The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the Performance Criteria, Required Skills and Knowledge, the Range Statement and the Assessment Guidelines for this Training Package.

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate this unit of competency:

The individual being assessed must provide evidence of specified essential knowledge as well as skills

The application of competency is to be assessed in the workplace or realistically simulated workplace

Assessment is to occur under standard and authorised work practices, safety requirements and environmental constraints

Consistency of performance should be demonstrated over the required range of situations relevant to the workplace

The circumstantial or unsolicited testimony of project participants, governments or other non-government organisations regarding ethical behaviour should be considered as significant evidence in relation to this unit

Assessors need to be aware of potential complexities and note that complying with donor requirements in a straightforward, small scale grant situation may not provide evidence against all performance criteria within this unit

Assessors unable to assess through observation in a relief environment should particularly ensure the validity of evidence and determine with care the level of complexity at which management was undertaken

Assessment must confirm a reasonable inference that competency is able not only to be satisfied under the particular circumstance, but is able to be transferred to other circumstances

Access and equity considerations:

All workers in development and humanitarian assistance should be aware of access, equity and human rights issues in their own area of work

All workers should develop their ability to work in a culturally diverse environment

In particular workers should be aware of cultural, historical and current issues facing the people and culture in which they are working

Assessors and trainers must take into account relevant access and equity issues relating to the culture in which they are working

Context of and specific resources for assessment:

This unit may be assessed independently, however, holistic assessment practice with other related units of competency is encouraged

Assessment of essential underpinning knowledge, other than confirmatory questions, will usually be conducted in an off-site context

Assessment must comply with relevant regulatory requirements and/or standards

Resources required for assessment include access to:

workplace location or simulated workplace

specifications and work instructions

policy manuals and procedure manuals (international and local, including sector specific finance manuals)

relevant documents (such as contracts, records of communications with donors, staff briefing notes and records)

relevant equipment (such as office equipment and communications equipment)

managers, co-workers and other finance staff

Method of assessment:

Assessment needs to take into consideration the practical difficulties associated with attempting on-job assessment in the field

Assessment may be applied under project related conditions (real or simulated) and require evidence of process

Given the nature of this unit, assessment should be supported by supplementary evidence from a wide range of sources, preferably including evidence from one or more field situations

This describes the essential skills and knowledge and their level required for this unit.

Essential knowledge:

The candidate must be able to demonstrate essential knowledge required to effectively do the task outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage the task and manage contingencies in the context of the identified work role

This includes:

Social, cultural and political context of relief environment

Organisation structure, including formal lines of reporting and responsibility

Organisation internal politics and informal influence or power relationships

Generally accepted accounting principles

Organisation's financial software

Donor organisation's structure and key staff

Grant documents including contracts and standard attachments

Industry standard finance practices

Non-government organisation benchmarks in related areas

Cross cultural awareness and sensitivity

Team dynamics

Problem solving strategies

Organisation policies and procedures relating to issues such as:

banking

budget preparation and monitoring

calculation of gift in-kind values and balances

cash management

cash management

closeout under emergency conditions

currency transactions

document security

document storage

document storage and security

donor relations

emergency evacuation of personnel, records and assets

end of financial year closeout

end of funding cycle closeout

end of project closeout

evaluation methodologies

financial standards

personal security

Essential skills:

It is critical that the candidate demonstrate the ability to:

Manage funding arrangements at a number of levels of complexity from a small scale intervention in a region with stable government and good financial and other infrastructure, through to a range of multi-sectoral interventions involving diverse donors during a complex humanitarian emergency

Effectively interpret key donor requirements of a major external donor and a major internal donor, and communicate and interpret these requirements (including major differences) to relevant staff

Comply with organisation and donor policies and requirements of varying levels of complexity, including monitoring activities of other staff and negotiation with donors over grant amendments

Effectively determine legal requirements, restrictions, donor requirements, financial environment constraints, and prepare report with recommendations

Effectively determine or anticipate funding requirements for the fiscal year and life of project/s, and negotiate donor requirements

Ensure that donor requirements are met or renegotiated and communicated effectively with donors, staff, other finance staff and other colleagues

Effectively develop budgets and ensure core costs are covered

Effectively monitor and control expenditure and prepare reports, and manage funding arrangements from multiple donors and multiple projects

Effectively communicate with key stakeholders including project partners, relevant staff, donors and other colleagues

