Head of Internal Audits and Compliance, Kenya

Position Title: Head of Internal Audits and Compliance

Location: Kenya

Agency: Aga Khan Academies

Sector: Social Development

About the Agency

The Aga Khan Academies are an integrated network of residential schools dedicated to expanding access to education of an international standard of excellence to exceptional young men and women regardless of their ability to pay. Envisaged in Africa, South and Central Asia and the Middle East, the Aga Khan Academies foundational values include pluralism, meritocracy and civil society. Housed in spacious and attractive campuses with outstanding facilities the Academies offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Curriculum from Primary Years to the Diploma and provide a rich opportunity for both teachers and students alike to grow both professionally and personally. The first Aga Khan Academy opened in Mombasa, Kenya in 2003 and the second in Hyderabad, India in 2011. More information.....

The position

The Head of Internal Audits and Compliance will be responsible for ensuring that appropriate business processes are established and adhered to and irregularities and potential risks are flagged. Specifically, the Head of Internal Audit and Compliance will manage, develop, and lead the following:

Conduct independent appraisals of the Academies' activities, financial and otherwise, including risk analysis, assurance on all control arrangements, compliance and minimising exposure to liabilities.
Audit and evaluate operational processes, internal controls, and develop conclusions about the effectiveness of processes or risks related to programme, operations, resource mobilisation and construction.
Audit and recommend actions on correcting reliability and integrity of information, compliance, safeguarding of assets, economy and efficiency of operations and accomplishment of business objectives which are of high risk.
Manage and assess statutory compliance of each Academy to ensure they are in conformance.
Design, develop and update an evolving audit guide as necessary with input from various stakeholders including AKDN education entities and other expert K-12 education consultants.
Implement audit plan and in the early stages seek assistance from qualified volunteers for parallel implementation of audits in countries where Academies are located.
Perform special audit projects and presentations as needed for various stakeholders.
Identify opportunities to assist the executive and senior management of the Academies Unit in the accomplishment of their objectives including, but not limited to, increasing efficiencies, reducing expenses and improving overall effectiveness of business functions.
At a network level provide assessments and cross-comparisons of audits and any systemic issues and findings and recommend risk mitigation strategies.
Manage AKDN protocol benefits processes and deliverables granted to each location. Follow-up with various stakeholders on the timely submission of documents.

The requirements

Profile:

The desired candidate will have the following profile:

Hold a minimum of a Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance or Accounting and must have a comparable professional qualification in audits.
Have a minimum of 7 years experience in managing an audit function with a demonstrated track record of leadership in multi-site regions or countries. International private day or residential school experience is preferred but not required.
Experience in managing audit functions, in some or all of the following settings, are desirable: not-for-profit, developing countries, and construction projects, as well as in the domains of education, hospitality and retail.
S/he must be comfortable working in a start-up situation where little exists but much needs to be built and where volume will increase exponentially.
International exposure and multicultural sensitivity are required.
S/he must be a team player with the ability and willingness to develop capacity amongst the team of local staff.
Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate to a wide range of stakeholders from volunteers to staff at various Academies.
Attention to detail, discretion and high integrity are imperative.
Complete fluency in oral and written communication in English is required.
The position will involve travel up to 40% of the time.
The position can be located in Africa, South Asia, or Europe.