Job Description

Compliance Specialist 

Duty Station [Sana’a]

Who are we?

The Danish Refugee Council assists refugees and internally displaced persons across the globe: we provide emergency aid, fight for their rights, and strengthen their opportunity for a brighter future. We work in conflict-affected areas, along the displacement routes, and in the countries where refugees settle. In cooperation with local communities, we strive for responsible and sustainable solutions. We work toward successful integration and – whenever possible – for the fulfillment of the wish to return home.

The Danish Refugee Council was founded in Denmark in 1956, and has since grown to become an international humanitarian organization with more than 7,000 staff and 8,000 volunteers. Our vision is a dignified life for all displaced.

All of our efforts are based on our value compass: humanity, respect, independence and neutrality, participation, and honesty and transparency.
DRC has been operating in the Middle East (ME) region for over a decade, running a combination of emergency, livelihood, protection and advocacy programmes through Country Offices (COs) in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey with a Regional Office (RO) in Amman.

DRC Yemen’s response

Throughout its nine field offices and a workforce of 450 staff, DRC upholds its main programmatic objectives to provide immediate and life sustaining assistance, to strengthen the protective environment, and to reduce displacement related risks and vulnerabilities by promoting self-reliance at household and community level.

About the job

Overall Purpose of the role:

Responsible for preparing and facilitating all external audits. S/he provides an independent organizational risk assessment that generates recommendations geared towards improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the work of DRC; to ensure that senior management is informed of audit findings and recommendations and key risks within DRC operations to support them in decision making; and to provide information to various internal and external stakeholders on the DRC risk assessment. The position holder will put in place Risk and audit systems and workflows that will support area teams to enhance compliance to donor rules and regulations. S/he will support the Country Director to ensure development plans and training for the implementation of controls to ensure compliance with DRC procedures and quality standards to enhance program delivery. This includes identifying weaknesses in the application of controls and recommend action to address this situation. Risk & Compliance Coordinator will ensure DRC is aligned with DRC internal policies, donor requirements and local laws.  The position will actively promote and support a culture of compliance, risk identification & risk management across all departments.                                                                        

Main responsibilities:

Compliance:

• Support DRC Regional and Country management teams in ensuring all operations are implemented within acceptable DRC and donor guidelines. This includes giving assurance that financial and other organization’s policies are interpreted and practiced in a manner consistent with the organization’s values, mission and objectives and ensuring that internal control systems including program delivery, monitoring & evaluation, procurement, etc. are adequate in order to achieve the organization’s objectives in an efficient and effective manner. 
• Periodic reviews - Carry out quarterly internal reviews to ensure that DRC and donor guidelines are implemented and followed and provide feedback to line managers for action in accordance with the annual compliance plan. 
• Testing systems - Implement and maintain testing systems to ensure that all offices are following DRC financial, procurement and administration policies and accepted accounting principles. 
• Support to Implementing partners’ management – Review partners’ management systems ensuring that assessments and due diligence checks are done and a repository maintained in the Dynamics Grants module. Support partner capacity assessments, periodic reviews and capacity-building sessions. 
• Technical support for Adhoc compliance requests - Perform review of derogations. Support to perform due diligence checks and vetting of suppliers against sanctions lists. 
• Support on compliance issues at grants opening and close-out meetings. 
• Support in documentation and sharing of action points/ minutes from audit and compliance discussions and grant portfolio reviews during ESMT and other meetings. Follow-up on action points those from meetings. 
• Tracking of compliance trends including emerging and recurring risks.
• Working with the Grants Unit to ensure all managers in field offices understand DRC and donor award management processes including maintaining a well-organized physical filing and electronic systems across support departments. 
• Conduct spot checks and compliance review of key risk areas of operations and programs in consultation with SMT.
• Based on DRC operation/program handbook as well as donor and legal regulations, develop tools and methods for independent, systematized compliance checks on high-risk functions/areas.
• Develop and implement system to regularly asses and report on compliance with legal requirements
• Develop a periodic compliance reporting mechanism & provide regular reports to CO SMT.
• Assess the effectiveness of existing risk and compliance control measures to identify and mitigate risks and non-compliance. 
• Based on Compliance checks & reports develop organizational wide targeted improvement plans including a suite of tools that improve control measures and organization understanding of donor regulations & relevant DRC policies. 

