Compliance & Internal Auditor, CAR 74 views0 applications

About the role: This is a 12 month, new role with unaccompanied terms based in Bangui with extensive travel to field and any future partner offices, with a salary of Grade 4 (€40,003 to €44,449). Reporting to the Country Director in-country and Financial Compliance Manager in Dublin Head Quarters

You will work closely with the other Programme Managers, Programme Director, Programme Officers, M&E Manager and support and operations team as well as with the Head of Compliance and Risk in Dublin HQ.

We would like you to start ASAP.

The main function is to promote a culture of awareness and respect of Concern internal processes and policies, as well as familiarity with specific donor rules and regulations. To ensure an understanding of the necessity of compliance with those rules/regulations, processes and policies throughout Concern including its implementing partners and the implications of non-compliance.
The role is two-fold, with both an advisory and an assurance aspect. On the assurance side you will be responsible for completing quarterly compliance reviews of transactions, consolidating action points, and submitting to the Dublin Head Quarters Grant Compliance Team for review. You will oversee the planning and implementation of regular internal and compliance audits including donor compliance, internal control assessments and, if necessary, fraud investigations at Concern and partner level. S/he is to ensure that proper financial and system (including procurement, transport, admin, HR, etc.) controls are in place and are being complied with in line with Concern Worldwide and donor procedures. You will also be responsible for completing interim and final compliance reviews on any implementing partners.

On the advisory side, you will be responsible for advising various departments within the Concern Country Programme on donor and Concern requirements throughout every stage of the project life cycle. You will also be responsible for designing and delivering training workshops on relevant donor and Concern rules, regulations and policies to both Concern and implementing partner staff.

You will be responsible for:

A strong understanding of Concern and donor requirements from proposal development through to final donor audit

· Develop strong knowledge of Concern’s CAR specific internal control procedures as well as donor requirements such as those in relation to procurement, logistics, finance, partnerships, etc.

· Develop deep understanding of Concern country programmes followed by analysis and identification of compliance risks and control gaps.

· Evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management and control processes

· Continually build on understanding of the specific requirements of donors and understand the type of analysis that donors undertake when they conduct audits with particular emphasis on Irish Aid, ECHO, EU, USAID/OFDA, DFID, CHF and other country specific donors as required.

· Stay informed of and ensure compliance with Concern’s policies and procedures, including but not limited to Anti-Fraud and Whistleblowing policy, HR, procurement, logistic and finance procedures

· Regular and objective review of Concern CAR internal control processes to ensure that the risk management and internal control process are operating effectively

Quarterly Compliance Reporting

· Complete quarterly compliance reviews of transactions, using standard Concern templates and submit to the Grant Compliance Team in Dublin Head Quarters for review. These quarterly reports require substantive reviews of transactional documents in relation to HR, procurement, logistic and other high-risk areas, to ensure donor and Concern processes/procedures have been followed and sufficient audit trail exists.

· You must keep a record of any action points and recommendations from quarterly reviews and submit to the Country Management Team (CMT) in country. You will be responsible for following up with relevant management on action points/recommendations and making sure they are cleared in a timely manner.

Training

· You, with assistance from the Grant Compliance Team, will develop country specific training materials, including on-line versions, relating to Concern’s and donors’ processes, policies, rules and regulations. Training materials will be required for a variety of subjects and for use with Concern and implementing partner staff.

· You, in conjunction with relevant management in country, will be responsible for scheduling necessary mandatory training for all staff in country and including implementing partner staff where relevant. Once scheduled, the CIAM will be responsible for delivering the training in a professional manner, keeping attendance and post-test records, and reporting of same to management in country.

· Training workshops to be delivered include, but are not limited to, training on Concern compliance policies such as the Anti-Fraud policy and the Whistleblowing policy as well as other Concern policies/procedures as necessary.

· You will also provide training to relevant staff on specific donor requirements such as Irish Aid, EU, ECHO, USAID/OFDA, DFID, UN Agencies, and other country specific donors using standard Concern materials where available or in some cases developing new materials

Donor Programme Lifecycle

· You will provide advice as required to various departments within Concern Country Office including finance, HR, procurement, logistics and programmes, on various donor and Concern requirements throughout the lifecycle of a project. This will include advising at proposal stages, agreement signing, partnership development, during implementation (particularly with regards to procurement) and at reporting stages to insure specific donor requirements are taken into consideration.

· You will be required to review new donor agreements and modifications and to present a summary of the main compliance requirements of the agreement to management and staff.

· You will also be responsible for organising and facilitating Grant Management Meetings (GMMs) at various stages throughout a grant (Opening, Interim and Closing). The CIAM will send out the agenda, present where relevant, document minutes and circulate minutes and actions points to relevant staff after each meeting. Any incomplete action points must be brought to the attention of the CMT.

· You will visit and monitor important field programme activities (e.g. fairs, distributions, Cash for Work payments) to ensure compliance and best practices are followed by field staff and programme managers, and that beneficiaries have optimal conditions to access assistance.

· You will maintain all grant files in both hard/soft copy, ensuring that all relevant documents are filed and easily accessible and following Concern filing guidelines.

· You will make regular visits to all Concern projects in order to carry out assessments of programme procedures to identify if there are any internal control weakness. If weaknesses are found the CIAM will make recommendations to make the systems more robust.

Partnerships

· You will help ensure that new partnerships are being established and managed in line with internal policies/procedures and any donor requirements and make recommendations, including in relation to training requirements of Concern and implementing partner staff, where necessary.

· You will be responsible for carrying out interim and final compliance reviews of implementing partner transactions and will make recommendations to country management on whether or not full or partial payments should be made to implementing partners.

· You will work closely with departments/partners and relevant managers to ensure that any issues identified are properly understood, improvement commitments are made and that their implementation is monitored.

Audit Facilitation

· Working with in country finance departments where relevant, assist in the facilitation of donor audits – checking documents for completion before handing over to auditor(s) for review, keeping a log of documents submitted to auditors, and responding to auditor queries where relevant.

Other tasks

· Providing guidance/support to staff in relation to anti-terrorism and sanctions checking procedures – this will include providing training where necessary.

· Support to the CD in-country and the Grant Compliance Team in Dublin HQ and undertake any other tasks requested by same.

· Provide quarterly updates to Head of Internal Audit on findings/recommendations from any audit / risk / fraud investigation work.

· Monitor changes in finance and tax issues relevant to staff and the organisation by tracking statutory contributions and updating the organisation of any changes in relevant tax legislation.

· Conduct fraud investigation work when necessary.

Your skills and experience will include:

Essential:

· University graduate with a background in finance, management, administration or a related field;

· 3-4 years’ experience working in a finance/accounting/audit role;

· Fluent in French

· Experience in performing audits/reviews of systems/controls;

· Experience in reviewing documents/reports with a keen eye for detail;

· Excellent Excel and Word skills;

· Willingness to travel and work in challenging environments;

Desired:

· A recognised accountancy qualification (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, etc.) would be an advantage.

· Excellent training skills, including designing and developing training workshops, and materials, including online materials;

· Able to instruct and enforce adherence to rules and regulations;

· NGO experience would be advantageous, preferably in a finance or compliance position, with particular experience with/knowledge of institutional donors such as Irish Aid, EU, ECHO, USAID/OFDA, or DFID

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