Heartland Alliance Ltd-Gte is a service-based human rights organization with a global heritage that is established under the laws of Nigeria with a mission to engage as a lead and global player with a variety of stakeholders to create access to opportunities and resources for comprehensive healthcare and social and economic justice for all. Heartland Alliance Ltd-Gte is building on over a hundred-year legacy of Heartland Alliance International (HAI); the global arm of Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights, a family of organizations that has been leading anti-poverty and social justice work in Chicago for more than 125 years to provide high quality and stigma-free services for all using a tailored human rights-based approach.
- Job Type: Full Time
- Qualification: MBA/MSc/MA
- Experience: 9 – 10 years
- Location: Lagos
- Job Field: Finance / Accounting / Audit, NGO/Non-Profit
Job Summary
The Compliance Director will ensure that the organization’s operations and business transactions are compliant with the terms and conditions of the ACE 6 award and applicable USAID policies, rules, and regulations. The position is responsible for developing compliance programs, reviewing company policies, and advising the organization’s management on possible risks. The Compliance Director also interprets new GON and USG regulations and presents them in clear terms to the organization’s senior management. Furthermore, The Compliance Director will need to design and implement internal policies that ensure that they can meet new external requirements. The Director will also review employees’ work and provide advice on compliance. The Director will be familiar with risk management and industry standards. The Director will ensure the organization operates legally and ethically and responds to policy violations while meeting project objectives. Finally, the compliance director is responsible for training staff on these internal policies and monitoring their effectiveness.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
- Conduct a risk assessment to identify and prioritize areas of compliance risk and develop strategies to mitigate the identified risk thereby ensuring proactive compliance.
- Provide training and education to employees on compliance matters, ensuring a thorough understanding of policies and regulations.
- Promote a culture of ethics and integrity throughout the organization and ensure that staff on the project and the organization understand ethical practices.
- Develop and update policies and procedures based on changes in regulations and organizational needs.
- Review all agreements with third parties and ensure that they comply with legal standards, donor requirements, and HALG practices.
- Perform and report on periodic compliance assessments to ensure that financial control, financial guidelines of donors, and other control procedures are in place, properly implemented, and managed on the project within the organization.
- Review and evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of operations, adequacy of internal controls, reliability of financial reporting, compliance, and applicable laws, and the safeguarding of assets within HALG.
- Test internal controls, targeting high-risk areas, document any weaknesses and their impact, and make recommendations to address these weaknesses.
- In line with the HALG procedures and authorization matrix, ensure that the segregation of duties within the organization is well-aligned and compliant with set policies, rules, and regulations.
- Develop and periodically review and update the Code of Conduct to ensure relevance in guiding management and employees.
- Develop and implement anti-fraud policies for the project & the organization.
- Develop compliance systems and tools to be implemented and ensure that these systems and tools are aligned with HALG and Donor rules, policies, and regulations.
- Carry out necessary training of finance and non-finance staff to ensure that USAID requirements are met.
- Follow up on the implementation of internal & external audit recommendations and management actions. Tracking, assisting in prep and ensuring compliance with external audit findings.
- Develop and implement appropriate internal control mechanisms to safeguard the organization’s assets, including ensuring the insurance policies are in place for HALG assets.
- Where necessary, carry out investigations of alleged fraud, mismanagement, loss of assets or any other investigation.
- Conduct periodic reviews of HALG Bank and Cash Operations (Including the administration of Joint costs),
- Lead in the review of procurement processes before the engagement of third-party vendors by the organization.
- Assess periodic accountabilities for all HALG commodity/store Management and operations across the various stores in the organization.
- Carry out checks and balances on the organization’s advances & retirements regarding employees’ travels/activities.
- Conduct reviews of HALG’s Assets, & Assets register, for verification of physical existence, costs, location, and insurance, in conjunction with the operations team.
- Conduct periodic assessments and checks on the organization’s transportation & vehicle management and services.
- Periodically examine the organization’s HR and Staff Files, vis-a-vis, payroll & other payroll-related items such as statutory computations and remittances of PAYE, Pensions, NHF, NSITF, etc.,
- Lead the compliance team in providing support to the sub-award unit of the organization on sub-recipient’s accounts/balances reconciliations and carry out the annual sub-recipients Monitoring & Management reviews as stipulated in 2 CFR 200:330-331.
- Conduct, and manage various registrations of HALG with the Donor and Government and ensure that HALG is always in active status on every Donor and Government’s required portals such as SAM.gov, NCAGE, IRS, BNP, Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, CAC, NSITF, ITF, FIRS, etc.).
- Provide quarterly reports in line with assessments, findings, and recommendations provided and implement mechanisms to prevent fraud and corruption. Report all concerns, and issues related to non-compliance of HALG policies, rules, and regulations immediately to the Chief Executive Officer & other Senior Leadership teams.
- Responsible for developing monthly reports and dashboards to demonstrate performance and risk areas of the compliance program.
- Ability to collaborate effectively across different departments within the organization.
- Carry out other activities assigned.
Reporting: The Compliance Director will report to the Board of Directors with a dotted line report to the HALG Chief Executive Officer while working closely with the project management team. The Compliance Director will also maintain an open channel of communication with the Agreement Officer’s Representative (AOR) and other relevant staff as directed by USAID/Nigeria.
Education and Experience:
- Advanced degree (Master) in Accounting, Finance, Law, and Business Administration or a related field, including a relevant compliance certification such as ICAN, CPA. ACA, ACCA, or recognized equivalent will be an advantage.
- 9-10 years of international NGO experience in a similar role.
- Conversant with current industry compliance protocols and best practices.
- Progressive experience in risk management and compliance.
- Demonstrated knowledge of legal requirements and procedures.
- Possesses high ethical standards, excellent critical thinking, analytical, and problem-solving skills, and ability to accurately interpret complex documents and policies.
- Ability to work independently and with proactive communication skills is essential.
Other Competencies:
- Time Management – Ability to prioritize tasks, manage time, and complete projects in a fast-paced, changing environment with minimal supervision.
- Quality Management – Looks for ways to improve and promote quality; demonstrates accuracy and thoroughness.
- Written Communication – Writes clearly and informatively; Edits work for spelling and grammar; Varies writing style to meet needs; Presents numerical data effectively.
- Adaptability – Adapts to changes in the work environment; Manages competing demands; Changes approach or method to best fit the situation; Able to deal with frequent change, delays, or unexpected events.
- Cultural Sensitivity – Respect the cultural environment in which a person is working and does not act in a manner that is outwardly offensive to the local community.
- Non-discriminatory- Do not discriminate against persons based on sexual orientation or gender identity, age, preferred jobs, or behavioral habits.
Language Skills:
- Excellent communication skills.
- Demonstrated competency in public speaking.
Computer Skills:
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, Outlook/Exchange, Windows operating systems, and PowerPoint.
- Other software routinely used by Heartland Alliance.
Work Environment:
- The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
- The employee may be required to travel regularly to often insecure and limited-resource environments.
Method of Application
Eligible candidates are requested to send an application letter and Resume as one PDF document to [email protected] not later than Friday, February 9th, 2024 indicating the position title in the subject line
