Senior Audit Adviser - Terms of Reference

Position Title: Senior Audit Adviser

Location: TBC - Fragile and Conflict-affected States

Background

Adam Smith International is currently building a database of senior audit advisers for a potential assignment.

Main Tasks and Responsibilities

The Adviser’s main tasks and responsibilities include:

Technical inputs

• Provide on-the-job capacity building and training to identified beneficiary institutions with a strong focus on capacity building rather than capacity substitution

• Support the identified SAI in increasing its ability to effectively undertake its mandate and deliver annual compliance and financial audits

• Support the customisation, introduction and application of ISSAI (International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions) based financial audit manual (including the development of audit manual for, support to the preparation of audit reports based on the methodology and training of auditors and managers)

• Support Quality Assurance processes (including the preparation of report and recommendations, suggestions on improvements and support to their implementation)

Project design, implementation, and reporting

• Coordination, communication and stakeholder engagement activities; including facilitating constructive and effective co-operation and coordination across team members and workstreams to ensure all are working towards the overall programme objective

• Preparation and revision of the project’s workplan, including oversight activities to ensure all deliverables are submitted in a timely manner and are of the highest quality

• Providing expert Audit advice and support to the planning, implementation and continuous monitoring of all activities in the program

• Regular program reporting as required (weekly updates, monthly updates, lead the drafting of bi-annual reports, periodic political economy updates, quarterly Key performance Indicator reports, Risk management reports and any other reports as required by the client)

Leadership and strategy

• Providing technical input to, and quality assurance of, any communications products related to the project

• Primary point of contact with the client and senior government stakeholders on a range of PFM and Audit issues and assignments

• Identification of strategic capacity support gaps to be addressed by the program. This will include the design and delivery of activities that will be curated to address this, with a focus on capacity building rather than capacity substitution where possible

• Robust engagement with the development partner, including include face to face interactions, to deliver strategic advice, high level briefs and political economy analysis as required

• Build strong relationships with key counterparts across beneficiary institutions

• Providing leadership and setting the strategic direction of the project, ensuring overall alignment of the workplan with strategic priorities and leading its implementation

• Promoting a culture of learning, adaptation, thinking and working politically

• Regularly consulting senior counterparts to build/maintain relationship, understand their priorities, incentives, concerns, satisfaction with the project’s team and outputs and their motivation underlying any new requests

• Leading relationships with other in-country stakeholders, including other donors, to build understanding of the political context and Government priorities and to coordinate with other reform efforts and projects

Team management

• Providing oversight, guidance and support to the team regarding the implementation of the workplan, ensuring: approaches taken by advisers are effective; connections between workstreams are leveraged; deliverables meet quality expectations, are completed on time and within planned resources; lessons are continually identified and fed back into implementation approaches; deliverables remain aligned with strategic priorities, coherent with wider reform processes, sensitive to the political context and targeted towards maximum impact

• Providing leadership to the technical team where relevant, supporting high performance, retention, well-being, and positive behaviours in line with ASI values and culture

• Coordination of the different project workstreams to ensure that activities are in line with the project’s overall objective

Key competencies and experience

• A qualified audit and financial management expert with a postgraduate degree qualification in public finance, accounting, economics or in a relevant field

• At least 10 years of professional working experience advising, assisting, overseeing or implementing audit reforms

• Experience implementing programs in Fragile and Conflict affected states

• Proficiency in broader PFM reforms such as financial governance, macro-fiscal and financial management

• Political awareness, technical skills and ability to work in complex operating environments and Fragile and Conflict affected states

• Team leader experience with relevant supreme audit institution or ministry of finance in developing countries

• Ability to deliver technical advice and effectively work with government counterparts.

• Ability to demonstrate experience and knowledge of using initiative and being client oriented

• Proven track record of working to the highest ethical standards.

• Ability to work as part of a team, an aptitude to effectively transfer technical knowledge and maintain effective and cooperative relations with national authorities and donors, as well as capacity to handle sensitive issues with discretion in a multicultural environment.

• High level proficiency in English (written and verbal) and excellent report writing skills.

• Excellent communications skills, being able to communicate effectively and diplomatically with a wide range of stakeholders.