Global Assurance Senior

The Organization

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. Plan International believes in the power and potential of every child but this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination and it is girls who are most affected. Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, the organisation strives for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children. Plan International has been building powerful partnerships for children for over 80 years, and is now active in more than 70 countries.

Global Assurance is part of Plan International’s governance framework and was established to provide independent, objective assurance and consulting services designed to add value and improve Plan International’s operations. It helps Plan accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes

The Position

The role of the GA Senior is to conduct assurance engagements or other reviews at regional or global level to provide management and the international board with assurance that key systems, programs, processes, policies and controls are working as expected . The role also acts as a team member on various projects or products to implement the GA strategy as agreed with the GA Director or GA Managers. Additionally, the role supports the GA Manager in strengthening the second line at the Country offices and acts as a consultant with management teams at country and regional level about relevant practices in governance, risk, and control of the organisation. The role builds upon audit principles but require a combination of problem solving, process improvement, and systems thinking to reduce risk and enhance performance of the organisation.

Dimensions of the Role

• Reports to Global Assurance Manager (primarily to the Regional GAM who is the line manager and to other GAMs on an assignment basis in a matrix relationship)
• Post has no direct reports but manages less experienced team members and secondees on assurance assignments
• Plans and executes assurance assignments across a large geographical area and multiple countries in diverse work environment and varying risk levels
• Is a team member on strategic projects necessary to implement the GA strategy

Accountabilities

Providing Assurance

• Complete planning for in-country, remote or hybrid engagements based on the GA Annual workplan optimising the use of various tools and document sharing platforms available.
• Produces reports and completed working papers in line with GA quality standards and standards for professional practice for internal auditing.
• Ensures that assignments are tracked and completed on time and budget.
• Leads audits and/or special reviews based on the annual audit plan or as requested by the Board
• As a team lead, identify and allocate tasks, coordinate/monitor work, control audit/assignment resources, consolidate results
• Aligns the internal audit methodology to incorporate fraud risk
• Supervise and coach new staff or less experienced auditors throughout the audit or review to ensure alignment with GA auditing standards
• Identifies risks on various assignments and suggests effective mitigations addressing those risks
• Develop and discuss findings, agree on recommendations and timelines for corrective actions with responsible person and make presentations of audit results to senior management of in entity being audited.
• Highlight the root causes or causal effects of audit issues in various audits and reviews

Implementation of the GA Approach & Strategy

• Acts as a team member or team lead on various projects or deliverables to implement the strategy as agreed with the GA Manager
• Influences change within and across the organisation to strengthen risk management, accountability and effectiveness and support management in improving operations and provide a platform for learning across Plan
• Is a subject matter expert (SME) on select technical areas to ensure knowledge management and quality assurance are maintained across the department.
• Ensures understanding of the business risks and related internal control activities are considered in audit projects

Relationship Building

• Supports the GA Manager in strengthening the second line at the Country offices and Regional Hubs ensuring that keys risks in various functions are being highlighted and in providing various trainings where necessary on the same
• Builds network and develop effective relationships with management at country office and Regional Office level, secondees on assurance assignments and fellow GA members on various assignments.
• Acts as a consultant with management teams at country level about relevant practices in governance, risk, and control of the organisation

Change Management and Learning

• Keep abreast of latest organisational policies, local country regulations, auditing standards, and emerging technologies in ICT that is beneficial to GA’s role and assignments
• Keep one’s self up-to-date through attending trainings and/or continuing professional education to strengthen knowledge on latest auditing techniques and standards

Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding Children and Young People and Gender Equality and Inclusion are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures

Key relationships

High level of interaction

• Members of the Global Assurance team within the region
• Global Assurance Managers and Seniors from other regions
• Country Directors and Country Office managers and staff to address their assurance needs
• Country Risk Compliance officers and Internal Controllers

Medium level of interaction

• Regional Directors, Director of Sub Regions,
• National Organisations (fundraising offices), and Global Hub to address their assurance needs

External

• Local partners, community members, and government representatives
• Technical networks and professional bodies to exchange knowledge on relevant areas
• Collaboration with external auditors and other external specialists or consultants

Technical expertise, skills and knowledge

Essential

Knowledge

• Understanding of typical core business operations such as but not limited to finance, procurement, human resources and information technology
• Knowledge of principles, practices, and techniques of auditing and risk management and of the requirements of the Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing
• Good understanding of project and programme management (ideally but not exclusively in international aid and development sector)
• Information systems and internal controls and effectively analyse data and information (structured/unstructured) to drive evidence-based findings.

Skills

• Excellent communication skills (written and oral) in English and knowledge of another Plan International language depending on the region is an advantage (French, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic)
• Strong root cause analysis and problem-solving skills
• Good influencing, conflict management and negotiation skills
• Good facilitation and presentation skills
• Good interpersonal skills – ability to work with a diverse range of people in a multicultural environment
• Strong team leader– ability to work with people from different backgrounds within and outside the department to deliver assurance assignments
• Good planning and organisation skills – ability to deliver assignments on time with tight deadlines and within budget and sets priorities and time parameters to accomplish tasks and projects
• Critical thinking
• Robust analytical skills
• Promotes innovation and learning

Behaviours

• Holds self and others to account to deliver on agreed goals and standards of behaviour
• Adaptability to change, adjusts approach depending on different contexts and situations
• Demonstrates own expertise and mentors others in effective work across cultures and with diverse stakeholders and communities through adjustment of approach, communication style and behaviour.
• Self-driven and works under minimum supervision
• Takes account of the public interest when deciding upon a course of action in all but the most complex situations. Sound judgement and decision-making in complex situations
• Teamwork and leadership
• Remains calm and positive under pressure and in difficult situations
• Plans own learning and development

Desirable

• Knowledge of quality management (i.e. ISO) or business process improvement (i.e. Lean, Six Sigma)
• Comfort with Information Technology and business analysis for system design, selection and implementation and keen to follow emerging technologies
• Professional certifications relevant to successful performance of their role (I.e. CPA, CIA, CA, CISA, etc.) or actively studying part-qualified and other relevant qualification
• Experience with data analytics techniques and software and IT audits or reviews