Manager, Audit Section At UNOPS

UNOPS mission is to serve people in need by expanding the ability of the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, infrastructure and procurement in a sustainable and efficient manner.

Within these three core areas of expertise, UNOPS provides its partners with advisory, implementation and transactional services, with projects ranging from building schools and hospitals, to procuring goods and services and training local personnel. UNOPS works closely with governments and communities to ensure increased economic, social and environmental sustainability for the projects we support, with a focus on developing national capacity.

Working in some of the world’s most challenging environments, our vision is to advance sustainable implementation practices in development, humanitarian and peacebuilding contexts, always satisfying or surpassing partner expectations.

We employ more than 15,000 personnel and on behalf of our partners create thousands more work opportunities in local communities. Through our headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark and a network of offices, we oversee activities in more than 80 countries.

Background Information – Job-specific

The Internal Audit and Investigations Group (IAIG) reports directly to the Executive Director of UNOPS, and is responsible for providing audit, investigation and related advisory services. The Manager of the Audit Section will lead their team in ensuring that UNOPS continues to achieve high standards of good governance, risk management and accountability. The Audit Manager will be expected to interact closely with the Manager of the Investigations Section and their team. IAIG leads investigations into alleged fraud, corruption, waste of resources, abuse of authority or other misconduct and violations of UNOPS regulations, rules and administrative instructions. Ensuring close cooperation and timely information sharing between the Audit and Investigations Sections will better prevent misconduct and strengthen the internal control environment.

Functional Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Director, IAIG, the Manager of the Audit Section is expected to comply with the following key functions:

1. Strategic development
2. Quality assurance
3. Knowledge management and innovation
4. Personnel management

1. Strategic development:

● Ensure the execution of the annual Internal Audit Plan. This includes the coordination of up to 10 internal audits, up to 10 advisory engagements, and the management of up to 40 project audits per year.

● Lead and coordinate the planning and execution of audit field missions for different types of engagements at selected locations, as well as UNOPS HQ.

● Develop findings, and agree on management action plans and timelines for implementation of corrective and preventive actions with the auditees.

● Monitor implementation status via the internal Audit and Oversight Recommendations (AUDITOR) tool.

● Develop the risk-based annual Internal Audit Plan, monitor it, and update IAIG’s plan during the year based on a continuous risk assessment.

● Coordinate the resources allocation and track engagements completion according to the internal KPIs.

2. Quality assurance:

● Quality assure audit reports and oversee the audit team in order to ensure they meet the highest possible standard required under public reporting.

● Ensure the use of standard audit work papers, audit programs, and innovative tools such as data analytics.

● Cooperate with the Investigation Section to identify control gaps that allowed misconduct to occur and propose relevant remedial action.

● Provide advice to other departments in relation to potential exposures to fraud, corruption, and other inappropriate practices.

3. Knowledge management and innovation:

● Conduct special assignments such as management reviews, and consulting projects, provide support to the Investigations section, and coordinate training workshops.

● Be a catalyst for strategic initiatives. This includes capacity building within UNOPS to better mitigate fraud and corruption.

● Liaise with sister UN agencies, Clients, Donors, Partners, and Board of Auditors. Joint Inspection Unit and International Financial Institutions. Exchange information where permitted.

● Be willing to continuously innovate IAIG’s work plan with better practices and initiatives.

4. Personnel management:

● Lead and be responsible for the Internal Audit team, including guests auditors and specialists

● Develop short and long-term work-development plans for the team.

● Ensure that strategies and priorities for the internal Audit team are executed, resources are efficiently allocated, further developed, and optimized.

● Monitor processes and individual performance against people’s work plans.

● Provide line management and mentoring for personnel within the Internal Audit team to promote their professional growth, motivation, and satisfaction of personnel while ensuring appropriate personal development and succession planning.

Impact of Results: IAIG contributes to UNOPS’ results by continuously assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of its business lines and the level of acceptable risk associated with business opportunities. It also contributes to the improvement of governance, risk management, and control processes. Furthermore, IAIG leads the Executive Director’s investigations into alleged misconduct: remediating funds where possible, helping to prevent and detect future waste and abuse, and strengthening internal and external stakeholder confidence in UNOPS.

Competencies

Develops and implements sustainable business strategies, thinks long term and externally in order to positively shape the organization. Anticipates and perceives the impact and implications of future decisions and activities on other parts of the organization.

Treats all individuals with respect; responds sensitively to differences and encourages others to do the same. Upholds organizational and ethical norms. Maintains high standards of trustworthiness. Role model for diversity and inclusion.

Acts as a positive role model contributing to the team spirit. Collaborates and supports the development of others. For people managers only: Acts as positive leadership role model, motivates, directs and inspires others to succeed, utilizing appropriate leadership styles.

Demonstrates understanding of the impact of own role on all partners and always puts the end beneficiary first. Builds and maintains strong external relationships and is a competent partner for others (if relevant to the role).

Efficiently establishes an appropriate course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a goal. Actions lead to total task accomplishment through concern for quality in all areas. Sees opportunities and takes the initiative to act on them. Understands that responsible use of resources maximizes our impact on our beneficiaries.

Open to change and flexible in a fast paced environment. Effectively adapts own approach to suit changing circumstances or requirements. Reflects on experiences and modifies own behavior. Performance is consistent, even under pressure. Always pursues continuous improvements.

Evaluates data and courses of action to reach logical, pragmatic decisions. Takes an unbiased, rational approach with calculated risks. Applies innovation and creativity to problem-solving.

Expresses ideas or facts in a clear, concise and open manner. Communication indicates a consideration for the feelings and needs of others. Actively listens and proactively shares knowledge. Handles conflict effectively, by overcoming differences of opinion and finding common ground.

Education/Experience/Language requirements

Education:

• Advanced University degree (Masters or equivalent) in Accounting, Auditing or Finance is required.
• First level degree (Bachelors or equivalent) in combination with additional two years of relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of advanced university degree.

Certification:

• Professional certification in related field such as Chartered Accountant (CA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) or Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) is highly desired.

Experience:

• 10 years of professional experience in Auditing.
• A proven track record as Team lead for a minimum of 5 years experience leading, planning, executing audits and managing teams is required.
• Previous experience within a UN organization, International Financial Institution, or Big 4 audit firms is desirable.
• Knowledge of Wrike, MS ProjectTM or similar team management tools, TeammateTM Audit Software, and related CAAT’s are considered an asset. Familiarity with ERP, such as Atlas TM or AgressoTM is considered a plus.
• Experience in leading or supervising data analytics teams is an asset.

Language requirements:

• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• Working knowledge of another United Nations language such as French or Spanish is an asset.

Contract type, level and duration

Contract type: Staff Contract level: P5 Contract duration: One year initially, renewable subject to satisfactory performance and funding availability

For more details about United Nations staff contracts, please follow this link*:* https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/UN-Staff-Contracts.aspx

Additional Considerations

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time.
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• UNOPS embraces diversity and it is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, or disability.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization – UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.