Senior Risk and Compliance Officer Africa CDC

Organization Information

Job Title: Senior Risk and Compliance Officer Africa CDC
Job Grade: P3
Number of Positions : 1
Number of Direct Reports: 0
Number of Indirect Reports: 0
Contract Type: Appointment for Limited Duration (ALD)/ Fixed Term
Reports to: Head, Internal Oversight

Purpose of Job

• Africa CDC is implementing a broad portfolio of continental and regional public health programs aimed at strengthening disease surveillance, laboratory systems, emergency preparedness and response, workforce development, and institutional capacity across Member States.
• To support sound governance, accountability, and stewardship of resources, Africa CDC’s Office of Internal Oversight (OIO) is mandated to provide independent and objective assurance and advisory support across the areas of internal audit, investigations, risk management, and compliance and ethics management.
• In this context, Africa CDC seeks to engage a Senior Risk and Compliance officer to strengthen enterprise risk management, internal control, compliance systems, and ethics-related processes, while supporting OIO’s broader institutional oversight mandate and coordination with relevant business units and leadership structures

Main Functions

• To support the development, operationalization, and continuous improvement of Africa CDC’s risk and compliance management framework under the Office of Internal Oversight, in line with institutional mandates, applicable donor and regulatory requirements, and internationally recognized standards and good practice.
• The incumbent will help identify, assess, monitor, and report key enterprise and operational risks; strengthen compliance and ethics controls; support internal control reviews; and contribute to coordinated oversight across audit, investigations, risk management, and compliance functions.

Specific Responsibilities

Under the guidance and supervision of the Head of the Office of Internal Oversight or designated official, the Senior Risk and Compliance officer will support implementation of the following activities:

Enterprise Risk Management

• Support the design, refinement, and rollout of an enterprise risk management (ERM) framework, methodology, tools, and reporting templates for Africa CDC.
• Facilitate periodic identification, assessment, scoring, prioritization, and documentation of strategic, operational, financial, legal, fiduciary, reputational, IT, and programmatic risks across business units.
• Support development and updating of institutional and departmental risk registers, including risk owners, mitigating controls, residual risk ratings, and target actions.
• Advise management on risk appetite, tolerance, escalation thresholds, and risk response options.
• Track implementation of agreed risk treatment actions and prepare periodic risk status updates for management and oversight bodies.

Compliance Management

• Support the design and implementation of a compliance management framework covering key policies, procedures, regulatory obligations, donor requirements, and internal accountability standards.
• Conduct compliance risk assessments and recommend proportionate preventive, detective, and corrective controls.
• Review selected business processes, transactions, and controls to identify compliance gaps and areas of exposure.
• Support the establishment or strengthening of compliance monitoring tools, dashboards, checklists, and exception tracking mechanisms.
• Advise relevant offices on remediation measures and monitor closure of agreed compliance actions.

Ethics and Integrity Support

• Support implementation and monitoring of ethics and integrity measures, including awareness initiatives linked to codes of conduct, conflict of interest, gifts and hospitality, anti-fraud, anti-corruption, and professional conduct requirements.
• Assist in identifying ethics-related control gaps and recommending practical mitigation measures to strengthen institutional culture and accountability.
• Contribute to awareness sessions and guidance materials that promote ethical decision-making and standards of conduct across Africa CDC.

Internal Control and Assurance Support

• Review the adequacy and effectiveness of internal controls in high-risk business processes and recommend improvements.
• Support development of risk-based compliance review plans and inputs into annual oversight planning.
• Provide technical inputs to internal audit engagements where risk and compliance expertise is required, while preserving the independence of formal assurance activities.
• Support follow-up of internal audit, investigation, and other oversight recommendations related to risk, controls, compliance, and ethics.

Investigations-Related Preventive Support

• Support preventive and systemic analysis of control failures, misconduct trends, and fraud risk indicators emerging from complaints, investigations, audits, or management reviews.
• Contributes to strengthening fraud risk prevention measures, including red-flag identification, control enhancement, and awareness initiatives.
• Provide advisory support on control remediation arising from substantiated cases or recurring patterns of non-compliance, in coordination with authorized OIO personnel.
  Policy, Procedures, and Institutional Strengthening
• Review and help update relevant policies, manuals, SOPs, and guidance notes related to risk management, internal controls, compliance, ethics, and accountability.
• Support integration of risk and compliance requirements into planning, procurement, grant management, travel, asset management, HR, and program delivery processes, as applicable.
• Benchmark Africa CDC practices against recognized international standards and recommend fit-for-purpose improvements.

Monitoring, Reporting, and Capacity Building

• Prepare periodic risk, compliance and ethics reports, dashboards, and briefing notes for OIO leadership and other governance structures, as required.
• Support the development of key risk indicators, key control indicators, and compliance metrics for ongoing monitoring.
• Design and deliver training, orientation, and awareness sessions for management and staff on risk management, internal controls, compliance obligations, and ethics.
• Coach focal points in business units on maintaining risk registers, monitoring action plans, and reporting on compliance issues.

Academic Requirements and Relevant Experience

• Master’s Degree: MBA, Accounting, Finance, Law, Governance, or a related field with at least 7 years of relevant experience.
• Bachelor’s Degree: A degree in the above fields with a minimum of 10 years of professional experience in the same field.

Required Skills

• Strong knowledge of internal audit and internal control principles, including the IIA Global Internal Audit Standards.
• Strong knowledge of enterprise risk management and compliance risk management principles, including COSO-based approaches.
• Excellent analytical, drafting, facilitation, and report-writing skills.
• Ability to handle sensitive matters with discretion, sound judgment, and professionalism.
• Ability to work effectively in multicultural and multidisciplinary teams

Leadership Competencies

• Strategic Insight
• Developing Others:
• Change Management
• Managing Risk:

Core Competencies

• Teamwork and Collaboration
• Accountability awareness and Compliance
• Learning Orientation:
• Communicating with Influence ….

Functional Competencies

• Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving
• Job Knowledge and information sharing:
• Drive for result:
• Continuous Improvement Focus

Notes

The requirements and responsibilities contained in this job description do not create a contract of employment and are not meant to be all-inclusive. It may be changed by the role manager during employment on an as-needed basis.

TENURE OF APPOINTMENT:

GENDER MAINSTREAMING:

Africa CDC is an equal opportunity employer and qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply.

LANGUAGES:

• Proficiency in one of the AU working languages (Arabic, English, French, Kiswahili, Portuguese, and Spanish) is mandatory and fluency in another AU language is an added advantage

REMUNERATION:

The basic annual salary attached to this position is US$42,018.78 (P3 Step 5) for both international and locally recruited staff. Additional benefits such as post adjustment, housing allowance, and gratuity are provided in accordance with the African Union’s salary structure applicable to the specific duty station.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

Applications must be submitted no later than May 27 2026 11h59 p.m. EAT.

-Only candidates who meet all job requirements and are selected for interviews will be contacted.

-Consideration will be given only to those candidates who have submitted a fully completed online application with a curriculum vitae (CV), an African passport, and the required academic qualifications, such as Diplomas, Bachelor’s degrees, Master’s degrees and any relevant certificate in line with the area of expertise.

-The African Union is an equal opportunity employer, and female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

-Candidates from less represented countries within the African Union are strongly encouraged to apply for positions that fit their profiles.

These countries include: Algeria, Angola, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Sahrawi D.R., Sao Tome and Principe., Seychelles, Somalia and Tunisia.