Manager – Municipal Finance (15th FC PMU)
Municipal finance reforms have been a core focus area for Janaagraha since its inception and the Municipal Finance Program is working towards solving one the most important problems being faced by Indian Cities: making them financially sustainable and accountable. We directly work with States and cities for engendering on-ground change through driving systemic reforms and further work towards translating these on-ground reform successes into usable “products” on Cityfinance to bring about “change-at-scale”. Over the years, we have worked with and supported government stakeholders at both central and state level across property tax, urban infrastructure financing, municipal accounting, among other areas.
Janaagraha’s current/recent past engagements include:
- MoUs with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) on strengthening Municipal Finance
- MoU with the Government of Odisha on a wide range of reforms – from accounting and audit to budget and treasury management and urban infrastructure financing.
- Janaagraha has recently also worked with MoHUA to build and launch a dedicated portal – www.cityfinance.in – which serves as a national framework of standardized, timely and credible financial information on cities (ULBs), in addition to facilitating benchmarking, comparison and peer learning between cities (ULBs) on a range of financial and operating indicators
- MoU with various knowledge partners on creating thought-leadership around municipal finance subjects like tax dispute resolution and building a digital ecosystem for tax collections and treasury management
We are looking for a competent professional to be a part of the 15th Finance Commission PMU in the Municipal Finance Program in a role that involves managing government engagements.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
A. Manage government engagement with MoHUA (GoI) for the 15th Finance Commission PMU:
- Lead and manage the day-to-day activities and data-driven deliverables to MoHUA under the 15th Finance Commission Cell, and liaison with MoHUA and other teams for ensuring timely delivery on commitments under the 15th FC Cell
- Provide assistance to MoHUA in preparation of formats for reports & other submissions by ULBs/ States for 15th FC Grants
- Provide assistance to MoHUA in processing & verifying claims submitted by ULBs and recommending for grant
- Provide ongoing data analysis support to MoHUA, and cater to their day-to-day requests for required data/insights, including from information available on cityfinance portal and in general
- Proactively ensure submission of monthly/quarterly dashboard / reports to MoHUA and other government stakeholders (select State/City governments) from time to time
- Support in design, development, operation and maintenance of 15th FC module on cityfinance portal, including workflows, relevant forms/templates/fields for ULBs, interfaces & dashboards for verification of grant claims at different levels of hierarchy etc.
- Ensure compliance of the cityfinance portal to policies and guidelines issued by Government of India from time to time
- Monitor and report any escalation, internally and if required, to MoHUA, w.r.t. application and infrastructure of the cityfinance portal
- Co-ordinate with States/ ULBs to provide clarification on query raised and resolve any technical issue in coordination with tech team
- Hold training sessions for States/ ULBs for using cityfinance and undertake reforms in auditing/ accounting and property tax in coordination with program teams
- Support in creating e-learning modules / content for capacity building of State/ULB officials at scale on the 15th FC grants module and other municipal finance areas as required from time to time
B. Develop insights, thought leadership and create implementation-support tools for advocacy and support to Union/States/ULBs for Municipal Finance Reforms:
- Deepen knowledge and analytical firepower for advancing existing advocacy agendas in Municipal Finance and identify contemporary trends and new advocacy agendas
- Draw up standards for quality and completeness of audited financial statements and SLB data required from the States/ULBs, in consultation with MoHUA
- Support in developing and implementing plans for effective analysis and dissemination of financial & operational performance metrics, available on cityfinance, to relevant State/ULB officials, in consultation with MoHUA
- Interact with States/ ULBs for diagnosing challenges faced and workable solutions in implementation of municipal finance reforms
- Lead the design and drafting of ‘Annual Report on State of Municipal Finances’ to be published by MoHUA, including compilation of best practices in municipal finance from various States/ULBs
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
- Post Graduate or equivalent in finance, economics, business administration, public policy or a Chartered Accountant
- 5+ years of experience in public policy research, government advisory, public finance, business consulting or in a non-profit
- Candidates from alternative academic backgrounds with outstanding academic and career accomplishments and relevant work experience would also be considered
- Proficiency in MS Office suite particularly Excel, Word and PowerPoint, with a working knowledge of analysis of data & visualization
KEY COMPETENCIES
- Existing knowledge or ability and willingness to quickly grasp concepts of Public Finance, Infrastructure Financing and Urban Governance
- Past experience or ability to manage high-stake projects in partnership with external stakeholders, especially senior government officials
- Excellent interpersonal and oral and written communication skills – including strong presentation skills
- Willingness to extend oneself to accomplish work objectives with tight deadlines, simultaneously pursuing excellence
- Demonstrated ability to take ownership of individual projects
- Positive attitude, flexibility and ability to adapt to a dynamic work environment
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Janaagraha is an equal opportunity employer and offers a highly dynamic and enabling work environment. We provide competitive remuneration commensurate with relevant experience skill-sets and background.
This position is based out of Delhi.