Afghanistan: Senior Compliance Specialist - Afghanistan PROMOTE
Country: Afghanistan
Closing date: 18 Sep 2013
Senior Compliance SpecialistAfghanistan PROMOTE – Women’s Leadership Development Communities in Transition
Background:Creative Associates International (Creative) is a dynamic and fast-growing professional services firm that specializes in international development in the areas of education, democratic transitions and stabilization in post-conflict environments. Based in Washington, D.C., the firm has field presence in 20 countries worldwide with a strong and diverse portfolio that includes global contracts with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and other clients including the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Defense. The firm has earned a solid reputation among its clients and missions worldwide and is well-regarded by competitors and partners alike.
Project Description:The overarching goal of Afghanistan PROMOTE is to enable educated Afghan women to enter into decision making positions in Afghanistan’s public, private and civil society sectors. PROMOTE is a nationwide five-year program that will work to achieve its objectives through four components: 1) women in economy; 2) women’s rights groups and coalitions; 3) women in government; 4) women’s leadership development. Component 1 will offer professional business development services and market-driven technical and vocational training. Component 2 will support activist women’s groups by providing them with capacity building in the areas of strategic communications, multi-media messaging, outreach and public awareness, coalition building, organizational development, managerial and financial management and fundraising. Component 3 will provide women who desire a career in the civil service with six-month internships at government institutions nationwide. Component 4 will provide courses focusing on topics such as: critical thinking, problem solving, strategic planning, strategic communications, briefing and presentation skills, business writing, group facilitation, negotiation and conflict management, team building, decision making, supervision, performance managing, etc. Position Summary:Creative is seeking a Senior Compliance Specialist to implement Component 4 under the PROMOTE – Women’s Leadership Development program. Component 4 will work in tandem with Components 1, 2, and 3. The goal of Component 4 is to ensure that all PROMOTE participants are equipped with management, decision making and leadership skills that can be applied in social, political and economic fields. Combined with Components 1-3, Component 4 is essential for producing a critical mass of women leaders such that the decision making paradigm in each sector reflects women’s perspectives and priorities and helps shape the priority agendas and resource allocation decisions at national and sub-national levels. The Senior Compliance Specialist will be based in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Primary Responsibilities:Responsibilities of the Senior Compliance Specialist include: • Work with the Chief of Party and Deputy Chief of Party to assist in setting up the program’s financial, operational and programmatic systems;• Ensure all systems comply with USAID, GIRoA and Creative rules and regulations;• Ensure all systems are coordinated, consistent and constructed to produce timely and efficient outputs;• Oversee the program’s systems and work with the Chief of Party and Deputy Chief of Party to overcome obstacles to their application, ensuring maximum effectiveness;• Identify potential areas of compliance vulnerability and risk, develop/implement corrective action plans for resolution of problematic issues, and provide general guidance on how to avoid or deal with similar situations in the future;• Bring any issues of non-compliance or irregularity to the immediate attention of the Chief of Party and work with him/her to resolve them; • Liaise with Creative HQ and Field offices on the receipt of all relevant field manuals and templates and be responsible for ensuring they are applied to maximum effect;• Create and maintain a database of all relevant systems manuals and templates for the program;• Monitor the performance of the Compliance Program and relate activities on a continual basis, taking appropriate steps to improve its effectiveness; • Conduct any other responsibilities suitable to task and commensurate with responsibility.
Required Skills & Qualifications:• Bachelor’s degree in finance, administration or related area (e.g., accounting, management, or compliance);• Minimum of 5 years of demonstrated experience on similar international, donor funded programs;• Experience in planning regular compliance audits, advising management on existing infractions of the law and guiding employees or subordinates on matters related to the law;• Experience handling licenses, tax, permits and all various legal issues;• Possess strong math, organization and administrative skills;
• Demonstrated management and development analysis experience;• Assume financial and administrative responsibilities as required;• Knowledge of federal regulations and procedures;• Experience in post-conflict countries.
Preferred Skills & Qualifications:• Experience in Islamic countries and Afghanistan in particular;• USG experience;• Previous experience as Deputy Chief of Party in Finance and Administration;• Proficiency in Dari or Pashto.
Type of Posting: Unaccompanied
Creative Associates International is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Women and Minorities are encouraged to apply. AA/V/D.
How to apply:
Online applications are preferred at www.creativeassociatesinternational.com; alternatively, email applications with position title in the subject line will be accepted at RMS@creativeDC.com.
