Operational Risk and Control Specialist – West & Central Africa

About the role

The Operational Risk and Control Specialist supports UNFPA’s Quality Management Unit in the West and Central Africa Regional Office. The incumbent provides technical guidance, oversight and capacity‑building to business units on implementing‑partner risk, internal controls and fraud risk management.

Key responsibilities

• Lead implementing‑partner risk management (HACT), including due diligence, capacity assessment, monitoring and fraud risk mitigation.
• Provide consistent guidance to business units on adapting corporate risk policies to local contexts and ensure compliance.
• Serve as the regional knowledge hub, delivering training, coaching and back‑stop support for risk and control processes.
• Monitor and analyse business‑unit performance, identify control gaps and ensure corrective actions are taken.
• Oversee internal‑control framework implementation, segregation of duties, system‑access roles and AML/CFT compliance.
• Escalate high‑risk issues to the Chief of the QMU and Regional Director and coordinate remedial actions with HQ functions.

Required skills

• Risk assessment and due‑diligence methodologies
• Internal control framework (ICF) implementation
• Segregation of duties and system‑access management
• Anti‑fraud and AML/CFT compliance
• Data analysis, dashboard reporting and ERP system usage
• Knowledge of HACT processes for implementing partners