USAID SCALING UP NUTRITION TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (SUN TA)

COMPLIANCE OFFICER (GRADE 7)

Project Background:

The Scaling Up Nutrition Program is a cross-ministry and multi-donor program to reduce stunting in Zambia through implementation of the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) 1,000 Most Critical Days Program.

SUN TA provides support and direct technical assistance to sub-national local government departments in target districts to plan, implement, coordinate, and monitor integrated nutrition-sensitive and nutrition-specific activities to reduce the rate of stunting among Zambian children under two and improve the nutritional status of pregnant and lactating mothers. USAID has identified two main objectives that address stunting, including (1) Adequate Quantity and Quality of Dietary Intake among Target Groups; and (2) Adequate Health Conditions for Biological Utilization of Nutrients. SUN TA interventions increase access and availability of safe, diverse, nutritious food; adoption of better child feeding and household hygiene practices; and access to improved health, water and sanitation services. The project prioritizes sustainability by improving intra-household joint decision making and building the capacity of local government and their stakeholders to ensure coordination, accountability, and learning, following the Scaling Up Nutrition model.

Purpose:

The Compliance Officer assists the Compliance Manager in identifying, prioritizing, and assigning accountability for managing potential threats related to regulatory or policy non-compliance- or ethical misconduct- that could lead to fines or penalties, reputational damage.

The Compliance Officer monitors and ensures compliance with internal rules and regulations at all levels in accordance with DAI and client’s rules and regulations, in order to foster an ethical culture and an environment of high integrity in the interactions amongst staff and stakeholders of SUN TA.

Place of Performance and Reporting:

The Compliance Officer directly reports to the Compliance Manager.

Responsibilities and Tasks:

• Support Compliance Manager to develop a targeted, risk-based, and coherent annual compliance plan, disseminates the plan to management and core operations teams and ensure strict adherence/implementation of the plan within stipulated timelines.
• Conduct routine internal reviews and investigation of compliance issues to ensure that procedures are followed and prepares detailed findings memorandum for management and advise on next steps.
• Reviews all areas of DAI/SUNTA operations including grants, procurement, finance, IT, human resources, legal compliance and inventory to identify and mitigate risks.
• Maintains documentation of compliance activities, such as complaints received or investigation outcomes.
• Assists the Compliance Manager plan, perform and reports back on compliance to ensure that the control environment is sound and other control procedures are in place, properly implemented and managed well on DAI SUN TA project.
• Advises and monitors quality standards and value for money and make recommendations for improvement.
• Assist in testing internal controls, targeting high-risk areas, document any weaknesses and their impact, and make recommendations to address these weaknesses.
• Assists Compliance Manager updating Standards of Operating Procedures (SOPs) and the Field Operations Manual (FOM) .
• Conduct regular internal program audits, make recommendations and implements follow-up actions with managers and report on implementation status.
• Assist in carrying out necessary training of all staff to ensure that USAID/DAI requirements are met.
• Follows up on the implementation of internal and external audit recommendations and management actions.
• When appointed, carries out investigations of alleged fraud, mismanagement, loss of assets or any other investigation as assigned by supervisor.
• Responds to management queries in relation to DAI internal control environment.
• Perform integrity checks on procurement, inventory management and field expense reports
• Perform other related duties as assigned by the Compliance Manager.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

The Compliance Officer does not supervise anyone.

Education and Experience:

• B.A. Degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration or equivalent.
• Must have current Licentiate Membership of the Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants (ZICA)
• 6 years of relevant experience in an Auditing and/or Compliance position
• Accuracy in working with large amounts of data
• Ability to respond effectively to the time sensitive inquiries and maintain confidentiality
• An energetic, forward-thinking and creative individual with high ethical standards and appropriate professional image
• An extremely well organized and self-directed individual with sound technical skills, analytical ability, good judgment, and strong operational focus.
• Able to maintain good working relationships with team members while retaining high levels of confidentiality and discretion
• Fluency in English is required

7. Key Result Areas

• Testing internal controls, targeting high-risk areas, document any weaknesses and their impact, and make recommendations to address these weaknesses
• Contributing to reports with documented evidence
• Integrity checks on procurement, inventory management and field expense reports

8. Key Competencies for the Role

INTELLECTUAL
INTERPERSONAL
COMMUNICATION
TECHNICAL
LEADERSHIP
Analytical
Team oriented
Written and verbal communication
Interpretation of project activities
Ability to work in a team

Local language knowledge