Job Title:                          Compliance Coordinator

Reports to:                       This role reports to the Country Director (CD); additional support will be provided by the Grant Compliance Unit in                                                 Concern Head Quarters in Dublin

Terms:                               12 months (Unaccompanied, Fixed Term International Contract)

Salary:                               Grade 4 (€45,457 - €50,509)

Requirements:                Based in Juba, South Sudan, with frequent field travels

About Concern:              

Established in 1968, Concern is a non-profit, non-governmental humanitarian organisation, dedicated to the reduction of suffering and the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries.

Concern’s vision, our mission and our work are all defined by one goal – ending extreme poverty, whatever it takes. Concern strives for a world free from poverty, fear and oppression.

Our culture is values driven and we believe that our people are central to all that we do and are key to delivering on our goal of Reaching the Furthest Behind First. We are committed to ensuring a workplace where everybody feels valued and are enabled to succeed in their work and contribute to delivering on our mission.

Role Purpose:                 

The main function of the Compliance Coordinator is to promote and further strengthen a culture of compliance with Concern’s internal processes and policies, and the rules and regulations of our donors. This will include ensuring an understanding of the necessity of compliance and the implications of non-compliance throughout Concern (and its implementing partners).

The role is two-fold, with both an assurance and an advisory aspect. On the assurance side the Compliance Coordinator will be responsible for completing transaction testing of significant processes (high value procurement of goods and/or services for donor funded programmes), whilst the process is ongoing, rectifying identified issues before the contracts are signed, and consolidating and following up on any action points. It is important to note their involvement in rectifying issues identified as opposed to just making recommendations to address these issues. On the advisory side the Compliance Coordinator will be responsible for advising various departments within Concern throughout every stage of the project life cycle. They will also be responsible for designing and delivering training workshops to Concern staff and implementing partner staff, or supporting other staff members, as necessary.

Responsibilities:

• Compliance support
  • Ensuring field operations are compliant with Concern and donor policies, regulatory laws and standards and updating policies.
  • Gaining an understanding of Concern’s internal procedures, donor requirements and compliance risks, and working with relevant staff to ensure these are appropriately addressed.
  • Continually building on your understanding of the specific requirements of donors and the type of analysis they undertake when they conduct audits with particular emphasis on Irish Aid, EU, ECHO, USG (USAID/BHA; BPRM), FCDO, various UN agencies and other country specific donors, as required.

• Compliance Testing and Reviews
  • Completing ongoing review of activities, using standard Concern templates, to ensure both donor and Concern processes/procedures have been followed and a sufficient audit trail exists. This will require regular monitoring and follow up on various activities which could have significant implications/risk in the areas of programmes, finance, logistics, HR and/or any other risk areas.
  • Completing transaction testing and reviews on closed projects in order to ensure everything is filed appropriately and ready for a future donor audit.
  • Proactively ensuring issues identified during the reviews are rectified immediately and before the process is completed/contracts signed. The CC will be responsible for following up with the teams on changes implemented to address issues identified, ensuring they are being adhered to.
  • Conducting compliance reviews of particular processes and procedures in the country office(s), as well as visiting project sites in order to verify activities. This would include an active role in programme and project review and other learning events, so that they include key compliance issues and lessons.

• Training
  • Providing training and reference materials to relevant staff (as well as to Concern’s partner staff, where relevant) on the rules and regulations of Irish Aid, EU, ECHO, USG (USAID/BHA; BPRM), FCDO, various UN agencies and other country specific donors. For the training purpose, the CC will use standard Concern materials, where available, or in some cases develop new materials, as required.
  • In conjunction with the CMT, considering what other necessary training should be scheduled for staff (and partners, where relevant). This may include training on the Anti-Fraud policy, Whistleblowing policy and Conflict of Interest policy as well as other Concern policies/procedures. The Compliance Coordinator will be responsible for delivering the training in a professional manner, keeping attendance records and reporting of same to management in country, or supporting other staff with this as necessary.

