Integrated Partnership Quality Assurance Lead job at CGIAR System Organization

Overview

Application

Description

Reports to: Integrated Partnership Internal Audit Executive. Reports directly to the Integrated Partnership Board Audit, Finance & Risk Committee (IPB-AFRC) on quality assurance conformance.

Location: This position will be in a CGIAR hub located in the Global South, with significant CGIAR operations. Potential duty stations include Nairobi, Lima, Cairo, Addis Ababa, Mexico City, Los Banos and Colombo.

Grade: SO6 / CG11

Annual Net Salary: Starting point Grade CG11 between $87K and 105$K net depending on location.

Date Published: 16 December 2025

Closing Date for Applications: 14 January 2026 at 16:00 CET.

Duties and Responsibilities

Purpose

• Lead the quality assurance and improvement program in the Integrated Partnership Internal Audit Function to ensure effective quality assessments and the implementation of quality improvement action plans.
• Establish and lead the roll out of a methodology for internal assessments, including ongoing monitoring, periodic self-assessment and communication of results.
• Ensure that independent reviews of self-assessments are performed and report the results to the Centers’ Heads of Internal Audit (HoIA), the IP-IAE and Center AFRCs to ensure appropriate actions.
• Monitor the implementation of improvement and action plans for areas of non-performance with the standards and opportunities for improvement including a proposed action plan and timeliness for improvement.
• Validate conformance with the Global Internal Audit Standards (GIAS) through validation of internal self-assessments and communicate results to members of the Function and where necessary disclose to the IP-IAE areas of nonconformance with GIAS and their impact.

Engagement

• Collaborate with HoIA’s, internal and external assurance providers ensuring that efforts are aligned and supplement each other.
• Identify capacities of assurance providers within and outside of the Integrated Partnership that can undertake the delivery of specific internal audit engagements across the Integrated Partnership.
• Provide guidance and advise into the advisory services on areas of improvement coming out of quality assurance assessments.
• Engage with HoIAs to strengthen knowledge sharing.

Delivery

• Provide assurance on the independence and objectivity of the Function, in addition that provided by the IP-IAE.
• Provide reporting bi-annually to the AOC, the IPB and Center AFRCs and Boards on quality assurance and conformance, and report directly to the IPB-AFRC on quality assurance conformance regarding the Function as a whole.
• Develop a plan for, and coordinate delivery of the external quality assessment in coordination with members of the Function and monitor the implementation of actions from the external quality assessment to ensure timely implementation.
• Review documentation, practices, and processes to provide recommendations for further improvement and sustained delivery of services.

Requirements

Education and Experience

• Advanced university degree (Masters' or equivalent) in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration or a related field, and professional Internal Audit Certification, such as CIA/IIA or equivalent, and/or accounting qualification (ICA, ACCA or equivalent).
• Experience leading and/or overseeing quality assurance in audits, preferably in a comparable international organization
• Demonstrated track record of guiding and advising risk-based internal audits for quality assurance purposes
• Experience in engaging effectively across organizational levels and geographies to build capacity and raise awareness.
• Experience working with multiple stakeholders globally is a distinct advantage.

Key Competences

• Strong understanding of internal audit quality standards in comparable international organizations.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills to effectively communicate complex internal audit issues to senior leaders and stakeholders
• Strategic thinker with strong analytical skills and attention to details.
• Ability to work collaboratively across a broad range of internal and external stakeholders in diverse cultural contexts and sensitive or complex operational environments.
• Strong interpersonal skills to build trust, influence, and work collaboratively with a range of global stakeholders to deliver results within approved timelines and budgets.
• Uphold the highest ethical standards, inspiring trust and treating all people with respect and personal integrity, shaping an inclusive, diverse and open organizational culture.

Languages

• Excellent command of the English language, both written and spoken.
• A working knowledge of an additional language is an advantage.

• Lead the quality assurance and improvement program in the Integrated Partnership Internal Audit Function to ensure effective quality assessments and the implementation of quality improvement action plans.
• Establish and lead the roll out of a methodology for internal assessments, including ongoing monitoring, periodic self-assessment and communication of results.
• Ensure that independent reviews of self-assessments are performed and report the results to the Centers’ Heads of Internal Audit (HoIA), the IP-IAE and Center AFRCs to ensure appropriate actions.
• Monitor the implementation of improvement and action plans for areas of non-performance with the standards and opportunities for improvement including a proposed action plan and timeliness for improvement.
• Validate conformance with the Global Internal Audit Standards (GIAS) through validation of internal self-assessments and communicate results to members of the Function and where necessary disclose to the IP-IAE areas of nonconformance with GIAS and their impact.
• Collaborate with HoIA’s, internal and external assurance providers ensuring that efforts are aligned and supplement each other.
• Identify capacities of assurance providers within and outside of the Integrated Partnership that can undertake the delivery of specific internal audit engagements across the Integrated Partnership.
• Provide guidance and advise into the advisory services on areas of improvement coming out of quality assurance assessments.
• Engage with HoIAs to strengthen knowledge sharing.
• Provide assurance on the independence and objectivity of the Function, in addition that provided by the IP-IAE.
• Provide reporting bi-annually to the AOC, the IPB and Center AFRCs and Boards on quality assurance and conformance, and report directly to the IPB-AFRC on quality assurance conformance regarding the Function as a whole.
• Develop a plan for, and coordinate delivery of the external quality assessment in coordination with members of the Function and monitor the implementation of actions from the external quality assessment to ensure timely implementation.
• Review documentation, practices, and processes to provide recommendations for further improvement and sustained delivery of services.

• Strong understanding of internal audit quality standards in comparable international organizations.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills to effectively communicate complex internal audit issues to senior leaders and stakeholders
• Strategic thinker with strong analytical skills and attention to details.
• Ability to work collaboratively across a broad range of internal and external stakeholders in diverse cultural contexts and sensitive or complex operational environments.
• Strong interpersonal skills to build trust, influence, and work collaboratively with a range of global stakeholders to deliver results within approved timelines and budgets.
• Uphold the highest ethical standards, inspiring trust and treating all people with respect and personal integrity, shaping an inclusive, diverse and open organizational culture.

• Advanced university degree (Masters' or equivalent) in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration or a related field, and professional Internal Audit Certification, such as CIA/IIA or equivalent, and/or accounting qualification (ICA, ACCA or equivalent).
• Experience leading and/or overseeing quality assurance in audits, preferably in a comparable international organization
• Demonstrated track record of guiding and advising risk-based internal audits for quality assurance purposes
• Experience in engaging effectively across organizational levels and geographies to build capacity and raise awareness.
• Experience working with multiple stakeholders globally is a distinct advantage.
• Excellent command of the English language, both written and spoken.
• A working knowledge of an additional language is an advantage.