1. Donor Audits
- Undertaking Pre-Audits.
o Identify the prospective audits based on past trends and prepare a
pre-audit plan.
o Conduct pre-audits and identify the gaps, corrective actions
required.
o Implement the corrective actions ensuring we are audit ready for
the future.
o Liaison with IS Team to implement audit readiness using AI.
- Lead & execute the Legacy Audits.
o Liaison with auditors and ensure timely sharing of the required
details/transaction listing.
o Collecting and submitting the documents required by the Auditor.
o Monitor and provide response/feedback on Auditor’s
comments/queries.
o Co-ordinate meetings with various stakeholders to address the
Auditor’s queries.
o Prepare report that comprises the lessons learned and
recommendations on the study/audit process and results.
- SPOC for IA queries and other tasks: Assist the Assistant Manager,
Grants Compliance with all grants related queries and miscellaneous tasks like
risk assessment, combined assurance mapping, website development, pillar
assessments, policy & procedure updates etc.
2. Project Documentation Oversight
- Maintain Grants SharePoint.
o Ensure compliance with the Grants Documentation & Records
Management Guidelines (SharePoint).
o Review, Monitor and guide the SharePoint for the review of project
folders
o Update regularly on the status of compliance with the SharePoint
guidelines.
- Review and monitoring of Country SharePoint.
o Regularly monitor the completeness of all country SharePoint
folders ensuring all updates to country SharePoint folders
o Liaison with IT Teams on the possibilities of using AI/automated
tools to check completeness of country SharePoint folders.
- Create Guidelines for Partner supporting documents.
o Establish an internal policy or set of guidelines outlining the
documents required from partners/sub-recipients. Define a set of mandatory
requirements in coordination with the PMU and share them with partners at the
time of signing the LOA. These guidelines will evolve and shall be updated
periodically on need basis
3. Training and
Capacity Building
- Create a Knowledge Hub for donor rule.
o Interpret donor regulations and requirements and create a
centralized Knowledge Hub for Donor rules, requirements, lessons learnt from
audit findings, applicable compliances etc for assigned projects or regions.
o Compile the lessons learnt for ended grants/projects, in
discussion with the concerned FO/Grants Manager, and prepare guidance notes to
be shared across departments for future reference.
o Train Budgeting, PMU, Procurement & Grants Team on the above
Example of donor agreements needing regular review and interpretation for
assigned projects or regions.
- Review the new grants activated in system every month and prepare
a compliance summary deck outlining key donor compliance requirements, critical
conditions, and mandatory rules applicable to the project. This deck will be
shared with the relevant grants and project teams to support consistent
understanding and adherence to donor obligations throughout project
implementation.
- Work in partnership with PMU to continuously review, develop and
implement partner financial monitoring tools and mechanisms to mitigate the
risks of partner non-compliance and ineligible expenditures.
o Conduct Team Trainings – Onboarding (Induction) & recurring
o Liaison with HR and conduct onboarding for new staff on behalf of
FSU Team
o Maintaining a training guide specifically aimed at future
onboarding of grant accountants. This should cover all areas the FSU grants
team works on.
o Train PMU and Project Team on donor financial rules.
4. Cash flow
monitoring and invoice management
- Monitor the end-to-end invoicing cycle across grants to ensure
timely invoice submission, systematic tracking of outstanding invoices, and
proactive follow-up on pending payments.
- Develop a tracking mechanism to maintain oversight of invoice
status - monitor outstanding invoices, identify delays or bottlenecks,
coordinate with Finance and project teams to resolve issues, and support cash
flow planning through timely reporting and escalation of overdue receivables.
5. Other Duties
- Perform any other tasks assigned by the Asistant
Manager, Grants Compliance Reporting, Finance manager Grants, Compliance and or
the Chief Finance & Operations Officer related to institutional Grants
Compliance.
Requirements
- Bachelor Degree in accounting/audit with at least 5 years of
relevant experience
- At least 5 years of relevant work experience, ideally with an
international organization with progressive responsibility in audits/project management,
and/or operations
- Experience in financial, accounting, and auditing services
- Experience in audit, compliance, or risk management
- Experience with an ERP, familiarity with Agresso Unit 4 and Vision
XL is an advantage.
Skills Required
- Bachelor’s degree in accounting or auditing
- At least 5 years of relevant professional experience
- Experience with an international organization and progressive responsibility in audits, project management, and/or operations
- Experience in financial, accounting, and auditing services
- Experience in audit, compliance, or risk management
- Experience with an ERP system
- Familiarity with Agresso Unit4 and Vision XL
What We Do
The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) is a nonprofit scientific research organization focused on forest and landscape management, particularly tropical forests. It conducts multidisciplinary research, builds partners’ capacity, and engages stakeholders to inform policies and practices affecting forests and people. Its work seeks to improve human well-being, protect the environment, advance equity, and address challenges spanning climate change, biodiversity, food security, and livelihoods.
