Inspector General

BASIC SALARY:

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

POST ADJUSTMENT SUPPLEMENT:

Starting: US$ 74,428.00 (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 this purpose, the Inspector General shall establish internal auditing procedures that reflect international best practices, verify compliance with 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 below:

1. Formulate overall program objectives:

a. Establish broad and specific internal control guidelines according to the Professional Standards of the Institute of Internal Controls,

b. 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 includes the presentation of a risk-based Internal Audit Plan to the Audit Committee for review, with approval by the Permanent Council.

c. Develop and evaluate the General Secretariat’s risk management processes and procedures

and recommend improvements and corrective actions.

d. 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.

e. 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.

2. Supervise Office staff and resources:

a. 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;

b. Initiate and establish internal control policies, standards and procedures for the activities of the Office and directing its technical and administrative functions;

c. Develop and execute comprehensive plans for carrying out audit responsibilities, approve individual audit work plans, papers and reports according to professional internal audit standards; delegate coordination of audit teams to professional staff; and formulate the budget, monitor and approve expenditures. Develop effective follow up procedures to ensure recommendations are implemented within 30-days.

3. Serve as chief spokesperson for the Office:

a. Participate as expert speaker in internal auditing issues at international conferences, workshops and other cooperative relations efforts.

b. Propose to the Secretary General appropriate amendments to the Internal Audit Charter. 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.

c. 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.

d. Brief the Secretary General, 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.

e. 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.

f. 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.

g. Participate in committee meetings including the CAAP, the Selection & 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.

h. Serve as chief spokesperson and liaison on internal control matters with internal audit institutions.

4. Initiate and lead field audits including sensitive and major investigations

5. Perform other related oversight and evaluation functions as assigned

Qualifications & Experience: First university degree (Bachelor) in accounting, auditing, financial analysis, law, management analysis, public administration, or investigation, plus professional certification from an internationally recognized body, such as Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Chartered Accountant (CA) or Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). At least fifteen years of national and international executive level experience in general management, accounting, audit, finance or public administration. Managerial experience.

Essential – Proficient in at least two languages of English, French, Portuguese, Spanish (read, write, communicate) . Proficiency examination required.

Desirable – Working knowledge of the other two OAS official languages.

Competence

1. Extensive knowledge of the Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing and Generally Accepted Auditing & 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 (oral and writing) to make presentations at 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 organizations.

7. Excellent writing skills 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 is 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 in any capacity 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.

The OAS embraces equality, diversity and inclusion and in accordance with its rules and regulations is committed to providing equal opportunities in employment, achieving a diverse staff, and will take into account wide geographic representation and gender equity and equality.

Mandatory retirement age for OAS staff members is 65.

This role is available to any persons that are nationals of member states that are part of the Organization of American States.

The selected candidate will need to apply for a G4 Visa.

Salary advertised is net of tax.