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Inspector General

Job Details

Title and Grade: Inspector General – D01

Type of Appointment:  Series B – 6 years fixed term contract

Organizational Unit:  Office of the Inspector General

Closing date: May 30, 2023

Basic salary
Starting: US$ 106,023.00 (net of taxes)

Post Adjustment:
Starting: US$ 67,325.00 (net of taxes)


Duties and responsibilities:

The Office of the Inspector General (Office) is the dependency responsible for exercising the functions of financial, administrative, and operational auditing, for the purpose of determining the level to which the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (GS/OAS or General Secretariat) achieves the objectives of diverse programs and the efficiency, economy, and transparency with which resources are used, as well as issuing recommendations to improve management of the General Secretariat.

To achieve the aforementioned purpose, the Inspector General shall establish appropriate internal auditing procedures that reflect international best practices, to verify compliance with the standards and regulations in force, through critical, systematic, and impartial examination of official transactions and operational procedures related to the resources administered by the General Secretariat.

The Inspector General reports to the Permanent Council, the Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Affairs (CAAP), the Audit Committee and the Secretary General and is responsible for carrying out the audit, inspection, investigation, and evaluation functions mentioned below:

  • Formulate overall program objectives:
    • Establish both broad and specific internal control guidelines according to the Professional Standards of the Institute of Internal Controls,
    • Develop and lead a long-term strategy and evaluation program for the GS/OAS on program objectives, activities, and results through high quality reports on audits, evaluations, recommendations, and lessons learned. This shall include the presentation of a risk-based Internal Audit Plan to the Audit Committee for its review, with approval by the Permanent Council.
    • Develop and evaluate the General Secretariat’s risk management processes and procedures and recommend improvements and corrective actions.
    • Coordinate and integrate the established audit program with other programs and priorities of the OAS, including those of the political organs and foundations, as they affect the operations of the General Secretariat.
    • Prepare documents for external and internal use, including agreements for cooperative relations for the promotion of modern concepts of government auditing between the General Secretariat and Supreme Audit Institutions to achieve conformance with law and transparency, and coordinating GS/OAS responsibility under those agreements.
  • Supervise Office staff and resources:
    • Approve the selection of staff and consultants, ensuring appropriate professional standards; establish a program for developing human resources including comprehensive evaluation of the audit work carried out by each auditor; identify risk factors in the General Secretariat, undertake complex risk and cost benefit analyses and formulate work plans according to level of risk;
    • Initiate and establish internal control policies, standards and procedures for the activities of the Office and directing its technical and administrative functions;
    • Develop and execute comprehensive plans for carrying out audit responsibilities, approve individual audit work plans, work papers and audit reports according to professional internal audit standards; delegate coordination of audit teams to professional staff; and formulate the budget, monitor and approve expenditures. Develop and establish effective follow up procedures to ensure that recommendations are implemented within a thirty-day period.
  • Serve as chief spokesperson for the Office:
    • Participate as expert speaker in internal auditing issues at international conferences, workshops and other efforts towards cooperative relations.
    • Propose to the Secretary General amendments to the Internal Audit Charter as he/she considers appropriate. Any amendment to the Internal Audit Charter shall be approved by the Secretary General once reviewed by the Audit Committee, with the Permanent Council duly apprised.
    • Inform and advise the Secretary General on opportunities to improve operations and reduce the risk of loss to inefficiency or actual or potential irregularities and the overall effectiveness of the total system of internal management and accounting controls.
    • Brief the Secretary General, the Assistant Secretary General and members of the Permanent Council on program activities of the Office and make recommendations for improvements in management and accounting controls by way of investigations of suspected or alleged weaknesses or irregularities.
    • Inform GS/OAS dependencies of amounts due to the General Secretariat as a result of audit findings related to project execution. Brief independent auditors and the Audit Committee on audit activities, areas of risk and potential internal control weaknesses that may adversely affect the General Secretariat.
    • Coordinate internal and external audit work to reduce duplication to a minimum and ensure conformity of existing internal controls with management's statements to external auditors concerning significant transactions and assets.
    • Participate in meetings of various committees including the CAAP, the Selection and Bids Committee, the Publications Board, the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Implementation Committees, to review, advise, express an opinion and provide recommendations towards improved efficiency and cost effectiveness on matters that affect the operations and internal controls of the General Secretariat.
    • Serve as chief spokesperson and liaison on internal control matters with internal audit institutions.
  • Initiate and leads field audits including sensitive and major investigations
  • Perform other related oversight and evaluation functions, as assigned.


