International Quality Assurance and Value for Money (VfM) Advisor - REMIT Progra

About the Programme:

The Revenue Mobilisation, Investment and Trade (REMIT) is a programme funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). The programme provides technical assistance (TA) to Pakistan to implement reforms aimed at strengthening macroeconomic stability, improving conditions for sustained growth, mutual prosperity, job creation, and poverty reduction. The Programme supports the Government of Pakistan (GoPK), relevant ministries, institutions, and departments in strengthening revenue mobilisation reforms, addressing investment environment challenges, facilitating trade, driving competitiveness, and improving macroeconomic policy management.

Objective

The International Quality Assurance and Value for Money (VfM) Advisor will support the Quality Assurance Lead in ensuring the technical and strategic coherence of REMIT programme interventions. This role will contribute to quality assurance for technical outputs, ensuring economic rigour, coherence, and alignment with GoPK’s reform agenda as well as international best practice on economic reforms. The Advisor will also play a key role in supporting assessments of value for money (VfM) across interventions and assisting with the integration of a VfM framework into the programme’s Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) system.

Key Responsibilities

Quality Management

• Assist in the review and quality assurance of new Terms of Reference (TORs) for interventions, ensuring clarity, strategic alignment, and technical robustness.

• Support the quality assurance of key programme output reports, ensuring they meet high technical and analytical standards.

• Contribute to ensuring that all interventions demonstrate economic coherence, technical feasibility, and strategic relevance.

• Assist in the development and integration of a Value for Money (VfM) framework into the programme’s MEL system, ensuring cost-effectiveness and impact measurement – working closely with the MEL team.

• Review VFM measures such as economy and efficiency and asses the degree to which inputs (such as STTAs) are well utilised by the programme providing useful recommendations for improvements.

• Where required and directed, carry out Value for Money Assessments and economic evaluations of key programme results.

• Provide VFM support to other REMIT implementing partners including GCSi, HMRC and the World Bank. Assess needs and sensitively target support that can boost their monitoring and management for good value for money.

• Escalate significant issues related to economic rigour and coherence of interventions to the Quality Assurance Lead.

Strategic Direction

• Provide technical support in ensuring that interventions contribute to REMIT’s broader reform objectives.

• Assist in the development of annual work plans in collaboration with the Quality Assurance Lead and other technical specialists.

• Ensure programme interventions remain ambitious yet achievable, adapting to evolving policy and economic contexts.

• Provide input on integrating sustainability considerations into intervention design and implementation.

Alignment and Coordination

• Identify and communicate bottlenecks that may affect the implementation of programme activities.

• Monitor political economy developments and provide input to adjust programme positioning as needed to maintain effectiveness and policy relevance.

Reporting and Compliance

• Report to the Quality Assurance Lead, providing regular updates on progress, risks, and key challenges.

• Contribute to strategic reviews and programme reporting, ensuring alignment with donor requirements and performance targets.

• Support risk assessment and mitigation efforts, ensuring a proactive approach to addressing implementation challenges.

Requirements

Qualifications and Experience

• Master’s degree in economics, public policy, international development, or a related field.

• At least 8 years of experience in programme design, policy advisory, or technical assistance related to economic reforms, trade, investment, or revenue mobilisation.

• Experience in value for money analysis, economic impact assessment, and designing VfM frameworks is desirable.

• Strong analytical skills and experience in quality assurance for complex programmes.

• Experience in the quality assurance of large and complex international development programmes.

• Ability to engage with government counterparts and international development partners.

• Familiarity with the political economy and reform landscape in Pakistan is an advantage.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

• Ability to escalate concerns regarding the economic rigour and coherence of interventions to the Quality Assurance Lead.

Reporting Structure

• The International Quality Assurance and Value for Money (VfM) Advisor will report to the Quality Assurance Lead.

Location and Duration

• The position is predominantly remote, with occasional travel to Pakistan required, subject to logistics.

• This contract will initially be for four months and contracted for 8 days a month.