Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Closing date: 02 Dec 2018
Job Description
The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, IRC offers life-saving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in more than 30 countries and in 22 U.S. cities, IRC restores safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted by conflict or disaster. IRC leads the way from harm to home.
Background:
With National Office in Kinshasa and field offices in the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut Katanga and Tanganyika, the IRC is one of the largest humanitarian actors in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The IRC aims to save lives, to strengthen Congolese institutions and to reinforce social cohesion through carefully designed and professionally-implemented programs. The IRC has been working in the DRC since 1996 and currently operates in five core programming areas – primary health care, community-driven reconstruction and local governance, women’s empowerment and the prevention and mitigation of gender-based violence, education, and emergency preparedness and response. These programs reflect IRC’s guiding principles of capacity-building; participation; partnership; protection and promotion of human rights; and holistic programming
Job Overview/Summary:
The Compliance Coordinator will support the Country Director to oversee internal controls and compliance functions across the country program, including support to the grants team to ensure that sub-grantees/partners are compliant with IRC’s and its donors’ rules and regulations. The Compliance Coordinator will report to the Country Director (CD), and, in the cases of investigations, to the Ethics and Compliance Unit’s Senior Director of Investigations (SDI). The Compliance Coordinator’s primary responsibility will be to work across functions to ensure that an appropriate control environment is in place and that standard operating procedures and IRC policies are followed. In circumstances where country staff are charged with implementing control policies and processes that are under the authority of the central owners of these controls (for example, GSC, AMU, HR, Finance, IT), the role of this position is to coordinate the implementation of these controls within the country in a risk-based, comprehensive and coordinated manner, not to exercise superseding authority over the interpretation and enforcement of these policies and procedures. Where weaknesses in controls or application of controls are identified, the Compliance Coordinator will recommend action to remedy the situation to the CD and will also ensure appropriate reporting to central risk owners to ensure central support for country level remediation and also to support enterprise risk management.
In collaboration with country leadership and the Ethics and Compliance Unit (ECU) as needed, the Compliance Coordinator will work with colleagues and field offices to create a culture reflecting the high ethical standards of IRC. The Compliance Coordinator will ensure that the IRC Ethics Hotline is accessible and known to all staff and partners, and will work with the Country Program (CP) to develop additional feedback and reporting mechanisms to appropriately enable reporting by IRC staff, partners, suppliers, and beneficiaries. If an allegation of fraud or misconduct is made to the Compliance Coordinator, he/she will appropriately inform and report to the ECU immediately – and act as the main liaison for the country program with the ECU, keeping the CD fully informed, as appropriate. In the case of an investigation, ECU will partner with the Compliance Coordinator to provide clarity of roles in the investigation on a case by case basis. This could include providing documentation, access, or if so directed, conducting the investigation under ECU’s guidance and according to ECU’s standards and protocols. The Compliance Coordinator will be directed by the ECU but will keep country management fully informed unless country management is implicated and confidentiality concerns call for non-disclosure of information pertaining to the investigation to the country leadership. The Compliance Coordinator will also put in place additional prevention mechanisms including fraud and IRC Way trainings, reporting mechanisms as mentioned above, spot checks, and documentation verification, all done in effort to reduce the risk of fraud.
Major Responsibilities:
Internal controls and compliance
• Develop a country level adoption of IRC’s risk framework to internal controls monitoring and strengthening aligned with tools and processes in country as well as with Operations, AMU, Finance, Internal Audit and ECU.
• Coordinate the use of a risk register (created pursuant to IRC’s risk framework) for the country program across operations and programs.
• Coordinate and conduct compliance, operational and financial reviews of IRC, partner and sub-partner activities (operation & programs) to assess adequacy and effectiveness of internal controls, risk management and compliance to selected policies, procedures and regulations.
• Produce consolidated internal reports (compliance, operational and financial) with findings and issues identified during these reviews, give appropriate recommendations on improvements to the country program and related partners’ processes, systems and procedures where appropriate.
• Conduct any ad-hoc internal audit assignments as requested by the Country Director or in response to donor specific queries.
• Under the direction of ECU, assist in investigations of misconduct, fraud, corruption, as defined below.
Training and Prevention
• In coordination with and under the guidance and direction of ECU, act as focal point for IRC- ECU and donor fraud and anti-corruption policies and lead effective communication and training of these policies to staff.
• Coordinate and support training and workshops to IRC staff in collaboration with AMU, ECU and HR on ethics and compliance, in particular IRC Way and IRC Code of Conduct.
• Carry out regular spot checks in all IRC field offices and, as required, sites of direct implementation
• Ensure a robust and comprehensive complaints mechanisms is put in place to receive complaints and respond in a timely way to allegations
• Exchange with ECU’s Safeguarding focal point(s) and HR to ensure that prevention strategy is in place for SEA and wider safeguarding issues of concern to the DRC CP, and facilitate training
Misconduct Allegations and Investigations
• Contribute to investigations on a case by case basis under the guidance of ECU. This may include the below:
o Undertake investigations of alleged fraud, waste, financial corruption, misconduct, ensuring objectivity, impartiality and fairness throughout investigative processes in accordance with generally recognized international investigative standards and IRC guidelines;
o Prepare reports and ad hoc briefs pertaining to investigations in coordination with ECU
o Undertake investigation assignments in the local area at the direction, and in coordination, with ECU, keeping country and regional management fully informed consistent with any investigation confidentiality constraints;
• Liaise closely with ECU and HR to address full range of allegations including fraud, employee relations, and sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA)
o Regularly exchange with regional HR to get updates and assess progress on any Employee relation cases assigned to HR
o Regularly exchange with ECU’s Safeguarding focal point(s) to ensure SEA and other staff and beneficiary safeguarding allegations are addressed in a timely and efficient way
Other
• Stay informed of and ensure adherence to IRC and donor procedures and policies in relation to Supply Chain, Finance, HR and Programs as set out in relevant IRC manuals and guidelines.
• Review and advise the Country Director in collaboration with AMU on large contracts and MoUs, service agreements and other contractual agreements prior to signing.
• Perform other tasks as requested by the CD as required.
Job Requirements:
• An advanced degree in a relevant discipline.
• At least 5 years combined audit/compliance experience
• Good understanding of Accounting and Internal Control standards (COSO). An understanding of SORP accounting principles is beneficial.
• Familiarity with forensic accounting, and both digital and paper file audits.
• International experience within other NGOs or in the development / humanitarian sector, with knowledge of donor rules and regulation, is desirable.
• Strong planning, organizational and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent analytical, presentation, and reporting skills.
• Ability to respond to changing priorities.
• Ability to work independently on own initiative
• Excellent communication skills, verbally and in writing, in English and French
• Evidence of successful experience in compiling and conducting training workshops is an advantage.
• Excellent IT skills in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel.
• Strong commitment to IRC’s mission, purpose and values.
Working Environment: Goma is security phase 3 (ORANGE) so the Compliance Coordinator will be expected to respect the various security protocols in place in the province and in country. Phase 3 requires clear contingency planning in place with staff prepared should hibernation or evacuation be called. The Compliance Coordinator will live in shared housing.
Professional StandardsThe IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.
How to apply:
Applications to be submitted on: https://rescue.csod.com/ats/careersite/jobdetails.aspx?site=1&c=rescue&id=3110