News, Events, and Opportunities

POSITION TITLE : Risk Management and Quality Assurance Division Director
DIVISION : Risk Management and Quality Assurance Division
DUTY STATION : ACB Headquarters, Los Baños, Laguna,Philippines
IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR : Governing Board/Executive Director

TERMS OF REFERENCE

A. BACKGROUND

The ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) is an intergovernmental regional centre of excellence established through an agreement among the Governments of the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2005. It facilitates cooperation and coordination among the members of ASEAN, and with relevant national governments, regional, and international organisations, on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of such biodiversity in the ASEAN region.

The Risk Management and Quality Assurance Division (RMQAD) is an independent division that will functionally report to the Governing Board of the ACB and administratively to the Executive Director. It is responsible for the conduct of independent and objective assurance and consulting activities aimed at strengthening the systems of the Centre; ensuring financial and system compliance; assessing and
monitoring risk management and risk control measure implementation; and assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of the operations and programmes hand in hand with the strategy and planning team; and ensuring existence of and compliance with quality management system of the Centre. The division shall provide a systematic and disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of the Centre’s
governance, quality management system, risk management, and internal control that will support the Centre in realising its mandate.

B. SCOPE OF DUTIES

Functionally reporting to the Governing Board and administratively to the Executive Director, the RMQAD Director will perform the following:

a. Direct and manage the development, conduct, and reporting of the results of the audit programmes in accordance with appropriate internal audit standards and guidelines and ACB policies.

i. Quality management system audit

1. In coordination with the audit team and other committees, when applicable, prepare the audit plan and budget for the approval of the Executive Director;
2. Coordinate the audit result with the auditee;
3. Review the Centre’s organisational structure, staffing, and administrative systems such as, but not limited, to Human Resources, procurement, assets and records management, and validate processes and procedures;
4. Evaluate compliance with existing quality policy and quality control, or agreements;
5. Document observations and/or findings, and coordinate and discuss the findings with the concerned department;
6. Submit an audit report to the Executive Director (auditee Department to be furnished with a copy) for continual improvement of the system;
7. Conduct follow-up audit on the implementation of the action plan as identified by the auditee to improve the system.

ii. Financial Audit

1. Conduct pre and post-audits of all financial and financial-related documents and transactions;
2. Conduct an audit of cash, receivables, payables, assets other than cash, and investments including those project-based or project-related ones;
3. Ensure the existence of policies, financing, grant agreements or any partnership agreements related to budget, receipts and disbursement;
4. Evaluate the effectiveness of related internal control systems followed by the Centre;
5. Ensure that financial transactions are in compliance with the Centre’s policies, grant, partnership or financing agreement, and covered by budget clearance prior to approval by the authorised officer;
6. Document observations and/or findings, and coordinate and discuss the findings with the concerned department;
7. Submit an audit report to the Executive Director (auditee Department to be furnished with copy);
8. Conduct follow-up audits on the compliance to the policies, and on the implementation of planned actions to address concerns on internal control, if any.

iii. Compliance Audit

1. Ascertain the Centre’s adherence to regulatory guidelines.
2. Evaluate the strength and comprehensiveness of an ACB’s compliance preparations, security policies,
   user access controls, and risk management procedures;
3. In cases when the assurance will require technical expertise not available within the RMQAD team,
   coordinate the outsourcing of the expert following the procurement and assurance/ audit process;
4. Submit the assurance/ audit report to the Executive Director (auditee Department to be furnished
   with copy);
5. Monitor compliance with the regulatory guidelines.

iv. Systems Audit
In coordination with the Enterprise Resource Planning systems audit team

1. Ensure that the policies are incorporated and/or observed in the development and/or use of the ERP System;
2. Observe data migration from the manual system to ERP;
3. Conduct monthly actual audit cross-checking from transaction details to summary reports;
4. From time to time, conduct a review of the audit trail;
5. When necessary, coordinate the conduct of an external systems audit;
6. Submit the assurance/ audit report to the Executive Director (auditee Department to be furnished with copy);
7. In case of a system glitch, observe backup restoration and disaster recovery.

