Risk and Compliance Officer at Danish Refugee Council (DRC)

Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Type of Contract (Expat/National/Trainee): National
Employment Period: 8 months (with intention to extend)
Area of Operation: Nigeria
Supervised by: Risk and Compliance Manager
Reporting to: Risk and Compliance Manager

Background

• Danish Refugee Council (DRC), and its Humanitarian Disarmament and Peacebuilding technical unit - the Danish Demining Group (DDG), has had an operational presence in Nigeria since 2015. DRC Nigeria is the largest DRC country mission in the West Africa region and one of the largest DRC country missions globally.
• Currently, DRC delivers life-saving assistance and protection to vulnerable, conflict-affected populations including internally displaced persons, returnees and host communities in the areas of armed violence reduction, humanitarian mine action, livelihoods, nutrition and food security, protection, shelter and non-food items (NFI) and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in 30+ Local Government Areas (LGAs) across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states in northeast Nigeria.

Duties and Responsibilities

• The Risk and Compliance Officer is responsible for supporting his/her direct line manager with the implementation of the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) / Code of Conduct (CoC) strategy in DRC areas of operation in Borno state.
• In particular, the Risk and Compliance Officer will train DRC staff on the DRC’s Code of Conduct (COC), PSEA, and internal and external Feedback and Complaints Reporting Mechanisms (F-CRM) and ensure their function in all program project sites.
• With specific regards to the Code of Conduct and Core Humanitarian Standards on Quality and Accountability, the Risk and Compliance Officer will liaise closely with heads of departments, and the Code of Conduct Reporting Mechanism (CoCRM) Registrar and Authorising Officer.                                                                

The main responsibilities and tasks of the Risk and Compliance Officer are:

• Ensure that financial and non-financial documentation complies with DRC policies and procedures;
• Conduct spot checks on Warehouse items and DRC assets in all the DRC bases across Borno state with the aim of tracking all DRC assets in every location in Borno state;
• Ensure proper authorization of activities including procurement and all expenditures made by DRC;
• Ensure proper segregation of duties in accordance with DRC’s policies and procedures.
• Help identify risk issues and challenges and solutions to address them
• Ensure internal compliance with the CHS and Code of Conduct at DRC Nigeria;
• Conduct an annual self-assessment on compliance with the CHS and Code of Conduct and define an action plan for the following year. Following the CHS self-assessment, a realistic compliance rate should be defined over the next 12 months;
• Regularly update the CHS monitoring table based on the self-assessment and share the table with the PDQM monthly;
• Oversee the conduct of an annual CHS community evaluation;
• Strengthen the methodology and follow-up of internal and external feedback and complaints;
• Organise training sessions for all DRC staff on the CHS, Code of Conduct, and complaints reporting mechanism so that all DRC staff members understand what the implementation of the CHS and Code of Conduct means;
• All DRC beneficiaries and stakeholders should know how to report a violation of the Code of Conduct and should be aware of the standards of conduct that they can expect from DRC staff. They should also know about their right to report a violation of the Code of Conduct anonymously and safely.
• Implement and support all departments (HR, Finance, Administration, Logistics, Programmes, etc) with the implementation of the CHS strategy and to uphold the Code of Conduct;
• Concerning the CHS, provide every programme and support unit manager with a CHS package comprising tools needed to understand and implement the CHS, including information to be disseminated to the field teams (including casual workers), beneficiaries, DRC partners, and local stakeholders;
• Ensure the CHS is included in project kick-off and close-out meetings and that CHS indicators and activities are included in the monitoring tables;
• Develop tools and documentation required to ensure compliance with the CHS and Code of Conduct.
• In addition to the above, the Risk and Compliance Officer may be asked to carry out other duties as requested by Risk and Compliance Manager - but always in the scope of this job description.

Qualifications

• Degree in Political Science, International Development, Economics or other relevant field.
• Professional experience of at least two years, including one year working with a humanitarian organisation;
• Proficient with standard software tools (Microsoft Word, Excel, and Power-Point);
• Ability to work in a team, independently and under minimal supervision;
• Good communication, analysis, and writing skills;
• Excellent negotiation and diplomacy skills;
• Ability to work in complex environments and under pressure;
• Methodical, autonomous and rigorous.
• Certification as an investigator and/or prior experience in conducting investigations for an INGO is considered an asset

General Regulations

• The employee shall follow DRC instructions on safety, confidentiality and ethical guidelines, including the Code of Conduct and the Humanitarian Accountability Framework
• Employee should not engage in any other paid activity during the DRC contract period without prior authorization
• Employee should not engage in any activity that could harm DRC or the implementation of any project during the DRC contract period
• Employee should not give interviews to the media or publish project-related photos or other material without prior authorization
• Employee shall return all borrowed equipment for the project to DRC after the end of the contract period or upon request.