Head Special Investigations at Airtel

JOB PURPOSE:

The Special Investigations Team/Unit, has the overriding mandate to undertake unhindered investigations into allegations of corruption, fraud and other malpractices within Airtel Africa Group and conduct investigations into allegations of misconduct involving staff members of the Group and Partners.

The Head of Special Investigations will directly report to the Group Head of Internal Audit and Risk Assurance. He/She will be responsible for conducting complex and sensitive investigations into allegations related to fraud, corruption, and Code of Conduct violations involving Airtel Africa Staff (Includes staff in all 14 OpCos) and Partners

RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Conduct and otherwise assist in sensitive preliminary inquiries into allegations of fraud, corruption or staff misconduct as required.
• Review and analyze allegations and whistleblowing information to determine relevancy and reliability, conduct sensitive interviews and other investigative activities
• Analysis and prioritization of new allegations and whistle-blower information and controlling, tracking, and analyzing allegations, investigations and findings
• Lead or participate in the conduct of sensitive and complex interviews and investigations and establish appropriate deadlines and processes for ensuring work products of the highest standards
• Ensure compliance with chain of custody procedures, maintaining case records, testimony and evidence.
• Provide support to the mandate of the Audit Committee to enhance level of compliance to corporate, governance, risk management and internal controls at Africa HQ and all the functions in the 14 OpCos.
• Develop, cascade and monitor the learning arising from fraud investigations carried out to ensure this is proactively implemented in all the 14 OpCos.
• Build strong investigation capabilities and resources which are aligned to Airtel expectation, in addition to promoting teamwork and personnel excellence among the IA and compliance resources in the OpCos.
• Provide leadership to staff in a group investigation and assist in evaluating work-load as well as take responsibility for the outcomes of the team’s investigations
• Conduct trainings/inductions on fraud risk management and compliance environment to Senior Management and Africa Leadership Team, and other key stakeholders (EC members and OpCo Teams)
• Conduct training for the IA Leads and selected function (as determined by OpCo MD and Function Head) to enhance the knowledge base of the Opco and improve on the quality of the report emanating from the various OpCo
• Prepare Management Implication Reports resulting from internal control weaknesses giving rise to the occurrence of an investigative event
• Provide in-house general advisory services for all functions / teams
• Help guide IA partners in conducting Fraud Risk Assessments and analyse prevention efforts in the orgnaisation during the IA reviews and independently as required.
• Drive the fraud risk assessment across the OpCos, by ensuring on-going dialogue with stakeholders and internally within the team for identification, assessment and development of mitigation plans for potential fraud risks.
• Ensure information/findings on the investigations conducted and status of the implementation of recommendations arising from investigations are consolidated for reporting to the Airtel Africa Board Audit Committee (BAC).
• Engage with the stakeholders at the Group level – functional heads on the fraud issues to be reported before inclusion in the BAC report.
• Work closely with the Head of Internal Assurance on finalization and presentation of the Board Audit Committee Report

SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES:

• The individual will be required to regularly and professionally interact with senior level group employees.
• The individual will be responsible for the thorough investigation of referrals by gathering and researching confidential and sensitive data contained in the group financial and other proprietary and confidential systems.
• The individual will document thorough and accurate evidence for multiple case assignments which includes financial profiles, tracing financial transactions, reviewing suspects background and profiles and other key data, as appropriate.
• The individual must demonstrate the ability to make independent and appropriate decisions but will consult with management on more complex issues.
• The individual must be able to create well-written internal and external reports to support investigative findings which are supported by facts and documents within the case record.
• The Individual will professionally conduct interviews of internal and/or external witnesses and suspects.
• The individual will come into contact with highly sensitive and confidential information and must be able to handle such information appropriately.
• The individual must demonstrate high levels of integrity and ability to exercise sound judgment.
• The individual will have the ability to communicate with law enforcement and intelligence agencies to solicit their assistance in gathering and/or providing related intelligence.
•  Ability to brief executive level management on key issues in a non-technical fashion.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE   

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Finance, Criminal Justice, or other related field, or work experience is required.
• Master’s Degree in Business Management, Intelligence, is a plus.
• Professional qualifications such as CA, ACCA, CPA, CISA, CISM, CRMA, FRM, CIA, GRCP, CRISC etc. is desirable
• Minimum of 8-10 years of substantial professional experience in investigative work, preferably investigations relating to fraud and corruption in public or private sector, including criminal prosecution or defence work, insurance or procurement fraud or corruption; tracing stolen assets and professional misconduct in a corporate or governmental setting.
• Experience in financial integrity investigations and fraud investigation or law enforcement is an advantage. A professional Qualification in Fraud Examination would be an added advantage.
• Experience conducting complex and diverse investigations involving: internal fraud; misconduct; antitrust; anti-corruption and ethical violations.
•  Understanding of the modus operandi of corrupt entities (i.e. large, medium and small companies, consultants, etc.) in financial services or similar context and/or procurement would be beneficial.