This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced controls professional to play a leading role in ensuring International Alert (Alert) maintains an effective and efficient financial and wider internal control environment. You’ll work closely with staff across Alert, particularly in our Country Offices, to identify and mitigate control and compliance risks, coordinate audits and reviews. In this role you’ll be the focal point for expertise on data protection, legal advice (including registrations and contracts) and risk management. You will work with the Head of Finance to ensure teams across the organisation maintain effective financial controls, including updating policies and procedures and developing and delivering training to staff. Reporting to the Director of Global Delivery, you’ll oversee our internal audit function and lead confidential investigations into whistleblowing, fraud and safeguarding reports, and other confidential complaints. You will coordinate our organisational risk assessment process, supporting colleagues to identify and mitigate key risks.

​We’re seeking a candidate with experience working in a controls or project management role in an international NGO. Your understanding of internal controls and audit principles and methods, and experience undertaking audits or confidential, sensitive investigations, will be essential in this role. With an up-to-date knowledge of contractual terms and conditions, and experience communicating complex information in an accessible way, you’ll thrive in this role. We’ll also benefit from your experience building effective, trusting relationships at all levels of an organisation, to influence implementation of effective controls. Fluent in English, with a clear and concise writing style, your excellent interpersonal skills will help you relate to people at all levels and from diverse backgrounds. We’re looking for your strong analytic and quantitative skills, as well as your ability to work under pressure. Fluency in French, understanding of risk management procedures and experience developing policies or training materials are desirable but not essential.

​Role duties and responsibilities:

Controls and audits

• Act as a focal point for controls expertise within the organisation, providing advice and practical support for country programmes and HQ teams.
• Working with the Head of Finance and Director of Global Delivery (DGD), identify potential areas of weak controls, advise on and support implementation of corrective action plans and provide guidance on how to avoid similar situations in the future.
• Develop an annual internal audit plan, based on key risks and an assessment of audit needs, and agree it with the Head of Finance, Director of Global Delivery and the Risk and Audit Committee.
• Oversee implementation of the internal audit plan, through deploying staff teams, procuring external auditors or undertaking the audit themselves. Prepare reports and follow up on recommendations.
• Maintain a log of project and statutory audit findings, follow up and track implementation.

Statutory and donor requirements

• Act as a focal point within Alert for information and expertise about anti-bribery, dishonest practices and data protection including GDPR, to ensure we meet donor and statutory requirements.
• Maintain a detailed, up-to-date understanding of statutory and key donor requirements, policies and procedures, ensuring that current and future obligations are shared and understood across the organisation.
• Monitor compliance with donor and statutory requirements across the organisation, throughout the project cycle.
• Coordinate the collation of information necessary to comply with control and compliance requirements at the institutional level.
• Provide advice and practical support to country and HQ teams responding to and carrying out project-specific due diligence processes, including supporting partner due diligence processes.

Learning and process improvement

• Develop and implement, in collaboration with the DGD, Heads of Finance and HR, basic training on controls and compliance issues.
• Coordinate the identification and sharing of best practice in controls and compliance, supporting country offices to benefit from each other's learning and experience.
• Develop and maintain policies and procedures for controls and compliance within Alert, through liaison across teams, in consultation with the DGD, and ensure that they are understood and observed throughout Alert.
• Support development of efficient and user-friendly tools and processes to track and meet control and compliance requirements across the organisation, including when subcontracting and working with partners.

Investigations

• In consultation with the DGD, lead, oversea or assist with investigations of whistleblowing, fraud, safeguarding and other confidential complaints or allegations of misconduct.
• Conduct interviews, gather evidence, and prepare reports on investigation findings, including recommendations of appropriate corrective and preventive actions.
• Provide guidance and support to country teams investigating concerns (including whistleblowing, fraud, safeguarding and other complaints).
• Maintain Alert’s log of serious incidents and prepare reporting to the XT, Risk and Audit Committee and Board of Trustees. Support with reporting to core donors.
• Support serious incident reporting and other engagement with the Charities Commission.

Risk management and reporting

• Coordinate bi-annual organisational risk assessment updates, supporting Alert teams to undertake their own risk assessments, and consolidate as the organisational risk matrix for reporting to the Executive Team and the Board of trustees.
• Prepare and present reports to senior management, including the Executive Team and the Board of Trustees, on controls and compliance activities, findings, and recommendations.

Please note that the above are just some of the role requirements. Please click here to read the job description.

How to apply

Please follow this link to apply.

All applicants must have existing right to work in the country they wish to be based in.

International Alert prides itself on being an Equal Opportunity employer and particularly welcomes applications from underrepresented people including Black, Indigenous and people of colour, LGBTIQ+, people with disabilities, and other historically marginalised people. We particularly encourage applications from the Global South.

​​While International Alert will endeavour to contact all candidates within a reasonable time, this may not always be possible due to limited resources. Therefore, if you have not heard from us within two weeks of the closing date, you can assume your application has, on this occasion, been unsuccessful.