Senior Officer-Internal Audit

Vacancy Announcement No:

AAS/A&R/06/03/25

Position Title

Senior Officer – Internal Audit

Job Grade

D Mid

Department

Internal Audit

Reporting to

Executive Director & Audit & Risk Committee

Duration

Fixed Term – 3 years

Position Location

Nairobi, Kenya

Organisation overview

The African Academy of Sciences (AAS) is a non-aligned, non-political, not-for-profit pan African organisation headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, whose vision is to see transformed lives on the African continent through science. Our tripartite mandate is recognising excellence through the AAS’s highly prestigious fellowship and award schemes, providing advisory and think tank functions for shaping Africa’s Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) strategies and policies and implementing key STI programmes addressing Africa’s developmental challenges. The current strategy for the AAS focuses on five strategic focus areas: Environment and climate change, health and wellbeing, natural sciences, policy and governance and social sciences and humanities. The AAS’s mission is to leverage resources through excellence and thought leadership for sustainable development.

Role overview

The position plays a strategic role in ensuring the organization’s compliance with regulations and internal procedures. The Senior Internal Auditor will be responsible for performing and supervising audits, preparing reports, recommending improvements and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. The incumbent will examine and monitor the organization’s finances. Manage the auditing team and be responsible for overseeing the full audit cycle, developing auditing strategies, and creating solutions to make the organization’s financial processes more effective. He will be responsible for leading and executing audit engagements across the organization to assess the effectiveness of internal controls, risk management processes, and governance frameworks. They will play a crucial part in assuring the management and the Governing Council on the adequacy of the organization’s internal control systems and efficiency of operations.

Duties and responsibilities

1. Audit Planning & Execution

• Lead the planning and execution of internal audit assignments according to the annual audit plan.
• Conduct risk assessments and develop audit objectives based on identified risks and business processes.
• Analyze and evaluate accounting documents, preparing reports that reflect audit results and document the process.

2. Internal Controls Evaluation

• Assess the design and operational effectiveness of internal controls.
• Identify control deficiencies and recommend improvements to mitigate risks.
• Identify and assess areas of significant business risk, internal controls and corporate governance processes.
• Collaborate with management to develop acceptable solutions to mitigate identified risk.

  3. Data Analysis

Utilize data analytics techniques to identify trends, anomalies, and potential areas of risk.

• Collaborate with IT audit specialists to assess the effectiveness of IT controls.

4.Reporting

• Prepare comprehensive audit reports outlining findings, conclusions, and recommendations for management.
• Present audit findings to stakeholders, including management and the audit committee.
• Coordinating with external auditors to ensure proper audit coverage and avoid duplication of efforts.

5.Follow-Up

• Monitor the implementation of audit recommendations and follow up on corrective actions.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of corrective actions taken in response to audit findings.

6.Advisory Role

• Provide advisory services to management on internal control enhancements and risk management practices.
• Stay informed about industry trends, regulations, and best practices relevant to internal audit.

7.Team Leadership & Development

• Mentor and train junior audit staff to enhance their skills and professional development.
• Support the audit team in executing audits efficiently and effectively.

8. Compliance Assurance

• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and internal policies.
• Assist in the preparation and review of internal audit processes and methodologies.
• Planning and performing financial and operational audits to ensure compliance with company policies and regulations.
• Maintaining updated knowledge of laws, regulations, and industry best practices and ensure the organization’s adherence to these.

Risk Management:

• Identify and effectively manage organizational risks in order to maximize achievement of organizational objectives
• Manage the process of identifying organization key risk areas including identification of emerging risks
• Oversee the process of conducting annual organization-wide risk assessments to measure the likelihood and impact of identified risks, i.e., developing parameters, methods, and tools for evaluating, categorizing, and prioritizing risks- likelihood, risk consequence, and thresholds to trigger management action.
• Assist in the development of the organization’s risk mitigation strategy/ plan, proposing appropriate controls including the scope of management and other individual accountability and a monitoring plan, to ensure the implementation of the strategy/ plan.
• Responsible for preparing and submitting quarterly reports to the Board on risk management issues including the risk register and on emerging risks.
• Send quarterly updates to senior management on the implementation of organizational risk management strategy/ plan.

9.Assisting in the investigation of suspected fraudulent activities within the organization and recommending appropriate action.

10.Perform any other duty as may be assigned.

Person Specifications

Academic & Professional Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance; master’s degree preferred.

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field.
• Masters ‘degree preferred
• Relevant professional certification (e.g., CPA, CIA, CPA, CISA) is strongly desired and preferred.
• Member of Institute of Certified Public Accountants or a relevant professional body

Experience

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in internal audit, external audit, or risk management.
• At least three years must be in Audit (Public or private institutions), two of which should be at a Managerial or senior supervisory level. Experience in accredited audit firms and/or in a Non-Governmental organization is preferred
• Experience in a senior role within an internal audit function is highly desirable.

Language

Knowledge of other African Union languages (e.g., Arabic, French, and Portuguese) will be an advantage.