Risk and Compliance Officer

The Sudan Country Office (CO) is recruiting a Risk Officer to fill a new position that will be responsible for proactively supporting the activities Risk Management Unit. The Risk Officer will support the CO Risk and Compliance team in providing advice and specialized support in the establishment of effective risk management activities; application of controls and compliance with policies and procedures; and contribution to the overall effectiveness of operations and optimization of WFP resources by championing the mainstreaming of WFP’s risk and compliance framework. The selected candidate will be onboarded for an 11-month appointment. The job holder will report to the Risk and Compliance Officer and required to make frequent travels to to perform internal control reviews.

1. Lead and / or participate in regular and ad- hoc risk assessments/oversight/control reviews in WFP Sudan to: identify and assess risks; contribute to the development and design of mitigation actions; assess effectiveness of the internal controls; and prepare oversight report and risk information for management to share with internal and external stakeholders.

2. Support the Head of Risk and Compliance Unit in contributing to embedding risk management in planning and decision-making through developing and monitoring of key risk appetite metrics and risk indicators, and regular updating of risk registers, including progress towards implementing the risk mitigation actions.

3. Coordinate the collection of feedback, analyse data on risk performance and propose potential new implementation approaches.

4. Lead and / or contribute to the discussion with functional experts on: identifying trends and emerging issues; preparation of guidance material and checklists in conformity with WFP policies and rules on periodic risk and/or control assessments; use of revised risk management tools; linking risk, oversight and evaluation information.

5. Review and analyse risk management activities, exposures and mitigation actions.

6. Provide advice to Country Office management on enhancing the existing processes on risk management and internal control systems with clear accountabilities, including performance and risk management systems, monitoring and oversight processes, and techniques and tools to support their implementation. This may include supporting/advising management in chairing a regular risk discussion.

7. Supervise and build capacity of staff under supervision, as requiredAssess information/training needs and prepare and deliver training programmes or information sessions for colleagues and partners in WFP Sudan to enhance understanding of risk management and compliance with WFP policies, rules, regulations and procedures.

8. Using the Three Lines Model, contribute to the development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) by First Line colleagues for managing the risk and compliance process, including criteria for conducting and following up on risk management oversight missions, training materials and modules, etc., to minimize risk to the organization.

9. Facilitate management accountability across functional units, prepare comprehensive reports summarizing the status of compliance of internal controls, key oversight themes including observations from independent oversight reports, and using risk information (e.g., risk indicators, incidents) to highlight areas out of risk appetite and to formulate sound recommendations on required actions to reduce vulnerability.

10. Conduct the annual Executive Director’s Assurance exercise (e.g., collect and review and clear inputs for the survey).

11. Support managers to prepare, plan for and implement Internal Audit and External Audit exercises (e.g., collect and analyse essential documents, coordinate briefing meetings and followup on recommendations including maintaining a repository).

12. Promote and disseminate the revised anti-fraud and anti-corruption (AFAC) policy and WFP’s adherence to Zero Tolerance for Inaction, including supporting managers in their fact-finding reviews and fraud risk assessments by collecting and analysing data on fraud incidents, fraud risk metrics, and fraud risk appetite, providing training in AFAC standards.

13. Other duties as required, including potentially serving as Business Continuity Management (BCM) and Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCI) focal point (e.g., supporting OCI avoidance plans and procedures).

Education: Advanced University degree in business/public administration, audit, project management, finance, accounting, international development, or other relevant field, or First University degree with additional years of relevant work experience and/or training/courses in audit, performance and risk management or other related fields.

Experience: Hands-on knowledge of governance, organizational structures, strategy and major initiatives of international organizations. Has conducted audit, oversight, risk and control reviews, risk analysys and contributed to the development of risk mitigation strategies. Demonstrable experience in programme/project management, oversight/audit, risk management. Has managed a team including participation in recruitment, contract management, performance management and capacity building of team members. Has conducted monitoring and reporting activities, demonstrating knowledge of results hierarchy, performance metrics and measurement. Has facilitated strategic and operational conversations with other units on impact, timing, or planning, using confident analytical, evaluative, and problem-solving skills as well as resourcefulness, initiative, good judgement, tact, diplomacy and strong oral and written English communication skill. Progressively responsible experience in undertaking and/or contributing to risk management activities, including assessing and recommending effective internal controls and mitigation actions, in various organizations preferably those that use modern enterprise risk management frameworks, techniques and systems.

Languages: Fluency in English with strong English writing skills. Fluency in Arabic is highly desirable