Operations Specialist

Under the supervision of the Deputy Representative Operations and the Risk and Compliance Manager, the Risk and Compliance Specialist will be responsible for strengthening risk assurance and compliance efforts in the context of a large/medium/small scale country office.

You will ensure the achievement of risk management objectives follows organizational rules and regulations, and acceptable ethical behavior; internal controls; information and technology security; sustainability; and quality assurance. Moreover, he/she will provide analysis and report on the adequacy and effectiveness of risk management and internal controls.

You will be responsible for the following tasks but not limited to: 

Risk management support

• Support the office management team in the annual risk assessment process and monitor reliability of reports and their compliance with applicable rules and regulations;

  Ensure the monitoring of risk mitigation action plans includin

• Support the office management team in the annual risk assessment process and monitor reliability of reports and their compliance with applicable rules and regulations;
• Ensure the monitoring of risk mitigation action plans including a mid-term review;
• Lead the office peer reviews process, undertake visits to project sites and field offices to verify the quality of performance;
• Ensure the risk management approach is embedded in any project/proposal, in office governance committees’ review of submissions and in any major decision made by the management.

Compliance support:

• Review the office systems, procedures and processes for compliance with organizational rules and regulations;
• Enforce and strengthen internal controls to ensure that systems are in place to prevent, detect and report non-compliance.  Support the process for the preparation of the annual Statement of Internal Control (SIC) by the office;
• Review internal work processes in Programme and Operations to ensure that accountabilities are clear and placed at the adequate levels as per global policies and/or best practices;
• Establish a risk-based system to periodically and systematically review a sample of activities (Programme and Operations) to ensure they are carried out according to established work processes and in compliance with UNICEF policies and Procedures;
• Ensure smooth preparedness of internal and external audit, conduct a quality assurance and follow-up on the implementation of the recommendations and provides feedback to the management;
• Periodically test compliance with the Table of authority and adherence to the delegation of authorities in line with UNICEF policies and Procedures; and ensure staff understand the roles and responsibilities delegated to them;
• Review the conformity of statutory and non-statutory committees, assess committee members have been trained/oriented on their roles and responsibility.

Fraud risk Management support

• Support the management of the office in collecting evidence to respond to OIAI’s queries when initially assessing allegations of fraud and misconduct or during actual investigations;
• Advise the management on lessons learned from investigations and measures to be taken accordingly;
• Ensure the implementation of the global anti-fraud strategy, suggest internal fraud prevention mechanisms and alert the management on any fraudulent issues as well as unethical behaviors detected;
• Lead the process of Fraud risk training / orientation to Partners and suppliers.

Oversight and advisory to the Management

• Help advise the management on actions to be taken to enforce and strengthen accountabilities for a robust, responsive and transparent governance framework;
• Contribute to effective management process by participating in key governance meetings (particularly CMT, PMT and OMT);
• Coordinate Risk assessment and control activities with other UN agencies by representing the office in meetings related to Risks and Compliance activitiess

Create awareness/capacity building

• Establish a system to document and report weaknesses in internal control and implement actions aimed at addressing internal controls gaps (SOP, memos…) and building the capacity of responsible staff;
• Analyze cause and effect of policy changes to the operations of the office, anticipate changes and advise on the new way of doing business;
• Support the implementation of a continuous learning and development plan for the Risk and Compliance function;
• Ensure that management provides staff with access to relevant training and that staff and other personnel understand key UNICEF policies including PSEA, Fraud and Ethics.

Any support needed from the regional office

• On request, support the Regional Office in conducting reviews exercises in countries where Risk and Compliance positions are not established, or in supporting any other review in the area of expertise (Peer reviews, assessment…);
• Contribute to the development of a network/community of risk and compliance specialists at both regional and global level for experience sharing, updated working documents as well as office rules and policies.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Business Administration and Financial Management. Operations Management, Strategic Management, Risk Management, Audit, Investigation, Internal Control, Statistics and Data Analysis or Accounting certifications are considered as assets.
• A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.
• A minimum of five [5] years] of relevant professional work experience in Risk and Compliance or another directly relevant area, several of which in internal audit. Experience in financial management, particularly developing and implementing financial control systems, ERM, audits, internal control preferably with international organizations, NGOs and UN.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Fluency in French and English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

Source:  https://jobs.unicef.org/cw/en-us/job/570346