Risk Specialist

The Risk Specialist will work under the direct supervision of the Risk Management Specialist/Head of the Integrated Risk Management Unit and will work closely with different sections of the Programme and Operations in the Country Office. The Risk Specialist is responsible for supporting the Head of the IRMU in implementing the risk management regime and strategies in place through the provision of risk analysis and support. 

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration

Duties and Responsibilities:

Risk assessment and analysis

• Identify, assess, and manage programme and operations risks.  This includes the ability to analyse and interpret complex information, accurately identify issues and trends, make appropriate judgments, and provide relevant recommendations for minimizing the risk.
• Conduct desk review of relevant documentation including profile and other information provided and supplemented, as well as conducts his/her research on due diligence to make specific recommendations to UNDP and UN participating agencies in the implementation of Transitional Country Programme strategy.
• Gather, analyze, or evaluate information from a variety of public sources, investigation reports, law enforcement, geographic information systems and other sources to complete risk profiles.
• Ensure compliance with sanctions regimes and policies on Anti Money Laundering/Combating Terrorist Financing.
• Provide risk reporting to meet risk assessment analysis needs.
• Communicate risk standards and processes and provide hands-on risk management support to UNDP and its partners.
• Risk-informed programming and programme implementation
• Works in close coordination with the country and regional team to incorporate UNDP’s ERM policy and Social, Environmental Standards (SES) and Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMP/CFT) in UNDP’s programmatic initiatives.
• Reviews readiness status of the CO on partner capacity assessments and ensuring compliance of such evaluations, including spot checks and financial audits as required.
• Monitors and updates the corporate dashboards on risk management key indicators – Integrated Work Plan (IWP) programme risk register.
• Reviews and monitors project risk dashboard to monitor compliance, advising on the quality of project risk registers and mitigation measures to ensure sound programme implementation.
• Advises on risk assessments and coordinating due diligence of high-risk development partners.
• Ensure Audit and Investigation Support
• Review cases of suspected malpractice brought to the attention of the Head of the IRMU and any other problems with the programme implementation, including assessing fraud and corruption risks.
• Provide overall support to partner/programme and country office audit.
• Liaise with internal and external audit and investigation bodies by availing information resulting from risk analysis and assessments.
• Conduct due diligence and verification of documents and processes.
• Strong Partnership building
• Build and maintain a partnership with key internal and external stakeholders including the UN, donors and other funds and programmes, including regulatory bodies.
• Facilitate risk management dialogue and discussions with compliance, programme and operations colleagues in UNDP and other UN system organizations.
• Promote collective risk management and risk-sharing approaches and practices.
• Handle and manage information in compliance with the organization’s policies in place.
• Facilitate Learning and knowledge sharing
• In coordination with the IRMU team, contribute to the development and enhancement of the risk management program and other technical assistance products (guidance notes, etc.) to support capacity building.
• Facilitate and deliver risk management learning curricula to the UNDP, NGOs, and other partners.
• Draw lessons and best practices which contribute to the continuous improvement of UNDP CO risk management support.
• Contribute to developing SOPs and protocols of the Unit.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• An advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Risk Management, Business Administration, Accounting, Statistics, Law or in another relevant field is required. Or
• A first-level university degree in the areas mentioned above, in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• A minimum of (5) Five years (with master’s degree) or (7) seven years (with bachelor’s degree) of professional experience in risk management, audit and finance, law enforcement with international/governmental organizations is required.
• Experience and knowledge of international standards on risk management (ISO31000, The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), Enterprise Risk Management) is required.
• Previous experience and knowledge in investigation/intelligence, audit, and fraud examination is an asset.
• Proven experience and knowledge in the design, implementation and evaluation of training programs and initiatives is required.
• Demonstrated ability in providing high-quality service delivery is required.
• Prior UN/UNDP experience and familiarity with its policies and procedures, particularly in the applicable job area, is an asset.
• Previous experience in conflict/post conflict countries is an asset.

Language:

• Fluency in both written and oral English is required.
• Familiarity with the local language of duty station Dari and/or Pashto is an asset.
• Working knowledge of another UN language is an asset .

Source: https://estm.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_1/requisitions/job/17986