Senior Internal Auditor at Practical Action: (Deadline 16 February 2025)

Job Profile – Senior Internal Auditor

Practical Action

ABOUT US

We are an international development organisation putting ingenious ideas to work so people in poverty can change their world.

We help people find solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems. Challenges made worse by catastrophic climate change and persistent gender inequality. We work with communities to develop ingenious, lasting and locally owned solutions for agriculture, water and waste management, climate resilience and clean energy. And we share what works with others, so answers that start small can grow big.

We’re a global change-making group, working with communities who are vulnerable to poverty and climate change to support them to change their world. Together we develop innovative, community powered and locally owned solutions that achieve transformative change in lives and livelihoods. And we work with a range of partners, including governments, business and international organisations to ensure improvements are sustained and scaled and to change the systems that keep people poor and vulnerable.

We were founded in 1969 by radical economist EF Schumacher who challenged the development thinking of the time. He believed in solutions suited to context, equipping people with the skills and knowledge to change their situation, economic systems that work for all and living within the planets means. This ethos continues to fuel all our work. Schumacher was the author of ‘Small is Beautiful: A study of economics as if people mattered’. In our work we start ‘small’, ensuring we understand what is already working but we aim big focussing on what will deliver the systems change required.

We have over 50 years of experience working across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Our group consists of a UK registered charity with experienced country teams, an expert consulting service and an independent development publishing company. We combine these specialisms to multiply our impact and help shape a world that works better for everyone.

OUR AIMS

We work across four thematic areas. Much of our most impactful work combines our expertise across issues to solve complex and interconnected problems such as supporting smallholder farmers with renewable energy to increase yields and open up bigger opportunities for the wider economy.

Harnessing energy that transforms for the one billion people without electricity, and the three billion people without clean cooking solutions. We’re bringing together rural communities, displaced people, energy providers and decision makers to put clean energy to work. By 2025, our work with partners will have led to affordable, low-carbon energy access and cleaner cooking for two million people in ‘last mile’ communities and 18 million people through wider systems change.

Building resilience that protects for vulnerable people whose lives and livelihoods are threatened by climate-related and natural hazards. We’re working with people threatened by natural and climate related hazards, reducing vulnerability and minimizing the impact on their lives and livelihoods.

By 2025, 0ur work with partners will have enhanced risk knowledge systems so that four million people living in hazard-prone, climate-vulnerable communities are better protected.

Making cities fit for people for the millions of people living in urban slums and settlements without proper sanitation, clean water and waste services. Our work with communities is making cities in poorer countries cleaner, healthier, fairer places for people to live and work, with clean water for drinking and sewage safely contained, collected and processed. By 2025, our work with partners will have led to improved water, sanitation and waste management services for one million people living in slum communities and a further 2.4 million people through wider systems change.

Cultivating farming that works for smallholder farmers struggling to make a sufficient income and adapt to the negative effects of climate change. We’re teaming up with smallholder farmers, many of whom are women, so they can adapt to climate change and achieve a good standard of living. By 2025, our work with partners will have improved food security and incomes for two million people in rural communities and a further one million people through wider systems change.

Practical Action

ABOUT THE ROLE

Our Vision

Practical Action’s vision is of a world that works better for everyone. Scope

About the Role

The purpose of internal audit at Practical Action is to provide independent, objective assurance and consulting services designed to add value and improve Practical Action’s operations. The internal audit department helps Practical Action accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic and disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of governance, risk management, and control processes.

The purpose of the role is to fully support all areas of internal audit across all countries as required, including the UK.

About the role:   The role will be based in one of Practical Action’s country offices but will also involve a limited amount of travel, potentially to any other country where Practical Action operates.

Key responsibilities will include in-person and remote audits, from planning through to reporting. This may be working alone, with the Head of Internal Audit, or with another colleague.

The role will also provide support to the overall development of the internal audit service, lead on the tracking and reporting on the implementation of internal audit recommendations, and be a member of the Financial Crime Team.

Overall, it requires being an advocate of good internal controls and compliance, and good risk management practices, including fraud risk management.

Key working relationships include the Head of Internal Audit, Regional & Country Directors, Regional Finance Managers, International Operations Managers, and the International Finance Team.

