Manager, Country Risk

The Manager, Country Risk will lead a team of experienced risk management professionals who, working together across divisions, improve assessment, mitigation, escalation, and reporting of grant facing risks. The incumbent will promote an environment in which Country Teams are responsible to manage risk and have a consistent understanding of the principles by which the Global Fund differentiates its approach to risk management.
- and risk management framework across the five grant life cycle processes as defined in the Global Fund’s Performance and Accountability Framework i.e., Grant making, Grant monitoring / implementation, Grant revision, Annual funding decision / disbursement, and Grant closure.

The incumbent will operate as the Risk Department’s business process owner and key decision maker for these five critical grant facing processes. These processes are at the heart of the Global Fund’s in-country operating model and define how the Global Fund manages risk when making grants, monitoring and overseeing performance, disbursing funds and closing grants.

The incumbent will also be responsible for the Integrated Risk Management tool to ensure it remains fit for purpose and aligned to the Global Fund strategy priorities and evolving risk landscape. This involves, ensuring up to date operational policy notes, guidance documents and tool kits and managing a comprehensive training package on Global Fund’s Risk Management Framework for both internal and external stakeholders.

This position requires strong thought leadership and structured, strategic thinking combined with a mind-set of continuous improvement and results-orientation to continue to drive forward the evolution and maturity of the country risk management framework, in particular operationalizing the ‘Three Lines of Defence’ model and 2nd Line oversight.

Key Responsibilities
- Develop a coherent risk culture and risk management philosophy that becomes effectively embedded throughout the grant management cycle:_
- Manage a team of high-performing Risk Specialists and Analysts to ensure the effective implementation of a comprehensive risk management framework, based on clearly defined oversight and engagement criteria.
- Ensure risk oversight in the portfolios during key grant milestones and facilitate discussions with the Business Risk Owners wherever needed.
- Facilitate the development of robust assurance plans for selected grant portfolios and including integration of assurance within the overall risk management approach.
- Support the Country Teams on the implementation of Risk management processes, policies and tools using both formal and hands-on training approaches.
- Reflect the risk trends with Department Heads, Regional Managers and Country Teams and use dashboards to facilitate such analysis.
- Use in-country engagement to validate and improve the effectiveness of risk management by Country Teams and support further improvements as necessary.
- Lead Country Risk Management policy, process and tool development:_
- Drive the analysis of the current Country Risk Management performance in the context of Global Fund strategy, anticipating unmet business needs and defining strategic improvements to Country Risk Management policies, procedures, systems and dashboards and enabling the analysis and reporting of risk according to the risk and assurance framework.
- Operationalize a policy framework defining 2nd Line roles and responsibilities to ensure synergies between relevant teams across the Secretariat and ensuring linkages between corporate risk management initiatives and country risk management, including continuously incorporating lessons learned and adapting to changing resourcing levels.
- Develop risk policies, frameworks, systems and tools to leverage strengthened monitoring & oversight and assurance and routine use of operational data to position 2nd line functions and Risk Specialists with the information needed to identify emerging risks and propose mitigating actions.
- Develop change management materials that encourages a coherent risk culture and risk management philosophy that becomes embedded throughout the five grant life cycle processes.
- Embedding of Risk Management across grant lifecycle and build opportunities for cross-organizational learning:_
- Collaborate with Grant Management Division in developing a strategic risk management approach which is commensurate with the organizational risk appetite.
- Develop and operationalize a system for risk events reporting in grant management for ongoing improvement of the risk management processes.
- Facilitate the development and dissemination of good risk management practices across Country Teams jointly with other departments in selected thematic areas.
- Institutionalize the learnings from the risk and assurance rollout in the ongoing grant management with an emphasis on areas that require long term focus such as, not limited to, supply chain and program quali