Public Finance and Institutional Coordination Advisor

GIZ has been operating in Syria since 1976. It has thus established valuable contacts in civil society and garnered experience that is now crucial for supporting the country. From 2013 onwards, it worked without government involvement with the assistance of local non-governmental organizations. Despite the difficult conditions, GIZ has consistently contributed to improving people’s living conditions.

In view of the developments since December 2024, which have led Syria into a decisive phase of transformation, GIZ has reopened its Country Office in Damascus in September 2026. It is currently implementing 14 projects on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Federal Foreign Office (FFO), with co-financing from the European Union and other donors. From 2026, the portfolio is planned to be expanded by several new projects.

Your tasks

• Provide technical advise on Good Financial Governance and local governance, clarifying mandates and aligning subnational operations with national frameworks; facilitate inclusive, context-sensitive coordination bodies.

• Advise on mapping and re-designing inter-institutional roles, interfaces and procedures across national–subnational levels (e.g. budget planning/execution, treasury, procurement and transparency of local spending), co-developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and communication pathways to improve vertical/horizontal coordination.

• Advise on practical, context-specific strategies and approaches for data collection for local economic development, budgeting on local level and local governance procedures.

• Advise on feasible digital information and coordination tools and data use for monitoring, accountability and adaptive management, workflow (documentation, approvals, reporting) that respect data protection, security and interoperability constraints in the Syrian context.

• Build partner capacities through tailored trainings, on-the-job coaching and mentoring on financial/administrative processes, coordination and communication standards; develop practical guidance and SOPs trainings and mentoring.

• Apply do-no-harm and integrity/compliance standards in all advisory work on institutional, staffing and financial structures.

• Closely coordinate with the responsible colleagues for participatory approaches and further beyond the project, supporting the Syrian portfolio on good governance and participatory instruments.

• Document and share lessons learned across outputs, projects and partners.

Your profile (required qualifications, competencies and experience)

• University degree (Masters level) in public administration, economics/business, political science, public finance, governance or a related field.

• At least 10 years of professional experience:

• Public finance and public administration reforms (e.g. budget planning/execution, ex-ante/ex-post controls, external audit, subnational finance), preferably in fragile/conflict-affected contexts.

• Designing and facilitating inter-institutional coordination mechanisms across government and administrative levels (decentralization, local governance).

• Developing and implementing standardized administrative and communication processes (SOPs), including digitally supported workflows.

• Solid expertise in Good Financial Governance (transparency, accountability, integrity, participation) and anti-corruption/integrity standards; ability to mainstream these across reform measures.

• At least 2 years experience with learning-oriented steering, M&E and data-driven decision-making; affinity for digital information and coordination systems.

• At least 2 years experience working with international organizations, development cooperation projects, or donor-funded programs, preferably GIZ or comparable agencies.

• Strong context- and conflict sensitivity, political sensitivity and analytical thinking, consulting, communication and cooperation skills as well as intercultural competence.

• Strong organizational and coordination skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks effectively in a complex working environment, are essential.

• High motivation, reliability, and the ability to work in politically sensitive and rapidly changing contexts while maintaining professionalism, discretion, and adherence to communication standards are expected

• Professional fluency in written and spoken English and Arabic, knowledge of German is an asset.

• Duty Station is Damascus with regular travel to partner governorates in Syria (subject to clearance)