HelpAge and Strategy 2030 – delivering real impact for older people 

HelpAge International works with partners and a diverse global network of more than 150 organizations across 85 countries, supporting millions of older people to live safe, dignified and healthy lives. Through our partnership and collaborations, we work to ensure the inclusion of older people across society and strive to deliver a just and fair world for everyone, whatever their age. Our work is driven by our desire to deliver real impact for older people, to be inclusive, to work in partnership and to learn from our shared experience.

Our 2030 strategy Ageing in a Just World sets out how we will work together to shape the future we all share. By working together we aim to help inspire a movement for change and through ensuring all our work promotes older people’s wellbeing, dignity and voice, we can transform the lives of older people now and in the future. 

As part of our 2030 strategy we have a continued commitment to inclusive humanitarian action, supporting older people and their families at a time of crisis.

HelpAge in Ukraine

HelpAge has been present in Ukraine since 2014, with a total workforce of +600 people including staff and volunteers/contractors.  As one of the few INGOs with an operational presence in Ukraine at the start of the crisis, we were able to respond immediately with life-saving activities in the Donetsk and Luhansk Regions and have since scaled-up assistance in the Central and Western Regions of Ukraine.   In addition, we have a programme to support refugees in Moldova and work through partners to support refugees in Poland.  Our response plan includes immediate support such as cash assistance, food distributions, NFI distribution (health and dignity kits), WASH, Protection and Mental Health and Psychosocial First Aid as well as longer-term programming on cash assistance and community and home-based health and care.

We are now seeking passionate, professional and experienced candidates for a number of roles to support our response to the Ukraine crisis.  We are looking for talent which thrives in collaborating with others (inside HelpAge International and beyond) and who can work in agile ways and across boundaries.

What you will do

HelpAge places great importance on a responsible approach to risk management and reporting to the Board on risk assessment and mitigation. The successful applicant will ensure that the organisation is successfully meeting all compliance requirements, both donor as well as local legal requirements.

The successful applicant will also support the Internal Audit Manager to identify those areas of potentially higher risk within the organisation, and work to develop a framework to assess them more fully.

HelpAge is committed to ensuring the highest standards of financial, HR, operational and programme management.  The successful applicant has a key role to play in ensuring that this commitment is met through the delivery of an agreed programme of risk compliance work. This work will focus on ensuring that financial and other control procedures identified in the risk register are being properly implemented, managed and used in all overseas offices, in emergency programmes and by our operational partners. 

The successful applicant will work on a range of programmes and areas in HelpAge, but there will be a specific focus on our Ukraine response programme which is currently being implemented in Ukraine, Moldova and Poland. The individual will therefore be required to travel to Ukraine as soon as possible and therefore we are looking for someone who has the existing right to travel to Europe/Ukraine. Candidates must have either a valid British or European passport or a current and valid Schengen Zone visa to ensure HelpAge International can evacuate staff from Ukraine to neighbouring countries if required.

JOB ACTIVITIES

• Will plan, prepare and carry out risk and compliance reviews of programmes and Country Offices, based on own risk analysis and understanding of the international context, as well as the Internal Audit Plan approved by the Finance & Audit Committee.
• Support Internal Audit Manager on identifying areas of risk across the entire organisation’s operations and developing plans to address them.
• Develop and maintain Risk and Compliance Procedures to ensure that best practice is followed and that audits address specific areas of risk management.
• Undertake the approved compliance review in line with agreed procedures liaising with the relevant HelpAge or Partner staff.
• At the conclusion of risk and compliance exercises to provide a full briefing to the relevant Country Director or partner organisation ensuring that their comments are recorded as part of the review.
• Agree action plan necessary to implement the audit recommendations with the Country Director or the director of relevant department.
• Present the audit report to the Internal Audit Manager, highlighting any areas of concern and the resultant action plan.
• Monitor and support offices with the implementation of any recommendations.
• Identify common features across audits and organisation-wide issues, proposing appropriate systems improvements and how the organisation can manage and respond more strategically to risks.

Other activities

• Provide advice to HelpAge finance staff on internal control procedures and support the organisation with strengthening internal control procedures.
• Ensure that issues of internal control are considered during all work and in the development of new policies and procedures
• Contribute to continuous review of the organisations systems and to recommend changes as necessary
• Perform any other tasks as requested by the Internal Audit Manager.

Let’s talk about you

You will be someone with:

Education/Qualifications

• A qualification in accounting, legal, compliance or risk management.
• Membership of one of the accounting, legal or compliance bodies or similar

Experience

• Experience of Risk and / or Compliance work
• Design of risk-based reviews
• Experience of risk appraisal and management techniques
• Experience international organisations with overseas offices
• Experience in ensuring compliance with donor requirements
• Experience in ensuring compliance with statutory requirements in other countries
• Experience in the finance function of a not-for-profit or charitable organisation.
• Experience of writing financial procedures
• Legal experience

Skills/Attributes/Knowledge

• Excellent communication and reporting skills (verbal and in writing)
• Planning & analytical skills
• Negotiating and influencing skills
• Proactive, co-operative and supportive team player
• Ability to work to deadlines
• Experience of working across cultures
• Ability and willingness for overseas travel, including to conflict affected areas.

At HelpAge International, we believe in the importance of empowering our people to be change makers and leaders at all levels. We expect our people to embrace and live our values, challenging themselves every day to identify issues that are most important to older persons and their communities, and to make an impact that matters. 

In addition, as an HelpAge employee you are expected to:

• Work collaboratively, building mutual trust and respect, with external organisations and partners to achieve our strategic aims and objectives; being accountable for the work you do together
• Adapt to new directions or opportunities arising within the organization and in your work area; being flexible in your role, constantly using the feedback to learn more and evolve
• Lead behavioral and cultural change through embracing a supportive, collaborative and highly inclusive environment where everybody feels supported, respected and engaged
• Extend HelpAge’s reach and impact, by creating and identifying new business development opportunities and building relationships with new
• Lead and promote a culture of including the voices of older people across our support, convening and thought leadership roles, in a way that is transformative, empowering and highly inclusive of those marginalized by gender, economic status, disability and other factors of 

Safeguarding

HelpAge International is committed to safeguarding the communities with which we work, our partners, staff and any others who we come into contact with.

Therefore you will also be responsible for:

• Preventing harm and abuse from our people, operations and programmes, to anyone that encounters our work
• Reporting all safeguarding incidents you see, hear, hear about or suspect, using our internal reporting mechanism;
• Complying with all safeguarding framework policies and practices
• Completing mandatory training courses relating to our safeguarding policy framework and complying with HR vetting procedures.

How to apply

To apply for a job at HelpAge, please submit the following documents:

• A cover letter, setting out how you meet the requirements of the job profile.
• Your current curriculum vitae (3 pages maximum)
• Three referees, including your most recent employer

To be considered, please read the job description to find out more information and then email your application to [email protected] before the closing date.

Closing date: Friday January 27, 2023 at 24:00 (GMT+1)

Important Message: Please ensure that you remove personal information including your date of birth, age, gender and marital status from your CV. Please do not include any photographs.