Finance Expert

JOB DESCRIPTION/SCOPE OF WORK

Position Title: Finance Expert

This scope of work sets forth the professional services to be provided by a suitably qualified and experienced financial expert to coordinate the USAID and GF support to the FMOH through the USAID Global Health Supply Chain- Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) project (to be known subsequently as TA contractor on this SOW), to review the financial management and internal control framework and procedures for the PPP project, including revenue sharing, payment mechanisms, and risk allocation while ensuring value for money. FMOH/FDS will take the lead on financial structuring design decisions with input from the Expert and will direct the Expert’s work within a larger Project Development Team (PDT) that also includes a Project Team Leader, a Procurement Expert, and a Legal Expert. The Finance Expert will work out of the FMOH/Food and Drug Services office in Abuja and will report on the progress to both FMOH and USAID.

Background

Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GF) constructed two Pharma-grade Warehouses: the Abuja Premier Medical Warehouse (APMW) and the Lagos Federal Medical Warehouse (LFMW). The purpose of these modern warehouses was to ensure effective and sustainable storage of government and donated public health commodities.

To ensure the effective operation and maintenance of these state-of-the-art medical warehousing facilities, while also addressing challenges related to inventory management, human resources, and quality assurance, FMOH and USAID signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) establishing an agreement that these two pharmaceutical-grade storage facilities to be operated, managed, and maintained by a private party selected through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. Using a competitive procurement process, FMOH selected a private operator and awarded a five-year contract to operate and manage the two warehouses.

This PPP contract is coming to term on May 14, 2024. Therefore, FMOH is planning to refresh the tendering process to achieve greater value for money through (i) effective competition and (ii) access to qualified and capable service providers. The FMOH Food and Drug Services Division will lead the design and tendering process. USAID and the Global Fund will provide supportive assistance through the provision of technical assistance by a team of selected consultants.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities (Essential Functions)

• Coordinate the TA contractor’s support to the FMOH to assess the financial management and internal control framework and procedures in place for the current PPP contract.
• Document recommendations to address the identified weaknesses and improve oversight and accountability for funds generated and expended by the warehouse operator.
• Make inputs into the evaluation of the PPP contract policies related to expenditures and revenue sharing to ensure a sufficient understanding of the design of relevant control policies and procedures that will guide the FMOH final position.
• Work with the TA contractor and FMOH to develop a framework for proper records of the financial transactions and reporting (monthly, quarterly, and annual) by the warehouse operator to relevant parties in line with the contract terms.
• Establish internal control procedures to ensure that invoices and vouchers presented by the operator for warehouse maintenance and management services represent actual expenditures that are reasonable and allowable under the contract.
• Ensure adequate internal controls over the human resources management and asset management systems.
• Support the FMOH to carry out contract negotiations through to the contract award and signature.
• Support FMOH to onboard the new contractor and facilitate the transition and handover of APMW and LFMW warehouse management services to the new contractor.

Job Qualification

• Advanced degree – M.B.A. degree in Finance/Chartered Accounting certification and at least 7 – 10 years of successful, verifiable, and relevant experience in a project finance environment.
• Experience in evaluating and financing infrastructure investments from a government/ private sector view, project finance, PPPs, and resource mobilization, will be an advantage preferably in healthcare.
• Expertise in financial and economic analysis of PPP projects, including Cost-Benefit Analysis.
• Must be a good manager who is self-driven and proactive.
• Must be able to analyze and solve complex problems.
• Must have a balanced personality with excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Must be able to work independently as well as part of a team.
• Excellent spoken and written English.

Supervision

The Finance Expert will report directly to the Director, Warehousing and Distribution or Designee.

Working Conditions/Duration of Assignment

This is a long-term position of the life of the contract based in Abuja, Nigeria.