s PFM system in line with its National Development Plan and economic transformation objectives.

Work Location

Virtual with field visits to Botswana

Expected duration

2 months.

Duties and Responsibilities

Background

Botswana’s Public Financial Management (PFM) system has historically supported fiscal discipline and macroeconomic stability. However, recent IMF diagnostics highlight structural weaknesses in financial control, accounting, and reporting that undermine fiscal credibility. Key challenges include an outdated legal framework, lack of consolidated financial statements, an obsolete Chart of Accounts, instability in the Government Accounting and Budgeting System (GABS), and weak commitment controls leading to arrears. These issues arise as Botswana advances National Development Plan 12 and the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme, both of which emphasize efficiency, transparency, accountability, and results-oriented spending.

In response, the Government has launched a four-year PFM transformation programme and requested UNECA’s technical assistance to strengthen institutional capacity and guide reform sequencing. ECA has confirmed readiness to provide upstream support to clarify priorities and establish a coherent framework for early reform actions. A carefully sequenced foundational phase is essential to ensure alignment, institutional readiness, and effective coordination before embarking on complex legal and technological reforms. This proposal therefore focuses on establishing the policy and institutional framework to guide early reform measures, laying the groundwork for sustainable modernization aligned with international standards and national priorities.

Duties and Responsibilities

The international consultant will support the development of a government-endorsed Prioritization and Sequencing Plan for early PFM reform actions, guiding the initial phase of the country’s transformation programme. The consultant will undertake all assigned duties, including data collection and analysis, as well as the drafting and facilitation of the endorsement of the PFM prioritization and sequencing report. The work will be conducted under the supervision of ECA.

Under the supervision of the Director of the Macroeconomics and Governance Division (MGD) of UNECA, the consultant will be responsible for undertaking the following duties and responsibilities:

• Through careful analysis of relevant literature and country reports, produce a roadmap for prioritisation and sequencing of PFM reform actions to guide engagement with relevant stakeholders for buy-in and endorsement.

• Develop prioritization criteria considering institutional readiness, fiscal impact, legal implications, implementation feasibility, reform interdependencies, digital system dependencies, and governance risks.

• Building on the roadmap, elaborate guiding stakeholder engagement tools, including identification of relevant institutions (government, private and international institutions), a well designed questionnaire to secure stakeholders’ buy in of the relevance, prioritisation and sequencing of the proposed PFM actions.

• Undertake stakeholder mapping and institutional analysis to identify reform champions, coordination bottlenecks, accountability structures, and change management requirements.

• Conduct institutional capacity and political economy assessments to identify operational risks and implementation constraints affecting reform sequencing.

• Undertake data collection and analysis, and develop inputs for the design of the PFM reform action plan, including facilitating its national endorsement.

• Develop a national prioritisation and sequencing of PFM reform actions report and ensure its endorsement by the government of Botswana.

• Facilitate consensus-building among key government institutions and support formal endorsement processes for the proposed reform roadmap.

• Provide recommendations on institutional governance arrangements and coordination mechanisms required for effective implementation oversight of the PFM reform programme.

• Ensure transfer of knowledge, methodologies, and analytical tools to national counterparts throughout the assignment. Ensure the final report includes short, medium and long-term reform actions, institutional responsibilities, implementation dependencies, monitoring indicators, and indicative resource implications. Reporting Arrangements The consultant will report directly to UNECA and work closely with the Ministry of Finance, Office of the Accountant General and designated Government focal points. Confidentiality Clause All reports, tools, methodologies, and outputs produced under this assignment shall remain the property of UNECA and the Government of Botswana.

Qualifications/special skills

• An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in economics or a related field is required.
• A PhD degree in economics or a related field is desirable.
• A minimum of (15) years of progressive experience in Public Financial Management Reforms, economic analysis, fiscal policy and governance reforms, or related field is required.
• Experience in supporting developing countries, especially African countries on matters related to fiscal policy reform, public financial management and design of national strategies is required.
• Experience in engaging with governments and international organizations on issues related to fiscal and public financial management is desirable.
• Excellent analytical, report writing, facilitation, stakeholder engagement, and consensus-building skills are required.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in written and oral English is required.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.