Qualifications and Experience:

Advanced university degree (Master’s) in accounting, auditing, financial analysis, law, management analysis, public administration, or investigation, plus professional certification from an internationally recognized oversight body, such as Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Chartered Accountant (CA) or Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). At least fifteen years of combined national and international executive level experience in either general management, accounting, audit, finance or public administration with similar functions. Managerial experience.


Language:

  • Essential - Proficient in at least two of the following languages: English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish (read, write, and communicate). Language proficiency examination will be required.
  • Desirable - Working knowledge of French and/or Portuguese.


Competence:

  1. Extensive knowledge of the Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing and Generally Accepted Auditing and Accounting Principles.
  2. Extensive knowledge of principles of public administration theory and practice, supervision, organizational management and policy process as related to the internal audit function of the General Secretariat, and the ability to relate these principles to the OAS Charter, the General Standards to Govern the Operations of the General Secretariat (General Standards), the Staff Rules, and the Executive Orders and Administrative Memoranda of the General Secretariat.
  3. Knowledge of the OAS, its Member States and their development needs as well local legislation as it affects the operations of the GS/OAS offices in the Member States and the inter-American system.
  4. Ability to initiate, develop and create new internal control policies and mechanisms, as well as to undertake complex financial, operational and risk analyses and to produce information and audit reports as needed.
  5. Ability to prioritize, delegate duties, coordinate, lead, manage and provide policy direction to professional staff members for auditing and investigative activities.
  6. Excellent communication skills (both orally and in writing) in order to make presentations at various high-level meetings when representing the Secretary General on internal control matters as well as to carry out negotiations and joint actions with high level officials of the Member and Observer States, officials of the General Secretariat and other international organizations.
  7. Excellent writing skills in order to prepare complex technical documents and reports for presentation by the Secretary General to the OAS governing bodies.
  8. Possession of utmost integrity, discretion and tact, and ability to maintain objectivity.

 

In accordance with paragraph c. of Article 130 of the General Standards, the Inspector General shall be appointed to a single term of six years. This term shall be non-renewable.

In accordance with paragraph e. of Art. 130 of the General Standards, a person who has been appointed as Inspector General may not work for the General Secretariat, whether as a staff member, as an independent contractor, or as an employee of or a consultant to an independent contractor of the General Secretariat after leaving the post.

In accordance with paragraph f. of Article 44 of the General Standards, the official languages of the Organization are English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. No candidate for a position in the General Secretariat subject to the competition requirement shall be contracted until he/she has passed language proficiency exams administered by the DHR in at least two of the official languages. Nevertheless,

i) Any candidate, including staff member whose native language is one of those four languages shall only be required to demonstrate proficiency on an exam in one of the others; and (ii) Persons applying for G-1 and G-2 positions at Headquarters and G-3 driver/clerk positions in those Offices of the General Secretariat in the Member States where the language requirement unduly restricts the recruitment of otherwise qualified staff shall be exempt from this language proficiency requirement for as long as they occupy those positions. Subsequently, in order to be eligible to compete for a higher-level position, any staff member who has benefited from this exemption must demonstrate proficiency in a second official language of the Organization.

(iii) A person selected as the best candidate may receive a fixed-term contract, which will be considered to have lapsed in case the person does not pass the required language examination within the 36 months following the appointment.

The GS/OAS embraces equality, diversity and inclusion. Thus, the GS/OAS, in accordance with its rules and regulations, is committed to providing equal opportunities in employment, achieving a diverse staff, and will take into account a wide geographic representation, as well as gender equity and equality, in the selection of candidates.

Please note that the mandatory retirement age for staff members at the General Secretariat of the OAS is 65.

Upon hiring, the GS/OAS expects all workforce members in Washington, DC to be up-to-date with their COVID-19 vaccines unless there is a medical reason not to do so. When you obtain a vaccination, you will greatly reduce the risk to yourself and those with whom you interact. Vaccines are highly effective and are widely available.

 

This role is available to any persons that are nationals of any member state that is part of the Organization of American States:  OAS :: Member States 

The selected candidate will need to apply for a G4 Visa. A G4 is an official visa that is issued to employees of international organizations to enter into the US for a specific period of time. The G4 Visa will be requested from a US consulate. 

Company

The Organization of American States (OAS) is the world’s oldest regional organization, dating back to the First International Conference of American States, held in Washington, D.C., from October 1889 to April 1890.

Today, the OAS brings together all 35 independent states of the Americas and constitutes the main political, juridical, and social governmental forum in the Hemisphere. In addition, it has granted permanent observer status to 70 states, as well as to the European Union (EU).

The Organization uses a four-pronged approach to effectively implement its essential purposes, based on its main pillars: democracy, human rights, security, and development.

Company info
Telephone
+1 (202) 370-5000

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