About you

We are seeking an experienced, dedicated and detail orientated Internal Auditor, with high standards of professional ethics. The role requires someone who can operate independently under remote supervision and is also a good team player. It requires someone who can be creative and pragmatic in their approach, whilst also being systematic, methodical, and organised. It requires someone who is curious in their thinking, and at the same time able to blend a robustness and a sensitivity in their interactions with others. And it requires someone to have excellent written and spoken language skills, including English.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Audit

• Help design audit methodologies, audit testing programmes, and approaches to audit reporting
• Lead or support the Head of Internal Audit as required in the planning, pre-audit testing and fieldwork testing of risk-based internal audits
• At times this will require visiting other country offices alone or with the support of a ‘guest auditor’. Other audits will be conducted fully remotely, e.g. when conducting global thematic reviews or auditing UK based departments or processes
• Communicate findings with the audit clients in a timely manner, collaborating with them to ensure common understanding of issues, and their root causes with a commitment to implement recommendations
• Generate written audit reports in a standard format with findings, recommendations, and overall conclusions; that subject to review by the Head of Internal Audit can be issued to audit clients

Audit Recommendation Tracking

• Lead on the administration, tracking, and reporting of all internal audit recommendations using dedicated audit software
• Chase overdue audit client responses as necessary
• Lead on the interpretation and analysis of audit client responses, including additional support to them if required
• Generate summary reports using available templates, including the quarterly update to Audit Committee

Finance & Systems

Develop a good working knowledge of Practical Action’s finance system (Microsoft Business Central) and processes, sufficient, if required, to:

• Share in the design and development of finance related audit test programmes
• Support in any internal audit or review of finance system operation or finance system development
• Independently check all forms of finance information that may be required as part of other audits, financial crime investigations, or reviewing responses as part of audit recommendation tracking
• Have a good working relationship with Heads of Finance in all country offices and the International Finance Team based in Nepal
• Have a good working knowledge of IT infrastructure and system risks and controls, sufficient to provide meaningful review (but not expected to be a specialist IT Auditor)
• Have a good working knowledge of Excel, sufficient to audit its use by other departments or to develop applications for audit purposes should the need arise
• Develop a working knowledge of data analytics, in order to identify trends and exceptions within financial and non-financial information (most likely using Excel)

Other

• Occasional attendance as an observer, of the quarterly Audit Committee (FAR) meetings, for the agenda items relating to audit, risk management and financial crime
• Willingness to travel within country or to any other country where Practical Action operates
• Assisting with the creation and maintenance of training materials
• Membership of the global Financial Crime Team. Support to and occasional leading of financial crime investigations where necessary

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Qualifications, Knowledge, and Experience

Essential 

• Part Qualified CIA/CA/ACCA/CIMA/CPAor Degree in a relevant subject
• 3 years of relevant internal audit or similar experience
• Strong working knowledge of internal audit concepts, operational risk, compliance, and control
• Good Excel, technical and accounting knowledge with attention to detail
• Highly computer literate with ability to use and understand accounting systems and reporting tools
• Ability to work effectively, both independently and as part of a team
• Ability to work in a professional environment, keep organised and manage multiple demands on time
• Excellent written & spoken communication skills (in English)
• Proactive and resilient, with ability to engage others across the organisation and independently overcome obstacles
• Ability to comply with the Code of Ethics of the Global Institute of Internal Auditors; the core requirements being: integrity, objectivity, confidentiality, and competency

Desirable

• Fully qualified CIA/CA/ACCA/CIMA/CPA or master’s Degree in a relevant subject
• Relevant experience working in finance, ideally using Business Central
• A background in international development, ideally including time spent overseas
• Fluency in Spanish or French

Behaviours

The most important practical behaviors, for role success are:

• Completing; Collaborative; Creative; Dynamic; Learning

APPLICATION INFORMATION

Why join us?

The opportunity to work for an organisation that is making a positive difference to the lives of people worldwide, a friendly and supportive culture, and working with values driven and highly engaged colleagues are just some of the reasons that we think Practical Action is a great place to work.

How to apply

We are inviting applicants from the following countries in which Practical Action operates:

• Nepal, Rwanda

For more information, please visit our website.

To apply please submit a copy of your CV on no more than 4 sides and also a supporting statement on no more 2 sides that includes the answers to the following questions:

1. Why do you want to work in internal audit in the charity sector?
2. What are your most relevant skills & experiences for this role?
3. Describe a work-based situation where someone has challenged or criticised your work. How did you respond?

You must also have the pre-existing right to both live and work in the country you are recruited in.  You must live in commutable distance of that office, although some countries allow a degree of flexibility for working from home.

Please send your CV and supporting statement to: [email protected]

Closing date for applications: 16^th February 2025. If you do not hear from us within four weeks of the closing date, please assume that your application has not been successful on this occasion.