Risk Management:

• Be the focal point for risk management & ensure effective implementation of risk management framework across the operation as well as training initiatives relating to Risk Management are implemented.
• Lead discussion on risks regularly in SMT/E-SMT meetings & regularly monitor progress on implementation of response plan in risk register.
• Support CO in development of operational risk registers and risk registers of identified projects at proposal stage; by provision of risk analysis and support the development of action plan for risk management. 
• Maintain the audit-tracking tool, from internal and external audits, for individual areas of audit and compliance assessments and consolidate with team for dissemination to management. Ensure timely reminders and follow with management for implementation of the recommended actions. 
• Support to Risk management meetings - Provide input to Country areas of compliance risk while feeding into risk registers and issues logs and follow-up on closure of issues. Escalation of emerging risks to management on a timely basis. 

Accountability:

• Work closely with Safeguarding and Code of conduct Specialist to support training related to CoC and CoCRM.
• Support management in increasing the awareness and visibility of accountability mechanism of DRC.
• In coordination with other stakeholders ensure the Accountability Improvement Plans are regularly updated & progress is monitored.
• Work closely with M&E Manager to ensure that appropriate accountability mechanisms are in place and implemented.
• Conduct or direct internal administrative assessments of compliance issues in coordination with regional code of conduct intake committee. 

Experience and technical competencies:

About you

• At least 6 years’ relevant experience with an international NGO in grants management & accounting, finance, internal audit, risk management and compliance, with a minimum 3 years in Audit and Compliance. 
• University degree in Accounting, Commerce, Economics or Business Management /Administration or related business degree. Masters will be an added advantage.
• Certified Chartered Accountant/ Certified Public Accountant 
• Familiarity with requirements of key humanitarian donors and capacity to work in a multi-donor environment, including UNHCR, UNICEF, EU/ ECHO, SHF/OCHA, SIDA, DFID, OFDA, FFP, DANIDA, WFP among others. 
• Possess excellent analytical, critical and conceptual skill with advanced excel skills. 
• Strong self-starter, able to take initiative and work independently. 
• Proven ability to prioritize tasks, meet deadlines and work with limited supervision. 
• Proven ability to manage large, varied workloads and deal constructively with stress and periods with long hours. 
• Excellent interpersonal skills & demonstrated ability to establish effective working relations between various stakeholders. 
• Knowledge/Experience working in remote and challenging environments. 
• Understanding of the local laws and sensitivity to the socio-cultural context
• Experience and use of tools and systems for risk management and compliance
• Excellent communication, interpersonal and influencing skills with a well-developed ability to motivate and persuade at high levels.

Desirable: Experience in Humanitarian sector will have an added advantage.To be successful in this role we expect the following experience and technical competencies:

All DRC roles require the post-holder to master DRC’s core competencies:

• Striving for excellence: Focusing on reaching results while ensuring efficient processes.  
• Collaborating: Involving relevant parties and encouraging feedback.  
• Taking the lead: Taking ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation.  
• Communicating: Listening and speaking effectively and honestly.  
• Demonstrating integrity: Upholding and promoting the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation to DRC’s values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.

Education:

• University degrees (Bachelors or Masters) Certification of CIA, CRM, CISA, CPA.

Languages:

• Proficiency in spoken and written English is essential
• Written and spoken Arabic is an advantage

 Key stakeholders: 

• Base Manager
• Area Manager
• CCCM Cluster 
• CCCM DRC team 
• Country Director & SMT
• Regional & HQ teams

We offer.

• Contract length: one year contract
• Band: G non-manager
• Duty Station: Sana’a
• Start date: As soon as possible.
• Salary and conditions will be in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment.