Strategic Development Consulting (SDC) in the frameworks of the USAID’s Strengthening Resource Mobilization Activity is publishing a  

Call for  

Municipal Access to Finance Specialist (full-time position) 

1. Project Background

USAID/ North Macedonia Strengthening Resource Mobilization Activity is a five-year contract (till January 2026) which works with North Macedonia’s local governments to measurably increase municipal own-source resources and external funds and increase their budget execution rate in compliance with the Government of North Macedonia’s budgeting and reporting requirements. The Project has been working with the local governments, the Government and key stakeholders to: 1) enhance the quality of municipal tax and fee collection systems; 2) increase Local Government Units (LGUs)’ capacity to access external resources from the national government or international organizations’ funds and/or capital markets and banks; 3) improve LGUs’ ability to plan, manage and implement public sector revenues in compliance with Government of North Macedonia’s regulations; and 4) enhance the decentralization process.

The Municipal Access to Finance Specialist will provide support to local self-government units (LSGUs) to prepare project proposals created in consultation with civil society and the business community and to identify and access external funds (various conditional capital grants from the Government of North Macedonia and donor programs). As part of the Project team s/he will work on strengthening the skills of and instill confidence in LSGUs to obtain and successfully manage external funding—identify grant opportunities, develop project ideas, and attract investments in Public-Private Partnerships within the Objective 2: Greater External Funding Accessed by Municipalities. In addition, s/he will contribute to strengthening LSGUs' capacities to raise and utilize their own source revenues.

2. Scope of the Engagement

The Municipal Access to Finance Specialist’s primary responsibility is the implementation of the Project activities related to strengthening local government capacities to increase own source revenues, to access external funds and to plan and execute inclusively municipal budget. 

As part of the responsibilities, the Specialist will undertake, but is not limited to, the following duties: 

• Assist LSGUs to use an inclusive approach for viable project identification and strengthen their capacities for project development by using consultants/facilitators to help municipalities identify ready-to-submit projects based on existing calls, 
• Mentor small partner-LSGUs for concrete project development, 
• Together with other team members assist partner LSGUs to utilize the results of the Urban Audit or other project prioritization tools while identifying projects to be developed for external funding, 
• Organize info sessions for LSGUs with the fund providers such as national government or international organizations and/or capital markets and banks, 
• Conduct meetings and consultations withLSGUs, experts, and donors ensuring exchange of information and coordination on open calls,  
• Support the preparation of the monthly newsletter for current and forthcoming grants, programs and projects which is distributed to LSGUs for their information and ensure follow-up steps, 
• Identify and share with partner LSGUs successful practices in Public-Private Partnerships to increase their awareness and interest, 
• Explore other possibilities for introducing new sources of funding. 

The Municipal Access to Finance Specialist establishes and maintains a strong relationship with national and local government counterparts, in accordance with the objectives and activities of USAID Strengthening Resource Mobilization Activity. S/he identifies innovative approaches for transferring of knowledge and experience to public administration as well as for peer-to-peer exchange, mentoring and learning. 

The Municipal Access to Finance Specialist position will be contracted by Strategic Development Consulting and embedded in the Project’s office in Skopje. 

4. 4. Required qualifications

– Academic qualifications: 

• University degree in the relevant area (economics, business administration, finance management, law, social/development studies, public administration, management etc.).  

Professional experience: 

• At least five (5) years of professional experience in development of projects in cooperation with LSGUs for external funding. 
• Extensive knowledge about sources of project funding allocated by the GoNM and donor community and criteria for their allocation. 
• Practical understanding of municipal budgeting process.  
• Experience in mentoring and on-the-job training. 
• Previous experience working for LSGUs will be considered an advantage.  

– Language: 

• Excellent knowledge (written and oral) of Macedonian and English language.  

– Other criteria 

• Excellent time management skills and ability to multi-task and prioritize work. 
• Attention to detail and problem solving skills. 
• Presentation skills. 
• Strong skills using MS Office. 
• Experience working in multi-ethnic, multi-sector and multi-cultural environment.                                                     

 6. Application procedure

In order to be considered the interested applicant needs to submit the following documents: 

– Cover letter, 

– CV 

(both in English). 

The requested documents should be submitted on the following e-mail address: [најави се за да го видиш е-маилот] , no later than 2nd June 2022 by 17:00 PM with subject line: Job application for Municipal Access to Finance Specialist.

Incomplete applications will not be considered for evaluation.