• Project Lifecycle Support
  • Actively engaging with relevant colleagues (including finance, HR, procurement, logistics and programmes) at the various stages of a project’s lifecycle (proposal, agreement signing, partnership development, implementation, reporting and audit) to advise and highlight specific internal and donor compliance requirements.
  • Attending Project Management Meetings held at the various stages of a project/grant (Opening, Interim and Closing) to ensure relevant compliance issues are discussed and understood.
  • Supporting Grant Manager and budget holders with their review of new donor agreements to ensure the main compliance requirements are identified.
  • Periodically reviewing grant files maintained on Concern’s Grant Management System (and in hard copy as required) to ensure that all relevant documents are filed and easily accessible.

• Donors Audit Facilitation
  • Supporting the country finance department with the facilitation of donor audits – checking documents for completion before handing to auditors for review, keeping a log of documents submitted to auditors and responding to auditor queries where relevant.
  • Maintaining a log of actions required from various audits/reviews and working closely with departments/partners to ensure that any issues identified are properly understood, improvement commitments are made and that their implementation is monitored.

• Other tasks
  • Conducting fraud and other investigation work, when necessary.
  • Supporting the Country Director and the Grant Compliance Unit in Dublin HQ, and undertaking any other reasonable tasks, as may be required by the Country Director

• Note:
  • All staff are responsible for upholding and promoting Concern’s values, including our workplace equality, diversity and inclusion, and safeguarding values.
  • All staff are required to participate and contribute as necessary towards Concern’s emergency response as and when required.

Role Holder Requirements:

• Essential
  • University graduate with a background in finance, management, administration or a related field.
  • Minimum 4 years of progressive field experience working in a senior audit or compliance role.
  • Able to instruct and enforce adherence to rules and regulations.
  • Excellent knowledge of donor rules and regulations across a wide variety of donors.
  • Proven NGO experience in a senior compliance position at country level, with particular experience of various institutional donors.
  • Experience in reviewing documents/reports with a keen eye for detail.
  • Experience in developing and delivering training workshops and materials.
  • Experience in performing audits and/or reviews of systems/controls.
  • Excellent Excel and Word skills.
  • Willingness to travel and work in challenging environments.
  • Excellent written and spoken English language skills.

• Desired
  • A recognised accountancy or auditing qualification (ACA, ACCA, CIMA etc.) would be an advantage

To apply:  CVs should be submitted through our website at https://jobs.concern.net by the closing date.

Due to the urgency of this position, applications will be shortlisted on a regular basis and we may offer posts before the closing date. 

If you have any concerns about our recruitment process and need particular assistance - for example if you have a visual impairment or are neurodivergent - please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you. 

Concern has an organizational Code of Conduct (CCoC) with three Associated Policies; the Programme Participant Protection Policy (P4), the Child Safeguarding Policy and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Policy accessible here. These have been developed to ensure the maximum protection of programme participants from exploitation, and to clarify the responsibilities of Concern staff, consultants, visitors to the programme and partner organization, and the standards of behavior expected of them. In this context, staff have a responsibility to the organization to strive for, and maintain, the highest standards in the day-to-day conduct in their workplace in accordance with Concern’s core values and mission. Any candidate offered a job with Concern Worldwide will be expected to sign the Concern Staff Code of Conduct and Associated Policies as an appendix to their contract of employment. By signing the Concern Code of Conduct, candidates acknowledge that they have understood the content of both the Concern Code of Conduct and the Associated Policies and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these policies. Additionally, Concern is committed to the safeguarding and protection of vulnerable adults and children in our work. We will do everything possible to ensure that only those who are suitable to work or volunteer with vulnerable adults and children are recruited by us for such roles. Subsequently, working or volunteering with Concern is subject to a range of vetting checks, including criminal background checking. 

Your Personal Data 

During this job application, you will provide Concern with your personal data. Concern takes its responsibilities towards this personal data very seriously and is committed to complying with all relevant data protection legislation. 

For additional information please consult our web site or contact the Human Resource Division in our Head Office. 

You have certain rights under data protection legislation. For more information on how to exercise those rights please visit www.concern.net/about/privacy 

Concern Worldwide is an Irish-based non-governmental, international, humanitarian organisation dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries.