Risk, Compliance & Financial Audit Specialist (RCFA Specialist), Goma (DRC)

Cordaid believes in a world without poverty and exclusion. We strive for just and sustainable societies where every person counts. We stand for knowledge and talent sharing between North and South, between farmers and businesses, between activists and policymakers. Where poverty, conflict and exclusion divide societies, we connect people and communities. We stand for professionalism, expertise and solidarity across borders. We aim at maximizing our social impact and contributing to systemic change. We operate where natural disasters strike, where conflicts tear up communities and where lack of opportunities and service delivery keep families in extreme poverty.

Cordaid is an internationally operating value-based emergency relief and development organisation, working in and on fragility.

Cordaid is a member of the international Catholic networks Caritas and CIDSE and we are active in worldwide civil society networks. We work in around 20 countries in Africa, Middle East and Asia.

For the Cordaid Country Office in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Cordaid is looking for a

Risk, Compliance & Financial Audit Specialist (RCFA Specialist)

Introduction

Cordaid has a long history working in DRC a country affected by war and conflicts for decades.

Cordaid is currently working in the following sectors: Health, Education and Security & Justice. We have a main office in Kinshasa, a coordination office for Eastern DRC in Goma and other offices in Bukavu, Bunia, Gemena, Kananga and Uvira. We are working in 24 of out of the 26 provinces.

Position and responsibilities

The RCFA Specialist will work to support both the Programme and the Support Departments in managing high risk areas. This function will aim to decrease risks within the organisation to ensure delivery of strategic and operational objectives in a compliant, timely, and accountable manner.

As a consultative member of the Cordaid Risk Committee at the Global Office and the leader of the risk and compliance function in the Country Office (CO) DRC, the RCFA Specialist is responsible for leading the Country Office’s efforts to effectively manage risks and promoting a risk management culture.

The RCFA Specialist is also responsible for ensuring that the organisation is following proper accounting procedures and reporting accurate financial information. S/He may also be called upon to investigate specific issues when something unusual happens.

The RFCA Specialist reports to the Director Country Office DRC and maintains functional and communication lines with the Cordaid’s risk, compliance, and finance functions at the Global Office for guidance and alignment.

Risk and Compliance role and responsibilities

1. Support the Senior Management Team (SMT) and the Director Country Office DRC by ensuring:

• that risks in the Country Office’s operations are identified, assessed and controlled effectively;
• Country Office’s compliance within high-risk areas/issues, by:
• identifying such high-risk areas/issues,
• conducting regular compliance checks on the said areas/issues (e.g., spot checks),
• reporting regularly to the Director Country Office and the SMT on compliance issues.
• leading the implementation of compliance improvement measures throughout the CO DRC.

1. Ensure that risk management and compliance related CO registers, namely the CO Risk Register, Waiver Register, Audit Recommendations Tracker and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are complete and up to date.
2. Support the Management to oversee that internal controls are in place, effectively work and ensure Cordaid’s policies and donor regulations are being followed across the country programmes, including by all programme departments, support functions, partners etc.
3. Support the Management in the Risk Management process, including regular trainings, updating the Risk Register, working with Risk Owners to develop and track mitigation measures, escalating ‘high’ risks, as necessary.
4. Work as a focal person for supporting archiving electronic documentation and supporting the reconciliation of finance reports and programmatic deliverables in Cordaid’s IT systems (e.g., AX, CPA, DevResults, etc.).
5. Work, when assigned, as Audit focal point – which includes creating timeline and filing structure, communication with auditors, and liaising with departmental focal points.
6. Work, when assigned, as Anti-Fraud focal point – which includes creating timeline and filing structure, communication with investigators, and liaising with departmental focal points.
7. Work in collaboration with the Support function managers on follow up of compliance to local laws e.g., local tax law, labour law.
8. Complete spot checks on high-risk issues in coordination with the department heads. Reports outlining high risk issues will be provided to SMT, including providing recommendations related to Cordaid policies and procedures.
9. Develop and roll out an Audit Recommendations Tracker of internal and external recommendations (ex: from audit reports, investigations, evaluations, missions, etc.) and work with department heads to monitor follow up of recommendations.
10. Serve as a support function to both Support Departments and Programme Department to ensure compliance across high-risk areas to Cordaid policies and procedures to ensure delivery of project activities.
11. In coordination with line managers, carry out trainings & refreshers for staff, Partners etc. about different Cordaid policies for example Cordaid Anti-Corruption policy, compliance awareness, etc.

Financial Audit role and responsibilities

1. Review company processes for compliance with laws and regulations, especially those related to accounting standards or ethics.
2. Review financial statements to determine whether they are accurate, identifying any errors or anomalies, and recommending corrections.
3. Evaluate the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting to ensure that adequate internal controls exist.
4. Monitor the financial performance of projects and programmes to help detect possible signs of trouble.
5. Review the financial records of projects and programmes to detect any irregularities that may indicate fraudulent activity.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Finance, Economics, Business Administration, Risk management or other relevant fields.
• Certification as Register Controller (Executive Master Finance and Control), Register Operational Auditor (Executive Master Internal Auditing).
• At least 10 years of relevant work experience (financial risk management, internal control or audit).
• Work experience in similar environments (NGO with multi-actor and donor funded projects).
• Strong analytical skills and ability to outline processes.
• Excellent, clear and accurate reporting skills.
• Ability to listen and to weight several interests in decision making.
• Strong communication and facilitation skills, including the ability to establish good working relationships, and to provide technical assistance to key actors.
• Fully proficient in Microsoft Office software (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in French and English.
• Willingness to regularly travel to the operational areas.
• Flexible and pragmatic work attitude.

Specifics of duty station

The Risk, Compliance & Financial Audit Specialist will be based in the Cordaid office in Goma. Regular travel to other project areas will be required.

Contract information

The contract period is for 12 months starting as soon as possible, with the intention to extend for a longer period. We offer a Cordaid contract with a competitive salary and a benefit package which includes comprehensive insurance cover, social security and pension contribution, a holiday allowance, 13th month, hardship allowance and cost of living allowance. It is an international, family posting.