Conformity And Transparency Assistant

ABOUT THE STRUCTURE…

Solidarités International is an International NGO working with vulnerable populations, mainly victims of armed conflicts and natural disasters. Specialized for nearly 40 years in the coverage of vital needs, S.I. takes charge of emergency and reconstruction programs.

With respect for cultures and close to the people, Solidarités International implements its programs by combining its skills with those of its employees and local managers.

Solidarités International's teams, made up of around 270 expatriates and nearly 2200 local employees, are today present in 18 countries in Asia, Middle East, Africa and Caribbean where they are particularly committed to fighting diseases related to unsafe water but also in the essential area of food security and livelihoods.

ABOUT THE JOB

General objective:

- Contributes to the success of external financial audits

- Carries out internal controls on supporting documentation

- Perform internal audits to assess conformity risk level of projects

- Participate to Partner risk monitoring

- Participate in the implementation of internal procedures that best respond to donor requests

- Participate in training and raising awareness of SOLIDARITES INTERNATIONAL's internal procedures and tools

- Contributes to the retrieval of the missions' physical and digital archives as well as their processing and analysis.

- Participates in the dissemination of SOLIDARITES INTERNATIONAL's internal procedures and tools

- Act as a link for the audit department at Coordination level regarding External audit and archiving

The Internal Auditor is expected to work effectively with SI staff and SI partners and to provide timely advice and capacity development.

Responsibilities and main activities:

Internal control

• Assist the C&T Coordinator for the organization & planning of internal audit strategy, and perform some of the planned internal audits under the supervision of the C&T coordinator

• Update the recommendation tracking file upon receipt of visit, internal and external audit reports

• Ensure that it is regularly updated by monitoring the implementation of the Recommendations
• Performs a systematic monthly compliance review of supporting documentation in a random basis upon archives reception
• Support the Conformity Coordinator in setting up self-assessment exercises for bases and departments. Can lead discussions around the questionnaires at base level upon request
• Upon request of the C&T Coordinator, support the compliance review of supporting documents submitted by an implementing partner.
• Under the supervision of the C&T Coordinator, conduct at least one internal financial audit of the operational partners before the validation of the final reports
• Inform the hierarchy of any suspicions of fraud, corruption or major breaches of Solidarités International procedures noted during internal controls
• At the request of the Country Director, may support the C&T coordinator on investigation of case of fraud and on overall treatment of professional alert.
• Actively promote fight against fraud and the whistle blowing policy on the mission

External audit:

• Contribute and upon instruction of the Conformity & Transparency Coordinator to systematic carrying out a pre-audit of all or sampled expenses documentation and participate to the elaboration of risk table. Support departments in the regularization process if necessary
• Contribute, in close collaboration with the Conformity & Transparency Coordinator, and the Grant Coordinator, to facilitate and coordinate the audit at mission level.
• Gather the documents requested by auditors and prepare them for the Grant Department
• Support employees training (and implementing partners if necessary) in support and upon instructions of the C&T Coordinator in the preparation of external audits;
• Ensure that the external audit recommendations FU is updated and that agreed external audit recommendations are implemented;
• Participate to the kick- off and closing meetings of each external audit.

Archiving:

• Support managers in ensuring the security of archives in a clean and secure location, considering their sensitivity levels and accessibility needs, as well as protecting them from possible damage or malicious acts.
• Set-up an archive database and ensure its updated and followed-up
• Support mission departments on a daily basis on archiving procedures and the types of documents to be kept or destroyed.
• Ensure regular reporting of archive monitoring to coordinators. 
• Validate the packing lists of archives of the bases and to ensure their sending is taking into account the needs related to external audits.
• In collaboration with logistics department prepare mission archives and corresponding packing lists for regular shipment to HQ, after validation by Internal Audit service.
• Participates in the implementation and updating of the "archives management in case of evacuation" file on the bases.
• Support Program teams in setting project archiving plans when new projects are launched.
• Support the mission on the implementation of a digital archiving system: file nomenclature and classification, regularity of digital archive sharing…A plan for launching and monitoring digital archives could be created.
• Under validation of the coordinators, ensure the destruction of the so called "dead" archives.
• Brief new mission managers on the organization's archiving procedures, depending on their position.

Dissemination of good practices

• Participate in project kick-off and closing meetings focusing on project archiving plan.
• Participate to the dissemination of the whistle blowing policy, code of conduct and anti-fraud policy

ORG CHART POSITION (reporting and functional relationships)

Line manager: Conformity & Transparency Coordinator

Line report(s) on base: -

Functional manager: Conformity & Transparency Coordinator

Functional report(s):  Conformity & Transparency Coordinator

YOUR PROFILE

Specific skills and experience:

• Education: Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Finance, business, economics, and law and international relations or in a related area. Additional years of qualifying experience may compensate for a master’s degree.

• Experience:  At least 3 years of compliance and risk management experience in relevant regional context.
• Knowledge of:  the humanitarian and development context and situation in the region.

• Knowledge of internal and external control processes, best practices, and familiarity with standard risk and compliance mechanisms and effective monitoring systems for risk and compliance management.
• Extensive knowledge of programme management cycle, donor regulations, and INGO internal compliance mechanisms
• Extensive knowledge of the political situation as well as the regional and cultural differences multiple countries with the region.
• Previous experience with NGO is an asset
• Problem solving and analytical skills with the ability to assess challenges and recommend solutions
• Strong training/capacity-building skills
• Computer literacy with very good command of MS Office
• Extensive experience working with a diverse donor base such as ECHO, UNICEF, EU, AFD etc…

Soft skills:

• Excellent diplomacy skills
• Good verbal and written communication skills
• Experience working in a multi-cultural and/or international work environment.
• Flexible (will have to take on responsibilities that might not be directly on his/her JD)
• Mobility to visit different locations (day trip) in Lebanon on a regular basis (weekly).
• Adaptability to changing work environment and possible volatile security situation
• Stress management skills: ability to work under pressure to meet tight deadlines, with peaks of heavy workloads;

Language:

• Fluent English and Arabic: speaking, reading and writing skills
• French are assets

Others: 

• Commitment to the fundamental principles of SI’s charter and ethics

SI WILL OFFER YOU

A salaried post: 1380 USD – Basic salary

Vacation: 1.5 Paid Leaves/month

Social and medical cover.