Senior Specialist, Audit

Save the Children International has an exciting opportunity for a Senior Specialist, Audit to join our global team .

Team Purpose

To ensure SCI's financial accounting policies, processes, and procedures adhere to UK accounting standards, fostering transparency and accuracy in all financial matters. Our team leads and delivers successful statutory and donor audits and develops action plans to address any findings, ensuring compliance and continuous improvement. We prepare financial statements and reports that meet regulatory requirements, provide accurate balance sheet reporting, and expert advice on financial accounting issues to support the organisation's overall financial health and strategic objectives.

To ensure tax compliance across all workstreams by providing specialist advice on direct and indirect taxes, maintaining robust tax governance and controls, ensuring timely and accurate tax reporting and filings, managing relationships with tax authorities and external advisers, identifying and mitigating tax risks, and supporting the organisation to optimise its tax position while remaining fully compliant with relevant legislation across all jurisdictions.

Role Purpose

To lead the planning and execution of donor audit engagements, including USAID, ECHO, and Global Fund. To provide expert business partnering and capacity building to country, regional, and member offices to enhance audit readiness and reduce disallowances. To track and analyze audit results, guide follow-up action, and contribute to the improvement of donor compliance and financial accountability across SCI.

• Job Title: Senior Specialist, Audit
• Reports To: Senior Manager Financial Accounting
• Work Pattern: Hybrid/Remote with flexible working options available
• Location: Any approved Save the Children International office location. For a full list of locations that Save the Children International can hire in, please visit: SCI Careers
• Required Time Zone : UTC/GMT + / - 4 hours
• Contract Length: Permanent
• Right to Work: The successful candidate must have the right to work in the country where the role is based, for the duration of employment.
• Language Requirements: Desirable French, Arabic and Spanish
• International Travel: up to 10%
• Remit: Global

Principal Accountabilities

• Lead and support audit readiness and engagement for USAID Foreign Recipient Audit (FRA) and SCUS AUP.
• Prepare Schedule of Expenditure of Federal Awards (SEFA), guidance materials, and run capacity-building exercises.
• Support country/regional readiness for compliance and substantive testing.
• Gather and review supporting documents, ensure disallowances are removed, and maintain audit findings tracker.
• Collaborate with IP Finance for SCUS AUP deliverables.
• Lead ECHO audit readiness and capacity-building across COs and ROs, including document review and sample testing.
• Maintain ECHO audit tracker, analyze disallowances, and prepare recommendations.
• Analyze Global Fund audit results, maintain tracker, and support follow-up actions.
• Contribute to other audit engagements as directed by the Head of Donor Audits.
• Assist in rolling out disallowance recording/reporting tools and templates
• Conduct quarterly analysis and year-end disallowance reserve exercise.
• Manage donor assessment document folders and coordinate required evidence with stakeholders.
• Analyse results of annual Global Fund Audit
• Maintain Global Fund audit recommendation tracker with bi-annual follow up

Experience and Skills

Essential

• Experience of external audit engagements; previous experience of similar kind of role in Save the Children or with other large organization
• A thorough understanding of financial systems i.e. Agresso
• Good knowledge of Save the Children policy & procedures and audit trail
• Excellent IT literacy including expertise in spread sheet and sharepoint
• Ability to liaise remotely with a wide range of people at all levels and across different cultures and to act with credibility, tact and diplomacy
• Strong time management skills with an ability to plan ahead, anticipate requirements, and obstacles, and an ability to juggle competing priorities successfully, and to work to tight deadlines
• Conscientious and client focussed
• Maintains a calm disposition and positive outlook particularly when working under pressure
• A full appreciation of the value of co-operation, both internationally and within a team environment.
• Commitment to Save the Children values
• Verbal and written fluency in English.
• Experience in working at a CO or Regional Level Finance at SCI or any other INGO
• Good understanding of donor audit requirements in particular ECHO, USAID Global Fund etc.
• Basic working knowledge of French, Spanish or Arabic

Desirable

• Experience in operating within the charity or non-profit sector in a large global multi currency organisation.
• Across the 6 FC roles, at least one French speaker is essential and Arabic and Spanish desirable

Education and Qualifications

Essential

• Part qualified accountant or equivalent or relevant experience

Working at Save the Children International

Save the Children is the world's leading organisation for children, employing ~25,000 staff. We save children's lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. Through our work in 116 countries, we put the most deprived and marginalised children first.

We know that great people make a great organisation, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children. We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive environment where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.

The work here is challenging but is also immensely rewarding. At Save the Children, you will be in good company, working with talented, like-minded individuals who are determined to ensure that all children survive, learn, and are protected. Your contribution will help ensure children's voices are heard at the highest levels, and that we achieve our global strategy, Ambition for Children 2030 , and reach every last child.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Equal Opportunities

DEI is core to our vision, values and global strategy. Save the Children is committed to creating a truly diverse, equitable and inclusive organisation, and one which will support us in our vision to ensure every child attains the right to survival, protection, development, and participation.

We are committed to equal employment opportunities, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality, disability, marital or civil partnership status, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, caring or parental responsibilities, age, or beliefs and religion. We are committed to diversifying our staff to better represent the communities we serve and actively welcome underrepresented groups to apply.

Reasonable adjustments will be made should any candidate invited to interview require this.

Application Information

Please attach a copy of your CV and cover letter with your application. A full copy of the role profile can be found at SCI Careers . It is recommended that you save a copy of the role profile as it will no longer be available after the advert closes.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the job advert may be closed earlier than advertised subject to the volume of suitable applicants. Please submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.

Due to the high volume of applications we receive, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Candidates who are successfully shortlisted should expect to hear from us within 2 weeks of the advert deadline.

Our Recruitment Process

• Application review by our recruiting team based on your CV and cover letter
• Two-stage competency-based interviews with the hiring team
• Some recruitment may include an additional assessment or case study stage, or a third stage interview
• If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment, followed by your contract subject to passing background checks

We need to keep children and adults safe so our selection process includes rigorous background checks and reflects our commitment to the protection of children and adults from abuse. All employees are expected to carry out their duties in accordance with our Code of Conduct and all policies and procedures relating to Anti-Harassment, Health and Safety, Safeguarding, and DEI and Equal Opportunities.

Save the Children does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.