In addition, the candidate must be able to effectively do the task outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage the task and manage contingencies in the context of the identified work role

These include the ability to:

Use appropriate communication and interpersonal techniques with colleagues and others

Work as part of a team environment to complete tasks

Identify and clearly define problems and demonstrate appropriate response procedures

Initiate new ideas or work methodologies

Accurately plan and organise work activities

Efficiently manage own responsibilities and timelines for completion of work

Demonstrate personal management, including initiative, self motivation and direction

Apply project management and evaluation skills

Work with people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, showing sensitivity to cultural differences, including:

awareness and understanding of cultural differences

ability to express that awareness and understanding clearly and concisely

Communicate effectively with a wide range of different audiences

Interpret and explain complex formal documents and systems and assist others to apply them in the workplace

Prepare written advice and reports requiring reasoning and precision of expression

Use communications equipment, including telephone, radio, satellite phone, fax and email

Demonstrate adaptability and the ability to deal with ambiguous situations

Select and use appropriate technology

Apply skills in:

investigation, including analysis and deduction

working as part of a team

mediation and negotiation

coaching

presentation

directing and supervising others

administration

listening

negotiation

The Range Statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Add any essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts.

Local legislative requirements may include:

Requirements unique to the local context

Requirements which are common to many countries and/or areas

Taxation requirements

Customs and excise requirements

Currency taxation requirements

Labour and industrial relations requirements

Currency transaction restrictions may include:

Limits on the amount of foreign currency able to be imported into or transported within the country

Requirements that only certain banks or entities carry out currency transactions

Concepts and principles of aid effectiveness and community development include:

Ownership, including:

using delivery processes that support partner countries to exercise effective leadership over their development policies and strategies

coordinating development actions

involving communities and local government in decision making, implementation, monitoring and evaluation

encouraging community's and local government's contribution to problem solving

Alignment, involving maintaining a comprehensive understanding of partner countries' national development strategies, institutions and procedures to guide program delivery

Harmonisation:

actively seeking to collaborate with other Official Development Assistance (ODA) partners to create added value and greater development effectiveness

Managing for results, including continuous improvement of systems to:

manage for development results

support evidence-based decision making

Mutual accountability, involving demonstration of:

full transparency and accountability for the use of development resources in program delivery

Key donor requirements may include:

Reporting data and information requirements

Reporting timeframes and frequency

Reporting formats

Project flexibility

Purchasing standards

Use of funds for overhead costs

Restriction on purchase from certain countries

Level of back-up documentation required to support reports

Tracking of staff time

Utilities

Rentals etc

Need to expend funds or percentage of funds within donor country of origin

Budget variance allowances

Local financial environmental constraints refer to:

The sum of issues impacting on financial operations, including but going beyond local legislative restrictions to aspects such as:

currency and banking laws

financial infrastructure

economic health

inflation

price volatility

Other factors may include:

scarcity of goods and/or services

local monopolies

inflation rate

transportation difficulties

criminal activity

numbers of traders

scarcity of currency

black market or barter systems

Major differences may include:

Financial information required

Reporting formats

Operation to different financial year ends or funding and reporting cycles

Audit requirements

Donors may include:

Government:

Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID)

Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)

European Union (EU)

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

Multilateral:

World Food Program (WFP)

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Private donor:

internal

external

Corporate donor

Local representatives of all of the above

Local host government

Circumstances may include:

The number of beneficiaries has changed significantly

The price of material and supplies has changed significantly

Emergency circumstance prevented completion of the project

Insufficient funding in some line items due to inflation

Currency exchange rate

Core costs may include:

Some operational costs

Travel

Capital expenses

Staff training

Cost of maintaining local or regional office

Monitor expenditure may include:

Collation of financial information to enable production of monthly reports

Working closely with field staff or managers where expenditure levels are of concern

Control expenditure involves:

Feeding information about remaining funds back to field managers prior to expenditure of funds and then not processing requisitions once all funds have been expended

Available funding may include:

The unspent portion of funds which have been promised by donors, funds which are actually currently available (which may include both more and less than the level of funding originally committed to by the donor)

Options for negotiation may include:

Reporting deadlines

Country of origin restrictions on purchase of goods

Overhead rates

Disposition of assets

Carry-forwards/project extensions (cost or no cost)

Pre-approvals/pre-authorisations

Amendments to budgets

Changes in interventions