b. Risk Control Measure Monitoring

1. Plan and conduct a progressive audit of the implementation of risk control measures;
2. Discuss the findings with the concerned department/division;
3. Report the result of the monitoring to the Executive Director and the Executive Committee;
4. Conduct follow-up audit on non-implemented control measures;
5. Based on the progressive audit of control measures, provide inputs for reassessment of the risks and effectivity of the control measures.
6. Conduct performance reviews with the monitoring and evaluation team;
7. When necessary, observe committee proceedings;
8. Monitor, assess, and submit progress audit report on the implementation of the Centre’s risk management plan;

c. Liaise with independent external reviewers;

d. Appraise the Governing Board on internal audit programme and achievements;

e. In charge of the management of the RMQA division and its staff; and

f. Perform other related tasks that may be assigned by the Executive Director from time to time.

C. QUALIFICATIONS

Education and Work Experience

• Master’s Degree in Accountancy, Business Administration, Management, or any other related course with five (5) years of related work experiences or its equivalency requirements:
  • Completed Academic Requirements in a Master’s Programme in Accountancy, Business Administration, Management or other related field with seven (7) years of related work experience; or
  • 18 units earned in Master’s Programme in Accountancy, Business Administration, Management or other related fields with nine (9) years of related work experiences; or
  • Bachelor’s Degree in Accountancy, or other related fields with 12 yearsof related work experience.
  • With at least five years of relevant work experience in a reputable international or regional organisation
  • With at least two (2) years of relevant experience in leading/supervising a team.

Skills and Eligibility

• Certified Public Accountant
• Strong interpersonal, communication, leadership and training skills, and good organisational and advocacy skills
• High standard of personal conduct, honesty, and integrity, attentiveness to details
• High level of analytical and written communication skills to produce descriptive financial reports
• Excellent skills working with MS Office applications; familiarity with electronic presentation techniques and ability to operate with online or web-based applications
• Working knowledge of financial/accounting system
• Understanding of contracts and agreements
• Ability to work independently and to effectively manage different tasks

Other Preference:

• Certified Quality Auditor is an advantage

Nationality:

• Must be a national of any of the ASEAN Member States

D. COMPETENCY REQUIREMENTS

Core Values

• Integrity, professionalism and respect for diversity
• Cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
• Treats all people fairly
• Prudence, dependability and accountability

Core Competencies

• Communication, teamwork, planning and organising, accountability, commitment to continuous learning, and technological awareness

E. APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Applicants should prepare the following and send all to :

1. A letter of intent of no more than two pages, elaborating how his/her qualifications and experiences make him/her suitable for the position. Address the letter to Executive Director Dr. Theresa Mundita S. Lim. JP 2024-22 Risk Management and Quality Assurance Division Director should be indicated in the aforesaid letter.
2. Updated curriculum vitae, and diploma, or transcript of records and,
3. A completed Job Application Form (which can be downloaded here)

(**if the link does not download automatically, please RIGHT-CLICK on the link and select OPEN LINK IN NEW TAB or SAVE LINK AS)

Interested applicants are advised to visit www.aseanbiodiversity.org for further details on eligibility and documentary requirements for the subject post. The deadline for submission of completed applications is on 2 July 2024. Only applications with complete documentary requirements (Letter of Intent, completed Job Application Form, and curriculum vitae) will be processed. Applications received beyond this date will not be considered. Only shortlisted candidates will be given due notice. Previous applicants may apply again

F. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) does not ask for payment at any stage of its recruitment process (application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fees) nor authorises anyone to officially receive applications from prospective candidates, except through the ACB Human Resources Division. We advise the public to be vigilant when dealing with financial transactions online and to report any suspicious individuals or accounts representing the ACB.