Advisor Public Finance Management and Illicit Finance – Support to Inclusive Governance and Reform Processes, IGOR Project

Band: 4

Advisor Public Finance Management and Illicit Finance – Support to Inclusive Governance and Reform Processes, IGOR  Project 

Job Profile

1. Required qualifications, competences and experience

Formal Education

• Master’s Degree in Public Finance, Political Science, Public Administration or closely related field.

Professional Experience

• At least 5 years of progressive professional experience in governance, PFM reforms or AML/CFT reforms
• Demonstrated ability to secure formal agreements with high-level political partners
• Proven experience in project design, implementation, monitoring and reporting
• Extensive experience in working with government institutions and/or NGOs

Other knowledge, additional competences

• Native Arabic language skills, near native English language skills
• Good working knowledge of ITC technologies and related software (e.g. MS Outlook, MS Office, MS Excel, MS Power Point)
• Excellent time management skills and ability to organize a daily workload by priorities
• A proactive approach to problem-solving with attention to details and ability to multi- task
• Must be able to meet deadlines in a fast-paced quickly changing environment
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Gender sensitivity
• Ability and willingness to travel inside Lebanon as needed by the project.
• Technical digital knowledge in Office 365, including OneDrive, MS Teams and SharePoint.
• Basic knowledge of the EU GDPR and general understanding of Information Security.

2. Major Responsibilities

Major Responsibilities

In your role, you support the overall implementation of the project with all its technical and organisational activities. In consultation with your line manager, you will be responsible for planning, steering and monitoring of project activities. You ensure that tasks in your area of work are dealt with promptly and thoroughly and GIZ rules and regulations are adhered to. You engage actively in knowledge exchanges with other stakeholders in the governance sector and assume a proactive role in communication processes. Additionally, you are required to perform tasks assigned to you by your line manager where required.

More specifically, In your role, you support the technical implementation of the GIZ IGOR project in the fields of Public Financial Management (PFM) and combating illicit financial flows, including Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT). You work in close collaboration with another advisor and with Lebanese partner institutions, in particular the Ministry of Finance, as well as other relevant public bodies and oversight institutions.

You ensure that activities in your area of work are technically sound, context-appropriate and aligned with Lebanese reform priorities, and that GIZ rules and regulations are adhered to. You actively contribute to coordination and knowledge exchange within the governance cluster and with other development partners.

The responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:

• Providing technical advisory services to the Ministry of Finance and other relevant institutions on the design and implementation of PFM and AML/CFT reforms (e.g. budget preparation and execution, internal control and audit, fiscal transparency, risk-based AML/CFT frameworks).
• Supporting the planning, steering and monitoring of project activities related to PFM and AML/CFT, in close coordination with the international advisor and your line manager. Steering and technical backstopping of Grant Agreements with local NGOs.
• Pro-actively contributing to the development and implementation of capacity-building measures (trainings, workshops, coaching) for staff of partner institutions in the areas of public finance, AML/CFT and related governance reforms.
• Preparing technical inputs (analyses, policy notes, recommendations, draft procedures, tools) that support evidence-based decision-making by Lebanese counterparts.
• Facilitating inter-institutional coordination between the Ministry of Finance and other relevant actors (e.g. financial intelligence, central bank, supervisory bodies, judiciary, oversight institutions) to improve the effectiveness and coherence of reforms.
• Contributing to monitoring, reporting, communication and knowledge management related to PFM and AML/CFT activities within the project and the GIZ Lebanon governance cluster.
• Contribute to team-internal learning and growth, sharing lessons learnt through proper knowledge management with the team and GIZ Lebanon as a whole.

Tasks

The position holder:

• Contributes to the design of project interventions in the PFM and AML/CFT areas and sets-up respective project activities for implementation, i.e. through direct-implementation or through implementing partners (consultants, NGOs).
• Tendering large-scale consultancy contracts, prepares and reviews terms of reference for national and international consultants, studies and training providers related to PFM and AML/CFT topics, and technically backstops their work.
• Advises and supports Lebanese counterparts, in particular the Ministry of Finance and relevant supervisory and oversight bodies, such as the Financial Intelligence Unit, in implementing the FATF Action Plan for Lebanon, with a specific focus on strengthening the regulation and supervision of DNFBPs.
• Advises and supports the Lebanese counterparts in implementing the FATF Action Plan’s items on improving the Beneficial Ownership data regime in Lebanon, in close coordination with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Finance and others.
• Organises, coordinates and co-facilitates workshops, trainings, technical meetings and missions with the Ministry of Finance and other partner institutions, ensuring follow-up on agreed actions.
• Drafts or contributes to technical documents such as guidelines, standard operating procedures, manuals, checklists and tools aimed at strengthening public financial management and AML/CFT practices.
• Maintains regular technical dialogue and coordination with focal points in the Ministry of Finance and other key institutions (e.g. financial intelligence, supervisory bodies, oversight entities) to ensure coherence and complementarity of reforms.
• Contributes to coordination with other international partners and programmes working on PFM, AML/CFT and governance in Lebanon to ensure complementarity and avoid duplication of efforts.
• Ensures proper knowledge management, filing and sharing of lessons learnt on project, GIZ Lebanon Cluster-level and within GIZ Lebanon as a whole.

Project Description: “Support to Inclusive Governance and Reform Processes: *

Lebanon is facing an unprecedented crisis characterized by political stagnation, economic collapse, and social tensions. Corruption is deeply entrenched at all levels of governance, eroding public trust and undermining institutional efficiency. Civil society plays a crucial role in addressing the crisis by voicing grievances and promoting social participation but faces significant challenges, including limited resources, brain drain, and insufficient cooperation with government agencies. International organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund, have tied their support programs to long-overdue reforms in governance and anti-corruption. The recent "grey listing" by the Financial Action Task Force for deficiencies in combating money laundering and terrorist financing has added further pressure for reform. While Lebanon has adopted some reform plans and strategies, substantial deficits in their implementation persist. Overall, governance suffers from a pronounced lack of accountability, transparency, and performance, which continues to deteriorate the state-citizen relations. This has created an urgent need to address systemic weaknesses and rebuild trust between citizens and institutions.

In response, the project "Supporting Inclusive Governance and Reform Processes in Lebanon" aims to strengthen governance by enhancing accountability, transparency, participatory decision-making, municipal performance management, and civil society. It focuses on building the capacities of key governmental bodies at the national level, such as the Lebanese National Anti-Corruption Commission and the Public Procurement Authority, as well as at the local level by promoting participatory governance in selected municipalities. Civil society actors and journalists are empowered through training in investigative journalism, evidence-based reporting, and transparency mechanisms, thereby enhancing their oversight role and ability to hold the government accountable.