Director and Controller, FCD

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

Organizational Setting

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating rural poverty and hunger. It does so by investing in rural people. IFAD finances programmes and projects that increase agricultural productivity and raise rural incomes, and advocates at the local, national and international level for policies that contribute to rural transformation.

The Financial Operations Department (FOD) is a dynamic, strategic and responsive business partner responsible to set and implement IFAD's financial strategy and manage its financial and material resources. FOD ensures that IFAD's resources are efficiently, economically and effectively used to achieve the Fund's objectives in the long-term, safeguarding IFAD's financial sustainability, and delivering on its development commitments. FOD is led by the Associate Vice President & Chief Financial Officer and is comprised of three divisions: the Treasury Division (TRE), the Financial Controller's Division (FCD) and the Procurement and Financial Management Division (PFM), and a Development Finance team.

The Financial Controller's Division (FCD) safeguards financial integrity, including the financial statements audit processes and the internal control system assessment, drives innovative, efficient, and technology-driven solutions in financial reporting, loan portfolio management and servicing, disbursements, integrity, and controllership, ensuring IFAD remains robust and financially sound. FCD is led by a Divisional Director and is comprised of four functions: the Financial Reporting and Corporate Finance function, the Disbursements function, the Controllership function, and the Third-Party Integrity Due Diligence function.

The position is located in FOD and the incumbent works under the direct supervision of AVP FOD & CFO.

Job Role

Directors are responsible for managing a Fund division or office and serve on IFAD's senior management team. The main focus of Director positions is strategic leadership, innovation and management. Most typically as a member of a departmental management team, they are responsible for managing and supervising the delivery of a division's programme of work within an allocated budget.

In addition, the Director is also the financial Controller of IFAD which has responsibilities to protect IFAD from issues relating to internal controls and related risks, financial and other reporting, business processes, stewardship of resources and advance mitigation in these areas.

Key Functions and Results

1. VISION AND STRATEGY: Directors develop and promote a strategic vision for translating IFAD's corporate and departmental mandates; strategies, goals and objectives into a divisional programme of work and for ensuring evolving divisional programme activities are integrated in the evolution of departmental goals and objectives. They participate in the design of IFAD's and departmental strategic approaches and ensure that corporate strategies are fully integrated in the design of assigned activities.
2. POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND ADVICE: Directors provide leadership in the development and interpretation of major policies, regulations and rules, and systems that govern the work of a division and ensure they support divisional goals and objectives within the overall Fund mandates and strategies.
3. PROGRAM MANAGEMENT: Directors provide leadership in all phases of the division's medium term planning and management, including operational requirements such as: establishing annual work plans, ensuring regular programme assessment and identifying opportunities for innovation and implementation of best practices generated within the Fund as well as in peer organizations, both private and public.
4. MANAGEMENT OF RESOURCES: Directors are accountable for integrity, transparency, and equity in the management of IFAD resources (human, financial and material). This includes People Management through workforce planning, recruitment, performance management, learning and career management of P and GS staff.
5. REPRESENTATION: Directors serve as designated representatives of the Fund. They catalyse effective partnerships with a broad range of institutions including borrowers, bilateral and multilateral development agencies, UN agencies, funds and programmes, international financial institutions (IFIs), non-governmental organizations and academic institutions for the purpose of programme co-operation, knowledge sharing, policy dialogue and/or resource mobilization.
6. STRATEGIC FCD LEADERSHIP: The Director and Controller leads, plans and oversees the FCD division. The main specialized services provided by FCD include ensuring IFAD's clean external audit opinion and delivery of IFAD's corporate financial and donor reporting per IFRS global professional standards.

Key Performance Indicators

Within IFAD's overall Strategic Framework and Medium Term Plan, Directors establish IFAD's priorities for and provide leadership to division level programme and operational management activities and are accountable for a results-based approach to meeting assigned goals and objectives.

Working Relationships

Within IFAD, Directors provide authoritative advice to senior management on the division's or office's vision, strategic planning, policy, and divisional programme and operational management.

Job Profile Requirements

Organizational Competencies:
- Strategic thinking and organizational development: Strategic leadership
- Demonstrating Leadership: Leads by example; initiates and supports change
- Learning, sharing knowledge and innovating: Challenges, innovates and contributes to a learning culture
- Focusing on clients: Contributes to a client-focused culture
- Problem solving and decision making: Solves complex problems and makes decisions that have wider corporate impact
- Managing time, resources and information: Coordinates wider use of time, information and/or resources
- Team Work: Fosters a cohesive team environment
- Communicating and negotiating: Acquires and uses a wide range of communication styles and skills
- Building relationships and partnerships: Builds and maintains strategic partnerships internally and externally
- Managing performance and developing staff: Manages staff and teams effectively

Education:
Level - Advanced university degree from an accredited institution in a technically relevant area.
Areas - Accounting, Finance, Business Administration or other job related field.

Certifications:
Chartered Accountant (CA), CPA or equivalent from an internationally recognized institute of accountancy is required.

Work experience:
- At least twelve (12) years of progressively responsible professional experience in technically related area of operations;
- Five (5) years experience in a multi-lateral or national organization providing support on a global scope;
- Position-specific experience: Demonstrated experience and ability at leading and managing multicultural teams is required.
- Demonstrated experience in international financial reporting standards (IFRS and/or USGAAP), including ESG reporting.

Languages:
- Required English (4 - Excellent)
- Desirable: French, Spanish, or Arabic (3 - Good)

Skills:
- Leadership: Group thought leader, providing mentorship and effective guidance to others; Ability to build trust, inside and outside the organization by acting as a role model for IFAD's core values and competencies.

Other Information

IFAD staff members are international civil servants subject to the authority of the President of IFAD. In accordance with IFAD's Human Resources Policy, the President can decide to assign them to any of the activities of the Fund. All International Professional staff members are required to be geographically mobile and positions in the professional category are subject to changes in location at any time in line with strategic priorities and reform initiatives in IFAD.

IFAD is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of ethnic, social or political background, colour, nationality, religion, age, gender, disability, marital status, family size or sexual orientation in line with its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Strategy.