Risk and Internal Control Officer at FINCA International

Location: Owerri, Imo
Department: Internal Control

About the Job

• FINCA recruits to fill the position of Risk and Internal Control Officer (RICO).
• This position requires an individual that can identify, evaluate and report business specific risks by monitoring and conducting risk and compliance assessments.
• Additionally, this individual should identify all aspect of non-compliance with internal policies & procedures and its implementation on products and services of FINCA Microfinance Bank and make recommendations for improvement.
• Main focus will be to support all business activities and initiatives that will further the achievement of FINCA Nigeria’s business objectives in a controlled environment.

Duties and Responsibilities
Conduct monitoring reviews / visits to all branches and review the lending / Credit and Banking processes to ascertain the level of compliance to the set policies and in conformity with consumer guidelines as per the compliance plan:

Lending and Credit:

• Participate and assess the credit cycle process (pre disbursement and post- disbursement) to ensure compliance.
• Conduct field visit to verify the formation of groups, existence of the client and their household, existence of business(s) which the loan is disbursed, quality and maintenance of collateral pledged, and the loan field analysis conducted by the CRO.

Banking Services ( Front and Back Office):
Review all banking processes in compliance with set policies and procedures and report any anomalies to the Head of Risk & Compliance:

• Ensure compliance with KYC procedures in processing new customers in an effort to control Money Laundering activities.
• Ensure that suspicious transactions are identified and duly reported as per the reporting guidelines to the Head of Risk and Compliance for further action.
• Ensure implementation of treasury and Cash management policies in the back office and report any identified weaknesses.
• Ensure proper record keeping of all customer documents and any other accounting support documents to secure confidentiality.
• Ensure Implementation & Compliance with Business Continuity Management Policies.

Other Internal Business Processes:

• Monitor and evaluate procurement process in compliance with FINCA Nigeria Administrative policy manual.
• Monitor all HR processes in line the internally set policies and the regulations prescribed by Government.
• Monitor system access user rights and all IT related processes in line with FINCA Nigeria Management Information systems policy guide.
• Review and monitor any other process that is initiated either as a result of a new product or Service for which FINCA may bring on board.

Reporting:

• Conduct exit interviews with the staff and branch management on the findings of their inspection visit and make agreeable actions for resolving the key finding;
• Prepare reports of inspection visits and submit to the Head of Risk and Compliance within three days after the visit;
• Based on findings, provide recommendations for improvement of policies and procedures;
• Immediately inform (by email or phone call) Head of Risk and Compliance about all suspicious activities of FINCA employees that can negatively affect the operations or in case of detection of serious violations that indicate to weak internal control environment;
• Liaise with internal auditors in relation to compliance matters identified earlier in their visits and ensure their timely implementation.
• Follow up and Monitor the implementation of agreed actions with the branch management teams on a regular basis – preferably starting one month after the compliance supervision visit, track them and ensure they have been resolved.
• Submit detailed monthly report of activities covered for the month ended before the 03rd working day of the new month to the Head of Risk and Compliance to facilitate the consolidation of the Monthly ICD report to Management Board.
• Coach, Mentor and Train staff to address some of the areas to improve quality of staff to minimize breach of policy and procedures
• Monitor policy implementation and risk of all Banking, credit staff and any other staff member within the branch.
• Participate in the review of policies and procedures.

Qualifications & Required Skills

• Degree / HND in Accounting or its equivalent
• 2 - 3 years post NYSC experience in Internal Control or Internal Audit function; preferably with financial services, microfinance or public policy.
• Good exposure to microfinance, finance or banking industry will be highly desired.
• Ability to work under pressure and handle multiple deadlines.
• Good Planning and project management abilities.
• Strong attention to details, and
• Highly organized with a good demonstration of leadership skills.