Internal Controls at SATO Toilets Africa

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

SATO Africa is seeking an internal control professional to steer, and improve internal control activities from Head Office (Nairobi) that will enable SATO Africa, Business Division of LIXIL Africa, and a brand under LIXIL Corporation, to better fulfill its social business mission and further its goals of making innovative sanitation solutions available for all.

SATO Business Division, was established in 2012, is at a critical point in evolution, shifting to a complete brand solution with products developed and distributed with the intent of increasing access to basic sanitation globally in service of SDG 6. SATO is setting the stage for a new phase of growth with the aim of demonstrating breakeven potential and feasibility of long-term sustainability.

The role will have a technical focus on Internal Controls that will require some knowledge and experience working with Internal Controls, Governance, Legal, Risk Management, Compliance, Internal Audit, and Accounting teams. You will be responsible for learning LIXIL Africa Internal Controls best practices (in a handover training phase) and you will lead all internal controls activities (Audit, Governance, Risk, Compliance) for SATO Africa (under general supervision) with reliability and accuracy while reducing complexity and ensuring compliance with the necessary accounting principles, compliance/audit requirements, and compliance/regulatory/legal guidelines.

The business in Africa has six major countries of operations (Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Nigeria, and other expanding markets). 

This is an individual contributor role.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Internal Controls
  • Report to relevant  Leader on audit risk, compliance and governance issues
  • Develop and coordinate internal control matters
  • Support managers in defining procedures that adhere to company and legislative requirements
  • Manage self-assessment or monthly internal audits.
  • Educate and train SATO Africa team members on various I/C matters.
  • Communicate with internal control functions to share ideas.
  • Backup and assist the leadership and other teams as needed.
• Governance, Compliance, & Risk
  • Establish processes for continuous improvement,
  • Partner with Audit, Risk, Compliance, and Legal Departments.
  • Develop departmental team growth and contingency plans.
  • Learn Social business processes.
  • Gather complex business and NPO requirements for projects.
  • Provide subject matter expertise in Governance and Compliance.
  • Prepare design documents, functional specifications, and test scripts.
  • Configure systems to meet complex business requirements (SOX).
  • Provide functional and technical knowledge to support development activities.
  • Implement project deliverables within the required timeline.
  • Support enterprise systems and business processes.
• Other Duties
  • Ensure that LIXIL procedures and policies are followed at all times.
  • Identify compliance and risk issues and address accordingly.
  • Ensure continued learning and improvement of internal reporting systems.
  • Perform other duties and responsibilities as needed.

LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES

1. Enthusiastic team player with strong interpersonal skills.
2. Excellent planning and organizational skills.
3. Ability to communicate effectively and maintain a good relationship with all cross functional teams (LIXIL Entities and SATO).
4. Superb verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills.
5. Ability to troubleshoot and rectify issues to help individual and department performance.
6. Proactive – Timeously follow up to internal and external customers.
7. Ability to independently investigate, flag and proactively report/escalate potential internal control, risk, and compliance issues.

REQUIREMENTS (Education and Experience)

• Matric or Equivalent
• Accounting/Finance related Degree and/or MBA Finance
• Currently studying towards CIA/CPA certifications (Advantageous)
• Minimum 3 years’ internal control/audit and/or risk/compliance management experience preferred within a manufacturing company and/or (Big Four auditing experience – Advantageous)
• Professional level working knowledge of SAP or equivalent ERP systems, experience with Tableau, Teammate, IDEA (Smart audit), RPA (Biz Robo), and/or Team Mate+ Audit
• Demonstrated project management skills
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills
• Well versed in the utilization of MS suite packages: Outlook, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint