OPEN TO NATIONALS OF NATO MEMBER STATES ONLY

 

STAFF VACANCY 220384                                                                      

 

DIVISION:                         International Military Staff

                                         Office of the Financial Controller

                                                                                 

TITLE:                               Internal Control Officer/System Administrator

 

GRADE:                            G-17/A-3

 

Please note that the competition for this post is scheduled to be completed in the last quarter of 2022.

 

1.       Post Context. This post in the IMS Budget Group (BG) Financial Controller’s Office (FCO) is responsible for the financial management and control of the NATO International Military Staff (IMS), the NATO Defense College (NDC) and the Science and Technology Organization (STO). IMS budgets cover the core IMS, the NATO Standardization Office (NSO) and Outreach and Cooperation activities.  The STO consists of the Office of the NATO Chief Scientist (OCS), the Collaboration Support Office (CSO) and the Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE).  The CMRE is a customer-funded entity. The remaining entities are all common-funded by Military Budget.  Collectively these entities are known as the IMS Budget Group (IMS BG).  The FCO develops and implements policies and procedures on all topics related to financial management and control, including acquisition, ensuring advice and/or guidance to management and staff.

 

The Internal Control Officer is responsible for assessing and reviewing the Internal Control framework established in the IMS BG as stipulated in the NATO Financial Regulations (NFRs) Article 12.  Effective internal control, designed to provide reasonable assurance that the NATO body will achieve its objectives of safeguarding assets; of verifying the accuracy and reliability of accounting data and records; of promoting operational efficiency; and regarding compliance with established managerial and command policies.

 

As a significant amount of internal control is performed through controls implemented in the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, the Internal Control Officer is also responsible for designing and maintaining adequate user notes and responsibilities as well as internal controls matrix in the ERP system. Under the general guidance of the Head IMS-BG FCO, he/she is responsible for:

 

2.       Principal Duties:

 

  • Reviewing, assessing and enhancing the systems of internal financial and budgetary control as well as building a programme of internal control review, covering internal control activities within a complex environment involving multiple NATO entities;
  • Ensuring comprehensive and up-to-date documentation of the internal control frameworks used across IMS BG including detailed workflow descriptions and their inherent internal controls;
  • Maintaining the risk register for financial risks identified for the IMS BG;
  • Recommending, where appropriate, improvements to existing financial processes ensuring that sound accountability practices are in place;
  • Supporting the Head IMS-BG FCO in defining and maintaining at least the minimum standard of internal control taking into account best practice in the public and private sectors;
  • Contributing to the drafting of the annual Statement of Internal Control required for inclusion with the Financial Statements under NFRs Article 12;
  • Providing expert advice on the revision of existing procedures and policies in compliance with applicable rules and regulations (e.g. NFRs and standard operating procedures);
  • Providing advice on the implementation of the five components of internal control within finance: Control Environment, Risk Management, Control Activities, Monitoring and Communication;
  • Providing specific training on internal control and risk management within finance;
  • Acting as the IMS BG Financial System (FinS) System Administrator and managing application access controls and security for the IMS instance ( /- 260 users);
  • Maintaining underlying data of the core financial application such as chart of accounts, account ranges, budget controls, code combinations, currency, document sequences and travel items to enable the application to operate;
  • Ensuring first-time entry and maintenance of master data (e.g. employee/suppliers data) including bank details;
  • Running exception reports to identify non-active users;
  • Maintaining and troubleshooting workflow issues related to FinS utilisation;
  • Implementing any system changes as directed by the FinS Change Advisory Board of the Life Cycle Working Group and coordinating the resolution of issues with the service provider’s Service Desk (NCI Agency);
  • Formulating proposed system improvements in response to needs experienced and expressed within the IMS BG;
  • Leading the project management of any FinS upgrade through the established governance model for the IMS;
  • Serving as the FinS report facilitator, responsible for maintaining existing reports (e.g. Publisher, GL Wand, Report Wand) purging ad-hoc one-time requests and creating new reports as required by management needs;
  • Serving as first point of contact within the IMS BG providing expert guidance and assistance on FinS functionalities to all users;
  • Participating in the FinS Advisory Board on behalf of the IMS BG;
  • Developing and updating FinS user training for all entities of the IMS BG and providing regularly scheduled training to IMS staff;
  • Supporting the monthly and annual reconciliation of accounts with particular regard to encumbrances and accruals;
  • Supporting the external audit fieldwork performed by the International Board of Auditors (IBAN) for NATO;
  • Performing other related duties as directed.

     

    3.       Special Requirements and Additional Duties: The incumbent may be required to:

     

    • Perform additional related duties, albeit in a different organisational element to which the individual normally works;
    • Travel both within and outside of NATO boundaries;
    • Support prototyping/test bed activities for changes to the setup of the FinS;
    • Make recommendations and provides training for appropriate procedures and accounting rules to be used;
    • Attend as directed additional training and specialised courses relevant to the aforementioned duties;
    • Perform duties in the NATO HQ Crisis Management Organisation;
    • Work irregular hours whenever necessary.

       

      4.       Essential Qualifications.

       

      Professional/Experience.  

       

      • A minimum of six years’ experience in financial, performance, quality, operations and/or IT auditing;
      • A sound knowledge of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS);
      • In-depth experience with ERP systems for performing information systems, IT general controls, application controls as well as financial audits and first line user support;
      • Sound knowledge of financial regulations governing an international organisation or public-sector entity;
      • Experience in independently assessing scenarios and issues, evaluating options to proceed and provide timely advice on the most appropriate decision;
      • Experience working at staff level in an international environment with a customer-focused approach.

         

        Computer Literacy.   Use of MS-Office applications in crucial to the effective and successful execution of daily duties. Advanced user experience with MS Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint and SharePoint, and with web applications.

         

        Education/Training.   

         

        • A university degree in a related discipline such as accounting, business management, economics, finance (at least to ISCED level 6);
        • A professional certification from a recognised Internal Auditing Organization and in accordance with recognised Internal Audit Standards (e.g. Certified Internal Auditor - CIA).  Exceptionally the lack of a certification may be compensated by the demonstration of particular abilities or experience that is/are of interest to the post.

           

          Languages. Candidates must have an advanced level of spoken and written English. The working language in the IMS is English and therefore candidates will be required to pass a one-hour multiple-choice computer-based test in English at the required level as well as to demonstrate their abilities in the written test and interview.

           

          5.       Desirable Qualifications.

           

          Professional/Experience.

           

          • Experience as an auditor in a major international/multi-national organisation (preferably NATO) or in a national audit institution;
          • Experience performing IT audits in ORACLE Enterprise Business Suite;
          • Sound knowledge of NFRs and procedures;
          • Strong professional background with at least six years acquired in positions related to the duties outlined;

This vacancy is archived.

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