Internal Audit and Compliance Officer

Join The African Academy of Sciences as an Internal Audit and Compliance Officer, overseeing compliance and risk management initiatives in a pan-African organization.

• Compliance & Governance Framework Support
• Develop and maintain an internal risk and compliance dashboard for AAS programs including sub-grants to track programmatic, financial, and administrative deliverables to donor and organizational requirements, and produce periodic status reports to provide the leadership team with real-time visibility on risk remediation progress.
• Ensure complete understanding of joint-programming initiatives, including responsibilities of grantees and partners.
• In consultation with the Legal and Procurement functions, review templates of contracts/addendums and other relevant agreements for joint programming and sub-granting in compliance with Policy, ensuring all documents align with donor regulations and organizational standards.
• Oversee and track the development of sub-grant contracts and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with monetary value and ensure compliance with the terms and conditions prescribed in the contracts.
• Assist with any adjustments to sub-grant agreements or MoUs based on evolving project needs, donor guidelines, or compliance issues.
• Actively participate in grantee and partner meetings and guide grantees/partners as required.
• Proactively lead the team in streamlining systems and processes to make sub-grant reporting and information sourcing more efficient in close collaboration with the Finance department and Project Leads.
• Ensure the sub-grant budget and work plan information is received and shared with the Finance team and Project Leads in a timely manner, and grantees are informed of changes and adjustments as required.
• Ensure project partners and grantees understand what is expected of them on financial and narrative reporting in consultation with the Finance Officers and/or Project Accountants.
• Proactively participate in Joint Program Organizational Capacity Assessments and ensure grant management aspects are documented and identified gaps addressed in consultation with the Finance team.
• Capacity Building: Provide technical assistance and training to grantees and sub-recipients to build their capacity in financial management, compliance, and reporting.
• Collaborate with the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning team to ensure accurate and timely review of partner/grantee reports.
• Donor Regulations: Ensure full compliance with donor regulations and organizational policies, identifying and mitigating risks where necessary.
• Documentation Management: Maintain comprehensive records of all sub-grant agreements, deliverables, and reporting to ensure audit readiness and compliance with donor expectations.
• Prepare clear, accurate, well-structured, and timely audit reports that communicate findings, root causes, risk exposure, and practical, risk-focused recommendations to management.
• Discuss audit findings constructively with process owners and management, fostering a collaborative approach to the resolution of control weaknesses and operational inefficiencies.
• Liaise and coordinate effectively with external auditors to optimize overall audit coverage, minimize duplication of effort, and build synergistic assurance efforts.
• Execute internal audits as per the approved risk-based audit plan.
• Prepare and present clear and concise audit reports highlighting key findings and improvement recommendations.
• Conduct confidential audit investigations into suspected fraud, misconduct, or control breaches, apply structured investigation methodologies and maintain chain of evidence.
• Assess current accounting procedures, internal controls, and systems, and suggest enhancements.
• Maintain comprehensive records of audit activities and follow up on the resolution of identified control gaps.
• Present audit outcomes to the relevant Governing Council Committee in a manner that facilitates informed decision-making and act as the Secretary to the Audit and Compliance Subcommittee.