Senior Internal Controls & Compliance Officer

Founded in 1933, the International Rescue Committee (www.rescue.org) is a world leader in relief, rehabilitation and post-conflict development services for those uprooted or affected by violent conflict and oppression. The IRC is currently working in over 40 countries around the world, addressing both the immediate and lifesaving needs of conflict affected people in emergencies and the reconstruction needs of post-conflict societies. 

The IRC began programming in northern Uganda in 1998 in response to mass displacement and devastation wrought by rebel group, the Lord’s Resistance Army. In 2002, the IRC expanded to the remote, conflict-affected region of Karamoja and in 2011, began working with refugees in Kampala. Monitoring the influx of South Sudanese refugees at the end of 2015, the IRC began scaling up its response to refugees arriving in the West Nile region. By promoting durable solutions that deliver on the interdependent aims of saving lives, strengthening institutions, and supporting social cohesion, the IRC in Uganda is laying the building blocks for long-term stability and development –bringing people from harm to home. The IRC currently works in 9 districts in Uganda, including Kitgum, Lamwo, Kyegegwa, Moroto, Amudat, Yumbe, Arua, Kasese and Kampala

The IRC is currently implementing its health and nutrition program in West Nile and Acholi focusing on providing primary health care services to refugees in their settlements. 

Job Overview:
Under the supervision of the Internal Controls and Compliance Manager, the Senior Internal Controls and Compliance Officer will support the Country Program in planning and undertaking the work of the Internal Control function. The role will have a range of responsibilities, all aimed to promote a culture of Enterprise Risk Management, integrity, and compliance in the behavior of staff and volunteers, and to coordinate consistent and effective investigations as needed when there are allegations of misconduct. 

Duties and Responsibilities:
Risk Management:
•Coordinate the identification and classification of risks to the Country Program, the documentation of these, and the determination of appropriate actions to manage or mitigate such risks.
•Facilitate the effective implementation of the overall organizational risk management system, including its review and monitoring.
•Facilitate the monitoring of progress towards agreed risk management or mitigation actions, such that remedial actions can be taken in a timely way as and when necessary.

Internal Controls and Compliance:
•Carry out reviews of the existent internal controls in all departments and assess their design and operating effectiveness.
•Review compliance with established key controls in finance, grant management, human resources, IT, partnerships, security, supply chain and programs. 
•Ensure compliance with all the local laws including taxation, social security, labor laws and donor rules and regulations.
•Facilitate appropriate response to identified gaps in the control environment, including the monitoring of progress against agreed upon follow up actions.
•Prepare and regularly update the master list of all external and internal audit actions while following up with process owners to update and share the progress on audit actions.
•Ensure accountability and transparency to key stakeholders through the enforcement of donor rules and regulations in financial and progress reporting.
•Draw periodic schedules to carry out spot checks on operations and program activities across the field offices and in Kampala.

Capacity Development:
•Enforce the local integration of IRC Organizational Policies and support training and awareness programs for staff on ethics and compliance issues. 
•Raise fraud awareness across the entire workforce.
•Facilitate continuous learning regarding the Enterprise Risk Management. This includes learning from interaction with other IRC countries and with NGO regulatory bodies.
•Support partner organizations in their own risk management processes and conduct partner risk assessments based on due diligence reports, volume of funds, and other criteria to identify possible key risks that might affect operations with them.

Misconduct Allegations and Investigations:
•Work with IRC’s global Ethics and Compliance Unit (ECU) and Country leadership, to ensure that staff and partners are aware of the IRC’s reporting mechanisms. 
•Provide timely support to the ECU on investigations as appropriate, in accordance with the IRC’s investigations process. 
•Perform other related duties as required.