Financial Management and System Developer Specialist

Organizational Setting

Eswatini has a significant and immediate need for investment in climate change mitigation and adaptation. The amount of climate finance received and disbursed, to date, covers only a small portion of the actual need. The costs of implementing the country’s Nationally Determined Contributions is conditional on receiving adequate means for implementation, including finance in addition to technology development and transfer and capacity building. The financial needs of the country as highlighted in the revised NDC (2021) ranges from USD 950 million to USD 1.5 billion required for the various national and sectoral strategies and action plans achieve net zero emission pathways. With the current situation of the country relying on multilateral organizations for accessing climate finance for implementation of climate change adaptation and mitigation interventions, the NDC targets cannot be met. 

The Government of Eswatini through the National Designated Authority (NDA) identified GCF Country Priority investment areas in alignment with the 8 GCF result areas program, which need a robust resource mobilization to be achieved, however the NDA lacks direct channels to access GCF resources for the projects in the country’s priority investment areas as there is no DAEs in the country. To address this gap, the NDA nominated two national institutions as candidate DAEs which are Eswatini Bank (EB) and Eswatini Environment Authority (EEA). However, the nominated DAEs have limited capacity and policy framework to fulfil the GCF fiduciary requirements. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was selected as a delivery partner to facilitate the accreditation process for the nominated DAEs and has accessed a readiness grant to facilitate capacity building for the NDA and the nominated DAEs. 

The main objective of this readiness is to strengthen national capacities to access climate finance in Eswatini through supporting two national institutions to be accredited to GCF contribute to national climate action, develop a prefeasibility study that would be used by the two institutions and enhance knowledge and awareness of stakeholders on GCF and climate change.

The readiness project will strengthen institutional capacities for nominated entities; Eswatini Bank (EB) and Eswatini Environment Authority (EEA), support implementation of entities works programmes that are aligned to the GCF country programme and support the establishment of collaborative agreements with national private companies and regional accredited entities for enhanced resources mobilization capacities. The main beneficiaries of this project are Eswatini Environment Authority, Eswatini Bank and Ministry of Tourism and Environment and Ministry of Finance.

Reporting Lines

The incumbent will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Representation, the technical supervision of the FAO Lead Technical Officer (LTO) and other relevant FAO Project Team Members and in close collaboration with government focal points

Technical Focus

The objective of this incumbent is to design and develop a web-based financial management system that automates core financial processes, including budgeting, forecasting and reporting. To ensure the system is user-friendly, scalable, and secure, accommodating future growth in functionality and user access. To integrate the system with existing databases and software applications to enable seamless data flow and eliminate duplicate efforts. To provide training and support to end-user to ensure effective utilization of the system.

Tasks and responsibilities

The incumbent will perform the following duties:

•    Engage with stakeholders to elicit and document system requirements, focusing on the specific financial processes that need automation or enhancement.
•    Creates wireframes and system architecture that facilitates user experience and align with technical specification. 
•    Builds the web-based application using appropriate technologies (e.g HTML, TailwindCSS, React, Node.js, Python (Django RESTFul API), etc) with a focus on efficient database management.
•    Develops APIs or other methods for integrating the system with existing financial and operational systems.
•    Conducts comprehensive testing (unit, integration, user acceptance) to ensure the system meets all functional and non-functional requirements.
•    Implement the system in a live environment, ensuring that all users have access based on define roles and permissions.
•    Produces clear documentation for both technical and end-user perspectives, including user manuals and system operation guides.
•    Offer training sessions for staff to enable them to utilize the new system effectively.
•    Provides ongoing support and maintenance services to ensure optimal system performance.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements  
  
•    Bachelor’s degree in finance, Computer Science, Information Technology, and Business Administration and any other related field 
•    Seven (7) years of experience as a front-end software developer

•    Working knowledge (proficient – level C) of English
•    National of Eswatini.

FAO Core Competencies

•    Results Focus
•    Teamwork
•    Communication
•    Building Effective Relationships
•    Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills 

•    Master’s degree in information technology, Finance, Business Administration with concentration in finance or information systems can be advantageous.
•    Proficiency in programming languages such as Java, C#, Python, or Java Script is essential
•    Familiarity with web frameworks (e.g React, Angular, or Vue.js) and backend technologies (e.g Node.js, NET, or PHP)
•    Knowledge of database management systems like SQL, Oracle, or MongoDB
•    Understanding of financial software and tools, such as Excel, EPR systems, or specialised financial modelling software
•    Strong analytical skills, excellent communication skills, problem-solving abilities, teamwork and collaboration skills.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION