1. Position Purpose

The Risk & Donor Compliance Specialist is responsible for strengthening internal control systems, monitoring donor compliance, and supporting risk management across all projects and departments of Aid Gate Organization (AGO).

The position works under the oversight of the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee and operates with a high level of independence to ensure that all organizational activities comply with AGO internal policies, donor regulations, contractual obligations, and internationally accepted standards of accountability and transparency.

The role ensures that finance, procurement, HR, logistics, MEAL, and program implementation follow approved procedures, and that risks are identified, documented, monitored, and mitigated in a timely manner.

The Risk & Donor Compliance Specialist conducts compliance reviews, supports audit preparation, verifies documentation, monitors risk registers, and provides recommendations to management and the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee to improve internal control systems and reduce operational, financial, and program risks.

The position is based in Erbil and requires frequent travel to field locations across Iraq including Ninewa, Salah Al-Din, Diyala, Anbar, Basra, Thi-Qar, Baghdad, Dohuk, and other operational areas to conduct compliance monitoring visits and risk assessments.

The Risk & Donor Compliance Specialist has access to all organizational records required for compliance review and prepares periodic reports to the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee.

2. Key Duties and Responsibilities

2.1 Risk Management, Risk Register, and Organizational Risk Monitoring

• Develop, maintain, and regularly update comprehensive organizational and project-level risk registers covering all operational areas of the organization, including program implementation, finance, procurement, logistics, human resources, safeguarding, data protection, legal compliance, security, and reputational risks, ensuring that risks are clearly identified, categorized, assessed, and assigned to responsible staff for mitigation and follow-up.
• Conduct structured and periodic risk assessments for all ongoing and newly approved projects to identify potential risks that may affect implementation quality, compliance with donor requirements, financial accountability, operational efficiency, and achievement of project objectives, and ensure that risk assessments are documented using approved templates and formats.
• Work closely with program teams, finance department, logistics, HR, MEAL, and senior management to identify potential risk areas at both project and organizational levels, and ensure that appropriate mitigation measures are defined, documented, approved, and implemented in a timely manner.
• Monitor implementation of risk mitigation plans and follow up regularly with responsible departments to confirm that corrective actions are completed within agreed timelines, and that risk levels are reduced to acceptable levels.
• Review risk matrices required by donors and ensure that identified risks reflect the actual operational context and implementation challenges, and that mitigation measures are realistic and properly implemented.
• Analyze recurring risks across multiple projects to identify systemic weaknesses in procedures or internal controls, and prepare recommendations for strengthening organizational risk management systems.
• Prepare periodic risk monitoring reports summarizing identified risks, mitigation status, outstanding issues, and recommended actions, and submit these reports to the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee for review.
• Ensure that risk management tools, templates, and reporting formats are applied consistently across all departments and projects.
• Provide guidance and technical support to staff on risk identification, risk reporting, and risk prevention, and promote awareness of risk management responsibilities within the organization.
• Immediately report any high-risk issues, control failures, or potential compliance violations that may expose the organization to financial, legal, or reputational risk to the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee.
• Support the development and continuous improvement of AGO’s risk management framework, policies, and internal guidance to align with donor requirements and international best practices.

2.2 Donor Compliance Monitoring and Grant Agreement Verification

• Ensure that all projects implemented by the organization comply fully with donor regulations, grant agreements, contracts, and approved proposals, including projects funded by UN agencies, European Union, GIZ, USAID, UNICEF, GCERF, BMZ, AICS, ILO, UNDP, SCI, and other donors, and that all activities are carried out in accordance with approved budgets, workplans, and reporting requirements.
• Review project implementation against approved proposals, budgets, logframes, and activity plans to verify that project activities are conducted as approved and that any changes are properly authorized and documented.
• Verify that procurement processes follow approved procurement procedures, including correct use of procurement thresholds, competitive bidding requirements, evaluation documentation, approval levels, and contract conditions, and ensure that procurement files contain complete and auditable documentation.
• Review financial documentation to confirm that all payments are supported by valid invoices, contracts, purchase orders, and approvals, and that expenses are recorded under the correct budget lines in accordance with donor rules and organizational financial procedures.
• Check that HR procedures comply with approved recruitment procedures, employment contracts, salary scales, attendance records, and donor regulations, and that staff costs charged to projects are supported by proper documentation.
• Verify that asset management, inventory, and warehouse records are properly maintained and that all project assets are recorded, labeled, and used for project purposes only.
• Ensure that project activities follow approved implementation schedules and that any delays or deviations are documented and justified.
• Review donor visibility and communication requirements to ensure that logos, acknowledgments, and reporting formats follow donor guidelines.
• Monitor donor reporting deadlines and ensure that reports are prepared and submitted on time, in the correct format, and with all required supporting documents.
• Maintain compliance monitoring checklists for each project to track adherence to donor requirements and identify any missing documentation.
• Prepare written compliance review reports describing findings, risks, and recommendations, and submit them to management and the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee.
• Follow up with responsible departments to ensure that any identified non-compliance issues are corrected, documented, and closed.

2.3 Internal Control Systems and Organizational Procedures Review

• Review existing internal control procedures across all departments to ensure that adequate systems are in place to prevent errors, misuse of funds, fraud, procedural violations, and non-compliance with donor requirements, and to ensure that all processes are conducted in a transparent and accountable manner.
• Verify that segregation of duties is respected in finance, procurement, HR, logistics, and program operations, ensuring that responsibilities for authorization, execution, and verification are properly separated.
• Check that approval levels are applied correctly according to AGO policies and donor regulations, and that no payments or commitments are made without proper authorization.
• Review payment procedures to ensure that all financial transactions are properly supported, approved, and recorded in accordance with financial policies.
• Review procurement files to confirm that all procurement steps are documented, that competition rules are respected, and that supplier selection is transparent and justified.
• Check inventory and asset management procedures to ensure that equipment and materials are properly recorded, labeled, tracked, and periodically verified.
• Review HR documentation including employment contracts, attendance records, payroll documentation, and personnel files to ensure compliance with policies and donor rules.
• Assess whether documentation flow between departments follows approved procedures and whether records are properly stored and accessible.
• Identify weaknesses in internal control systems and prepare written recommendations for improvement.
• Support management in developing stronger internal control procedures where needed.
• Prepare internal control review reports and submit them to the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee.

2.4 Audit Preparation, Audit Support, and Follow-up of Audit Findings

• Prepare and organize documentation required for internal audits, external audits, and donor verification visits, ensuring that all required records are complete, accurate, and properly filed.
• Review project files in advance of audit visits to confirm that procurement, finance, HR, logistics, and program documentation is complete and consistent.
• Support preparation of audit files including contracts, vouchers, bank statements, attendance sheets, beneficiary lists, distribution records, approvals, and reports.
• Coordinate with departments to collect missing documentation before audit or donor monitoring visits.
• Attend audit meetings when required and provide explanations of procedures, documentation, and internal control systems.
• Review audit findings and recommendations and prepare written responses in coordination with management.
• Develop corrective action plans to address audit observations and ensure that required improvements are implemented.
• Track implementation of audit recommendations and follow up with responsible departments until all actions are completed.
• Maintain audit tracking sheets for all projects and audits.
• Prepare periodic audit follow-up reports for the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee.
• Ensure that lessons learned from audits are integrated into future procedures and policies.
• Support preparation for donor monitoring missions, compliance reviews, and verification visits.

2.5 Compliance Monitoring in Field Offices and Project Locations

• Conduct periodic compliance monitoring visits to field offices, project sites, and partner locations to verify that procedures are correctly applied and that project activities comply with donor and organizational requirements.
• Review procurement documentation in field offices to ensure that procurement procedures have been followed correctly and that files contain complete documentation.
• Review financial records, cashbooks, vouchers, and supporting documents to ensure accuracy, completeness, and compliance with financial procedures.
• Check HR files including contracts, attendance sheets, payroll documentation, and staff records to confirm compliance with HR policies.
• Verify stock records, warehouse documentation, and asset registers to ensure that materials and equipment are properly recorded and controlled.
• Verify beneficiary lists, distribution records, and activity documentation to confirm that project outputs are implemented as reported.
• Confirm that project activities in the field match approved workplans and budgets.
• Interview field staff when necessary to verify procedures and identify challenges.
• Prepare detailed field compliance monitoring reports including findings, risks, and recommendations.
• Share monitoring reports with management and the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee.
• Follow up with field offices to ensure that corrective actions are implemented.
• Conduct follow-up visits when necessary to verify that issues have been resolved.
• Ensure that field offices understand and apply AGO policies and donor rules.

2.6 Policy Development, Review, and Institutional Compliance

• Support the development, review, revision, and continuous improvement of AGO internal policies, procedures, and standard operating procedures to ensure full alignment with donor regulations, Iraqi legal requirements, and internationally accepted standards of accountability, transparency, and good governance.
• Conduct periodic reviews of existing policies including finance policy, procurement policy, HR policy, logistics policy, safeguarding policy, anti-fraud policy, whistleblowing policy, data protection policy, risk management policy, and compliance manual, and identify areas that require updating or strengthening.
• Assess whether current procedures are being applied correctly in practice and identify gaps between written policy and actual implementation.
• Draft revisions to policies and SOPs when required, ensuring that changes reflect donor requirements, audit recommendations, and lessons learned from previous projects.
• Ensure that updated policies are formally approved according to AGO governance structure and that official versions are properly documented and archived.
• Coordinate dissemination of updated policies to all departments and ensure that staff receive clear guidance on new procedures.
• Support translation of policies into required languages when necessary to ensure understanding by all staff.
• Develop internal guidance notes, checklists, and templates to support correct implementation of procedures.
• Monitor compliance with policies across all departments and projects and report any deviations.
• Provide advice to management and the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee on strengthening institutional compliance systems.
• Promote a culture of accountability, transparency, and adherence to procedures throughout the organization.

2.7 Investigation, Misconduct Review, and Handling of Irregularities

• Receive, record, and review reports related to suspected fraud, misuse of funds, corruption, procedural violations, safeguarding concerns, conflict of interest, or non-compliance with donor regulations.
• Conduct preliminary reviews of reported issues to determine whether further investigation is required, ensuring that all actions are carried out in accordance with AGO policies and confidentiality requirements.
• Collect and review relevant documentation, including financial records, procurement files, contracts, attendance sheets, and correspondence, to verify facts related to reported concerns.
• Interview staff or relevant persons when necessary to clarify information, ensuring that interviews are conducted professionally and confidentially.
• Prepare written summaries of findings, including description of the issue, evidence reviewed, and recommended actions.
• Submit investigation reports to the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee for review and decision.
• Support management in implementing disciplinary procedures or corrective actions when required.
• Ensure that anti-fraud, safeguarding, whistleblowing, and ethics policies are followed during all investigations.
• Maintain strict confidentiality of all investigation information and protect the identity of persons reporting concerns whenever required.
• Monitor implementation of corrective actions to ensure that identified issues are resolved.
• Recommend preventive measures to reduce the risk of similar violations in the future.
• Maintain records of investigations in secure and confidential files.

2.8 Donor Reporting Compliance Review and Verification

• Review narrative, financial, and supporting reports prepared for donors before submission to ensure that all information is accurate, complete, and consistent with approved project documents and donor requirements.
• Verify that reported activities correspond to approved workplans, logframes, and implementation schedules.
• Check that financial reports match accounting records, budget tracking sheets, and approved budgets, and confirm that expenses are charged to the correct budget lines.
• Ensure that indicators and results reported are supported by monitoring data, attendance sheets, beneficiary lists, or other evidence.
• Confirm that required annexes, supporting documents, and attachments are included with donor reports.
• Ensure that donor templates, formats, and reporting guidelines are correctly followed.
• Review visibility requirements and confirm that donor acknowledgment rules are respected.
• Verify that required approvals and signatures are obtained before submission.
• Ensure that reports are submitted within donor deadlines.
• Maintain records of all submitted reports for audit and reference purposes.
• Provide written comments and corrections to departments when inconsistencies are found.
• Confirm compliance with donor rules before final submission of reports.
• Support preparation for donor monitoring visits related to reporting.

2.9 Training, Capacity Building, and Compliance Awareness

• Provide regular training to staff on donor compliance requirements, internal policies, and organizational procedures to ensure that all departments understand and follow approved rules.
• Develop training materials, presentations, and guidance documents covering procurement procedures, financial documentation, risk management, safeguarding, audit preparation, and donor compliance.
• Conduct orientation sessions for new staff to explain compliance responsibilities and organizational procedures.
• Organize refresher training sessions for existing staff to address recurring compliance issues or audit findings.
• Provide technical guidance to field staff to ensure that procedures are correctly applied in field offices.
• Support department heads in strengthening compliance practices within their teams.
• Assess staff understanding of policies and identify areas where additional training is required.
• Promote awareness of risk management, accountability, and ethical conduct across the organization.
• Encourage staff to report concerns or irregularities through approved reporting channels.
• Support development of a strong compliance culture within AGO.
• Maintain records of trainings conducted and participants.
• Report training needs to the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee when required.

2.10 Coordination, Reporting, and Support to Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee

• Maintain regular coordination with finance, logistics, HR, program, MEAL, and management teams to monitor compliance status across all projects and departments.
• Prepare periodic compliance reports summarizing monitoring activities, findings, risks, and corrective actions, and submit these reports to the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee.
• Prepare risk monitoring reports, audit follow-up reports, investigation summaries, and internal control review reports as requested.
• Participate in management meetings when required to present compliance findings and recommendations.
• Provide written recommendations to strengthen internal controls, reduce risks, and improve compliance systems.
• Support review of new project proposals to ensure that planned activities comply with donor rules and organizational policies.
• Maintain records of all compliance monitoring activities, reports, and follow-up actions.
• Report serious compliance issues immediately to the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee without delay.
• Follow decisions, instructions, and recommendations issued by the Committee and monitor implementation.
• Maintain independence and neutrality when conducting reviews, and avoid conflicts of interest.
• Ensure that all information obtained during compliance reviews is handled professionally and confidentially.
• Provide technical advice to management on compliance and risk matters when requested.
• Support the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities.

3. Qualifications and Requirements

Education

Bachelor degree in Law, Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, Management, or related field.

Master degree preferred.

Experience

• Minimum 5 years experience in compliance, audit, risk, or donor projects.
• Experience with NGO / INGO required.
• Experience with donor compliance required.
• Experience in Iraq required.
• Experience with UN / EU / GIZ / USAID / UNICEF / GCERF / BMZ / AICS preferred.
• Experience in audit preferred.
• Experience in policy development preferred.

Skills

• Strong knowledge of donor rules
• Strong documentation skills
• Strong analysis skills
• Good reporting skills
• Good training skills
• Attention to detail
• High integrity
• Ability to travel
• Ability to work independently

Languages

• Arabic — Required
• English — Required
• Kurdish — Advantage

Interested applicants must apply via the link below

https://aidgateorganization.org/form/form.php

Note:

• Applications not meeting the specified minimum requirements may not be considered.
• The CVs received after the closing date may not be considered.
• Shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview that may include a written test of communication and writing skills.

Due to the nature of AGO work activities, AGO demand its employee to have the highest discretion and flexibility qualities. AGO can anytime according to the needs of his mission, and change the work location of his employee. AGO can at any time update tasks on this Job Description according to the evolution of the program or strategy changes. The above-listed tasks are not exhaustive, the employee can be asked to undertake other tasks by the employer according to the competencies, to work over settings time.

• Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Candidates are encouraged to apply early, as applications may be screened prior to the vacancy deadline.