Compliance Officer

Vacancy Reference Number:

CO/CEOO/UK-R1

Position Title:

Compliance Officer

Reports to:

CEO

Department:

CEO's Office

Location:

Muslim Hands, 148 – 164 Gregory Boulevard, Gregory House, Nottingham, NG7 5JE

Hours of Work:

Full-time, 35 hours per week

Salary Range:

£30,000 - £35,000.00 per annum (commensurate with experience)

Terms of Employment:

24-Months’ Fixed-Term Contract (with a 6-Month Probationary Period)

Application Process & Closing Date:

Send an up-to-date CV and supporting Covering Letter by Email by no later than 29th December 2024

Approx. Interview & Role Commencement Date(s):

· Interviews: As and when strong candidates identified

· Start: ASAP thereafter

Note: Strong Applicants may be contacted sooner, ahead of the closing date, to hold either a ‘In-Person’ or Online Interview (via MS Teams, Zoom or Skype) with Muslim Hands; therefore, please familiarise yourself with MS Teams, Zoom or Skype prior to submitting your Application.

Other Information:

Muslim Hands is an international aid agency and NGO dedicated to providing humanitarian assistance, sustainable development, and education to communities in need worldwide. With a presence in over 40 countries, we strive to alleviate poverty, empower marginalised individuals, and respond to emergency situations with compassion and expertise.

Role Overview:

This is a new role, providing an opportunity to develop and evolve it. As Compliance Officer, you will be the Charity’s lead and expert on compliance with its external regulatory requirements and internal policies. Specifically, you will be responsible for managing and assuring compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements, including UK charity law, financial regulations, GDPR, safeguarding, and anti-money laundering regulations.

You will report directly to the CEO and provide advice and assistance to the Senior Management Team, as well as personnel across the Charity. The role focuses on advising, assisting, and supporting others while maintaining the authority and independence to ensure compliance.

Main Responsibilities:

• Develop and maintain a robust compliance programme that ensures adherence to internal and external policies, legal and regulatory requirements, and sector best practices.
• Work with various departments to maintain and implement compliance assurance across the Charity, ensuring that appropriate and reasonable measures are in place in line with legislative changes and sector best practices.
• Conduct regular audits, compliance reviews, and spot checks to identify risks, evaluate controls, and manage compliance risks, including investigations and reporting findings.
• Act as the main point of contact for external regulators, auditors, and clients, including the Charity Commission and the Fundraising Regulator.
• Manage the process of periodic audits as per the compliance framework, identifying actions for remediation and developing action plans to address risks.
• Ensure that policies and processes comply with all relevant legislation and regulations. Keep up-to-date with any legal and regulatory changes affecting the Charity's activities and provide advice and interpretation to Senior Management and relevant staff.
• Maintain and update the compliance register, tracking action points and following up on identified risks.
• Provide compliance training sessions to staff members, ensuring they understand how compliance relates to their roles and responsibilities.
• Prepare and present detailed compliance reports to senior management, the Finance and Audit Committee, and the Board of Trustees (BoT), highlighting key risks, issues, and recommendations for improvement.
• Foster a culture of ethical conduct and compliance within the organisation by promoting best practices.
• Be prepared to assist with additional tasks as required and modify the role as it develops.
• Inform management about charity laws changes. 
• To undertake (/progress towards undertaking) all tasks and duties in an effective, efficient, transparent, and wholly accountable manner.
• To undertake any reasonable responsibilities as required by line manager.
• To promote and adhere to all Muslim Hands’ Policies and Codes of Practices.
• To demonstrate Muslim Hands’ values and ethics in own working practices, approach and conduct
• To support with other Fundraising activities from time-to-time, committing to partake in approximately Live-TV-Appeals during our peak periods

Work Context

·       The post is based in Nottingham and will involve regular travel to overseas partner offices.

·       The role requires adaptability to changing priorities, understanding the compliance needs of all parts of the Charity, and ensuring compliance assurance is met across the organisation.

Additional Responsibilities

• Attend in-house and external training courses, as agreed with the line manager.
• Practise and comply with all current policies and procedures, including GDPR.
• Undertake any reasonable tasks from time to time at the request of the line manager.

Autonomy and Decision Making

·       The post holder will be responsible for their workload and outputs, working closely with the CEO. They must retain sufficient independence to report on compliance truthfully.

·       The post holder must be able to work autonomously, displaying initiative, flexible thinking, and self-motivation. They must understand the Charity’s business model and ensure all related compliance areas are managed effectively.

Communications

The post holder will regularly engage with people across the organisation, including front-line operations staff, HQ staff, the Senior Management Team, and the CEO.

This Description is illustrative and non-exhaustive in scope. The post-holder may be required to undertake any reasonable tasks as and when required by Line Manager from time to time to reflect the changing needs of the Organisation.

Qualification:

Graduate, preferably in Project Management, Finance, or Business and Management, ideally with certifications in PRINCE 2, charity governance and compliance. Ideal candidate should have at least 4 years of relevant experience in the third sector.

Essential:

• Right to work in the UK
• DBS Certificate at suitable level / undertaking to cooperate to obtain a DBS Certificate at suitable level
• Good working knowledge of working in compliance.
• Knowledge of cyber security risks and other information security standards.
• Understanding data protection law, regulation and principles, audit and compliance to internal and regulatory standards.
• Experience liaising with external regulatory authorities.
• Proven ability to communicate complex ideas in simple, effective language.

Desirable

• Knowledge of charity sector.
• Fundraising / Governance/ Regulatory Charity Law and compliance.
• Experience in similar type of roles
• Experience in cross-functional roles.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams.

Deadline for applications is 29th December 2024 however we reserve the right to end the application procedure early should the right candidate be found.

NB: Unfortunately, we will only be able to contact successful candidates so if you have not heard from us by the closure date unfortunately your application will have been unsuccessful.