CIFOR-ICRAF
The Resource Mobilization Senior Budget Developer will contribute to CIFOR-ICRAF’s global resource mobilization goal to achieve significant, predictable, multi-year funding to enable flexible support for CIFOR-ICRAF Key Performance Areas (KPA’s). To achieve this goal, CIFOR-ICRAF submit approximately 200 CN/ proposals each year that require high-quality budgets that meet internal and funder requirements.
Many CIFOR-ICRAF funders, including Green Climate Fund (GCF), The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), have introduced additional requirements to finance projects, such as: (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). CIFOR-ICRAF also has the ambition to work more with the private sector. With the short funder deadlines, many CIFOR-ICRAF Project Leads, RMU coordinators, and finance officers need support to respond strategically, with full understanding of funder and internal requirements, in this increasingly complex budgeting environment in their negotiations with funders and partners.
To respond to this more challenging environment, CIFOR-ICRAF is looking for a senior budget developer who can guide CIFOR-ICRAF staff in budget development and negotiation processes. In addition, this position should work with the CIFOR-ICRAF Resource Mobilization Unit (RMU) and Finance Service Unit (FSU) to strengthen our current financial procedures and systems for budget development, taking into consideration these funder requirements, and identify possible improvements for a higher success rate and the mitigation of institutional risks. This person will also strengthen CIFOR-ICRAF staff abilities for budget development planning and the delivery of high-quality budgets.
This will be a staff position with a strong financial background reporting directly to the Head of Resource Mobilization. The position will work very closely with the Finance Manager and Senior Finance Officer from CIFOR-ICRAFs Finance Service Unit (FSU) – Budget and Planning Team. The Senior Budget Developer will provide substantial initiative, judgement, and knowledge of funders, financial systems and regulations, policies and procedures and collaborate closely with Team Leaders, Project Managers, Finance staff and CIFOR’s and ICRAF’s partners. The position requires excellent skills to provide autonomous and effective engagement, advice and support in budget development and negotiation processes.
Duties and responsibilities
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).
Terms and conditions
• This is a Locally Recruited Staff (LRS) position. CIFOR-ICRAF offers competitive remuneration in local currency, commensurate with skills and experience.
• The appointment will be for 1 (one) year with the possibility of extension contingent upon performance, continued relevance of the position and available resources.
• The duty station will be in Bogor, Indonesia; Nairobi, Kenya.
To apply, please visit our career site at:
To learn more about CIFOR-ICRAF, please visit our websites at:
CIFOR-ICRAF promotes Gender Diversity – Applications from women professionals are encouraged.
CIFOR-ICRAF is an equal opportunity employer. It fosters a multicultural work environment that values gender equality, teamwork, and respect for diversity.