Role purpose

Driven by its Research and Innovation Strategy 2030, CGIAR has an ambitious agenda to deliver science and innovation and advance the transformation of food, land, and water systems to deliver diverse, healthy, safe, sufficient, and affordable diets, and ensure improved livelihoods and greater social equality. CGIAR operates as an integrated partnership of thirteen research Centers and the System Organization with some ten thousand staff operating across the globe. Each Center has its own governance and leadership structure operating alongside the integrated governance and leadership arrangements of CGIAR as a whole.

The Integrated Partnership Internal Audit Function provides independent, objective assurance services and advisory services designed to add value and improve the CGIAR’s operations through a risk-based approach. Bringing a systematic, disciplined approach, the Function ensures that audit planning, standards, quality control and assurance reporting are aligned for the whole Integrated Partnership, to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of governance, risk management, and control processes.

Reporting to the Integrated Partnership Internal Audit Executive (IP-IAE), the Integrated Partnership Quality Assurance Lead (‘IP QA Lead’) is responsible for leading the quality assurance and improvement program in the Integrated Partnership Internal Audit Function to ensure effective quality assessments and the implementation of quality improvement action plans.  The IP QA Lead establishes a methodology for internal assessments, ensuring that independent reviews of self-assessments are performed and reported on; collaborates closely with Heads of Internal Audits in the Centers/SO and provide guidance and advisory services. The IP QA Lead is responsible for validating conformance with the Global Internal Audit Standards (GIAS) and for reporting bi-annually to the Assurance Oversight Committee (AOC), the Integrated Partnership Board (IPB), Center Audit, Finance, and Risk Committee (Center AFRCs) and Boards, and the IPB-AFRC.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead the quality assurance and improvement program in the Integrated Partnership Internal Audit Function to ensure effective quality assessments and the implementation of quality improvement action plans.
• Establish and lead the roll out of a methodology for internal assessments, including ongoing monitoring, periodic self-assessment and communication of results.
• Ensure that independent reviews of self-assessments are performed and report the results to the Centers’ Heads of Internal Audit (HoIA), the IP-IAE and Center AFRCs to ensure appropriate actions.
• Monitor the implementation of improvement and action plans for areas of non-performance with the standards and opportunities for improvement including a proposed action plan and timeliness for improvement.
• Validate conformance with the Global Internal Audit Standards (GIAS) through validation of internal self-assessments and communicate results to members of the Function and where necessary disclose to the IP-IAE areas of nonconformance with GIAS and their impact.
• Collaborate with HoIA’s, internal and external assurance providers ensuring that efforts are aligned and supplement each other.
• Identify capacities of assurance providers within and outside of the Integrated Partnership that can undertake the delivery of specific internal audit engagements across the Integrated Partnership.
• Provide guidance and advise into the advisory services on areas of improvement coming out of quality assurance assessments.
• Engage with HoIAs to strengthen knowledge sharing.
• Provide assurance on the independence and objectivity of the Function, in addition that provided by the IP-IAE.
• Provide reporting bi-annually to the AOC, the IPB and Center AFRCs and Boards on quality assurance and conformance, and report directly to the IPB-AFRC on quality assurance conformance regarding the Function as a whole.
• Develop a plan for, and coordinate delivery of the external quality assessment in coordination with members of the Function and monitor the implementation of actions from the external quality assessment to ensure timely implementation.
• Review documentation, practices, and processes to provide recommendations for further improvement and sustained delivery of services.

Qualifications and Experience

Education and Experience

• Advanced university degree (Masters' or equivalent) in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration or a related field, and professional Internal Audit Certification, such as CIA/IIA or equivalent, and/or accounting qualification (ICA, ACCA or equivalent).
• Experience leading and/or overseeing quality assurance in audits, preferably in a comparable international organization
• Demonstrated track record of guiding and advising risk-based internal audits for quality assurance purposes
• Experience in engaging effectively across organizational levels and geographies to build capacity and raise awareness.
• Experience working with multiple stakeholders globally is a distinct advantage.

Languages

• Excellent command of the English language, both written and spoken.
• A working knowledge of an additional language such as Spanish, French or Arabic is an advantage.

Key Competencies

• Strong understanding of internal audit quality standards in comparable international organizations.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills to effectively communicate complex internal audit issues to senior leaders and stakeholders
• Strategic thinker with strong analytical skills and attention to details.
• Ability to work collaboratively across a broad range of internal and external stakeholders in diverse cultural contexts and sensitive or complex operational environments.
• Strong interpersonal skills to build trust, influence, and work collaboratively with a range of global stakeholders to deliver results within approved timelines and budgets.
• Uphold the highest ethical standards, inspiring trust and treating all people with respect and personal integrity, shaping an inclusive, diverse and open organizational culture.

Terms of Appointment

• Benefits:
  • The selected staff member will be offered terms and conditions commensurate with the grade of the position, qualifications and experience.
• Reports to:  
  • Integrated Partnership Internal Audit Executive.
  • Reports directly to the Integrated Partnership Board Audit, Finance & Risk Committee (IPB-AFRC) on quality assurance conformance.

Role Location

This position will be based in a CGIAR Center in the Global South (LMIC) in a duty station to be determined.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, please ensure you complete the Application Form provided below by 22 April 2025 (16:00 CET, GMT+2). It is essential that you submit your CV in English, specifically in Microsoft Word format (.doc/.docx).

Applications in other languages or formats will not be considered.

Rest assured, all information will be handled with the utmost confidentiality.

SRI Executive is exclusively retained by CGIAR to undertake this assignment.