Head of Internal Audit
Copenhagen
- Organization: UNOPS - United Nations Office for Project Services
- Location: Copenhagen
- Grade: Senior level - P-5, International Professional - Internationally recruited position
-
Occupational Groups:
- Accounting (Audit, Controlling)
- Internal audit, Investigation and Inspection
- Managerial positions
- Closing Date: 2025-06-17
Functional Responsibilities
Under the supervision of the Director, IAIG, the Head of Internal Audit will:
Summary of key functions:
-
Strategic development
-
Quality assurance
-
Knowledge management and innovation
-
Team Leadership
-
Develop the risk-based annual Internal Audit Plan, monitor it, and update IAIG’s plan during the year based on a continuous risk assessment.
-
Submit the risk assessment and annual work plan to the Director of IAIG
-
Ensure the execution of the annual Internal Audit Plan. This includes the coordination of up to 10 internal audits, up to 10 advisory engagements, and the management of up to 60 project audits per year.
-
Lead and/or coordinate the planning and execution of audit field missions for different types of engagements at selected locations, as well as UNOPS HQ.
-
Develop findings, and agree on management action plans and timelines for implementation of corrective and preventive actions with the auditees.
-
Ensure proper monitoring of the implementation status via the internal Audit and Oversight Recommendations (AUDITOR) tool.
-
Coordinate the resources allocation and track engagements completion according to the internal KPIs.
2. Quality assurance:
-
Quality assure audit reports and oversee the audit team in order to ensure they meet the highest possible standard required under public reporting.
-
Ensure the use of standard audit work papers, audit programs, and innovative tools such as data analytics.
-
Cooperate with the Investigation Section to identify control gaps that allowed misconduct to occur and propose relevant remedial action.
-
Provide advice to other departments in relation to potential exposures to fraud, corruption, and other inappropriate practices.
-
Monitor the Quality Assurance and Improvement Plan and ensure timely and regular update
-
Organize and coordinate periodic quality self-assessment
-
Organize and coordinate the mandatory periodic External Quality Assurance exercise.
-
Conduct special assignments such as management reviews, and consulting projects, provide support to the Investigations section, and coordinate training workshops.
-
Be a catalyst for strategic initiatives. This includes capacity building within UNOPS to better mitigate fraud and corruption.
-
Liaise with sister UN agencies, Clients, Donors, Partners, and Board of Auditors. Joint Inspection Unit and International Financial Institutions. Exchange information where permitted.
-
Be willing to continuously innovate IAIG’s work plan with better practices and initiatives.
-
Liaise and work closely with the IAIG Donor reporting specialist.
-
Establish the annual work plan for the Internal Audit Team in collaboration with the Director Internal Audit & Investigations and stakeholders. Set objectives, performance measurements, standards and results expected.
-
Monitor implementation of the team’s annual work plan, oversee progress and ensure delivery of results as planned and according to expectation.
-
Promote teamwork and collaboration by providing the team with clear direction, objectives and guidance to enable them to perform their duties responsibly, effectively and efficiently.
-
Plan, recruit and develop a flexible workforce with the skills and competencies needed to ensure optimum performance and ensure gender and geographical diversity.
-
Foster a positive work environment, respectful of all, and ensure that the highest standards of conduct are observed.
-
Provide guidance and mentoring for personnel within the Internal Audit team to promote their professional growth, motivation, and satisfaction of personnel while ensuring appropriate personal development and succession planning.
-
Identify training needs and ensure gaps identified are addressed through a proper coaching and training plan.
Impact of Results:
IAIG contributes to UNOPS’ results by continuously assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of its business lines and the level of acceptable risk associated with business opportunities. It also contributes to the improvement of governance, risk management, and control processes. Furthermore, IAIG leads the Executive Director's investigations into alleged misconduct: remediating funds where possible, helping to prevent and detect future waste and abuse, and strengthening internal and external stakeholder confidence in UNOPS.
Education/Experience/Language requirements
-
Advanced University degree (Masters or equivalent) in Accounting, Auditing, Economics, Finance or related field is required.
-
First level degree (Bachelor or equivalent) in combination with additional two years of relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of advanced university degree.
-
Certification: Professional certification in a related field such as Chartered Accountant (CA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) or Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) is highly desired.
Experience
-
10 years of professional experience in Auditing.
-
Within these 10 years, a minimum of 5 years managing an audit team
-
Experience leading, planning, and executing audits
-
Previous experience within a UN organization, International Financial Institution, or Big 4 audit firms is desirable.
-
Knowledge of Project management tool , MS ProjectTM or similar team management tools, TeammateTM Audit Software, and related CAAT’s are considered an asset. Familiarity with ERP is considered a plus.
-
Experience in leading or supervising data analytics teams is an asset.
-
Experience in artificial intelligence is considered as a plus.
-
Experience in IT and cyber security audit is considered as a plus.
-
Experience in forensic audit is considered as a plus
-
-
Fluency in written and spoken English.
-
Working knowledge of another United Nations language such as French or Spanish is an asset.
Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.