National Compliance Specialist

Organizational Setting

The cooperation between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Government of Ukraine has been designed to reinforce national capacities and to contribute to the broader development of agriculture, sustainable management of forests and fisheries, and animal and plant disease control. FAO is also contributing to building resilience and supporting early recovery in conflict-affected regions by supporting the economic recovery of farmers and rural communities. FAO’s presence in Ukraine has been scaled up across it three offices located in Kyiv, Lviv; Kharkiv and Dnipro under the overall responsibility of the Head of the FAO Office/Designated Responsible Officer in Ukraine.

The recent and large-scale escalation in hostilities in Ukraine is exacerbating the already dire food security situation of the most vulnerable rural households and small farmers. In response to the evolving situation, FAO Ukraine is scaling up its emergency humanitarian and resilience programming in conflict-affected areas of Ukraine, including previous areas of focus such as Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhya and Kherson; Lviv and Zakarpattia in the West; and newly affected and newly accessible areas. In order to address the rapidly deteriorating situation, FAO us guided by its Rapid Response Plan (RRP) that is aligned with the Humanitarian 
Response Plan (HRP) and the UN’s Transitional Framework for Ukraine land focuses on responding to immediate needs by providing life and livelihood-saving assistance to the most vulnerable smallholder farming households impacted by the conflict as well as to providing urgent support to the country’s agrifood sector which contributes to both national and international food security. Supporting the capacity of the Government of Ukraine to sustain critical food system services is also a key pillar of the Plan.

The role is in-office, based in Kyiv.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the Head of Office, and in close coordination with relevant units in FAO Ukraine, Division of Emergency and Resilience (OER) Compliance teams, R isk Management, and other relevant Oversight teams at headquarters and at the regional (REU) level.  

Technical Focus

Provide advice and specialized support in the establishment of risk management, compliance and quality assurance activities.

Tasks and responsibilities

He/she will contribute to strengthening compliance, risk management, internal control, and enhancing quality assurance mechanisms within FAO Ukraine. In particular, the incumbent will:

1.    Support Risk Management and Internal Control 
•     Assist in the formulation, review and periodic updating of risk management and internal control tools, such as the country office and project Risk Logs, Internal Control Questionnaire, and related documentation. 
•     Support the CO's work related to incident reporting and its complaint and feedback processes. 
•     Conduct risk assessments and support the development and implementation of risk mitigation strategies, tools and actions, in alignment with FAO's risk policy and operational procedures. 
•     Monitor and advise on the effectiveness of internal controls, recommending improvements where necessary. 
•     Identify tools and processes to ensure integration of risk management, compliance, and quality assurance into programme activities and operations.

2.    Compliance and Fiduciary Oversight 
•     Provide guidance to ensure FAO Ukraine operations comply with internal rules and procedures, as well as donor and host government requirements. 
•     Support the preparation and documentation of compliance procedures, including those related to anti-terrorism clauses, due diligence, incident reporting, and fraud prevention. 
•     Advise the senior management on compliance strategies, gaps, and corrective actions.

3.    Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) & Accountability to Affected People (AAP) 
•     Monitor implementation of FAO’s policies on PSEA and AAP, ensuring that the responsible teams are aware of their obligations and are effectively carrying out their functions. . 
•     Provide guidance on monitoring of implementing partners and service providers, complaint/feedback mechanisms, and third-party monitoring systems, in accordance with FAO’s accountability framework.

4.    Implementing Partner Due Diligence 
•     Conduct and support due diligence reviews of suppliers, Implementing Partners and Service Providers. 
•     Support capacity building of FAO and partner staff involved in implementation oversight and risk mitigation.

5.    Coordination and Support for Audit and Oversight Activities on the following: 
•     Support the FAOUA Head of Office in addressing and implementing audit and evaluation recommendations. 
•     Contribute to donor verification exercises and other oversight activities, including follow-up and action tracking.

6.    Compliance Monitoring and Reporting 
•     Support FAO Ukraine and HQ (OER) in compliance-related reporting, tracking, and documentation. 
•     Provide regular reminders and guidance to project teams and senior management on FAO, donor, and recipient government compliance and reporting obligations. 
•     Maintain and regularly update FAOUA Business Continuity Plan in COIN

7.    Contractual and Financial Compliance 
•     Support the review of funding agreements, advising management on the application of FAO and donor obligations for both financial and narrative reporting. 
•     Provide oversight to ensure that appropriate control mechanisms are in place for the review of invoices and financial reports associated with Letters of Agreement (LoAs), contracts, and voucher payments to ensure compliance with terms and FAO standards.

8.    Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing 
•     Contribute to internal capacity building on compliance, risk management, fraud prevention, and internal control management.  
•     Promote awareness of online guidance, training, tools, and good practices related to compliance in humanitarian and resilience contexts and monitor training data and reports to identify capacity gaps and propose further actions. 
•     Contribute to building capacity of FAO partners on financial reporting, risk management and compliance.

9.    Perform other related duties as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements  
 
•     University degree (Bachelor’s or equivalent) in business/public administration, economics or a closely related technical field;
•     At least 3 years of relevant experience in administration, finance, evaluation, audit and/or in programme/projects operations, and control functions;
•     Working knowledge (level C) of English;
•     Working knowledge (level C) of Ukrainian;
•     National of Ukraine.

FAO Core Competencies

•     Results Focus
•     Teamwork
•     Communication
•     Building Effective Relationships
•     Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

•     Experience or knowledge about operational, financial, and administrative procedures with the UN or international agencies/organization will be considered an advantage
•     Field experience will be considered an advantage
•     Advanced level degree will be considered an advantage
•     Able to work under pressure and adapt to an evolving and complex humanitarian context and within multidisciplinary and different cultural background teams;
•     Relevant work experience in functions related to compliance management and monitoring in the context of a large international organization operating in developing countries;
•     Negotiation skills and ability to deal confidently with tact at management level;
•     Team player with good interpersonal skills, and facilitation/motivational skills;
•     Ability to work under pressure to tight timelines and without direct supervision;
•     Strong analytical and conceptual abilities, communication skills, both verbal and in writing;
•     Knowledge of humanitarian principles.
 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION