Compliance Director – Office of the President

About IFDC

IFDC is a public international organization active in 27 countries in Africa, Asia, and America. IFDC uniquely approaches the global issues of food security and poverty by bridging the gap between research and impact, combining science-based innovations, holistic market systems development, an enabling policy environment, and strategic partnerships to assist farmers and countries to identify and scale sustainable agricultural solutions, including improved nutrient use efficiency. These approaches are needed to boost soil health and crop productivity while reducing the environmental impact of fertilizer use. IFDC translates research into action by using locally driven, environmentally sound, and impact-oriented solutions. With our partners, we seek to close the yield gap, eradicate global hunger, safeguard the soil on which our lives depend, and generate economic resilience for farming households and the countries in which they live.

Position Summary

IFDC seeks an accomplished Compliance Director to lead the design, implementation, and oversight of the organization's global compliance framework. This strategic leadership role ensures IFDC's full adherence to international donor regulations, internal policies, and ethical standards while embedding a culture of compliance and integrity across all operations.

The Compliance Director will serve as the organization's compliance advisor, proactively identifying and mitigating compliance risks, advising leadership on governance and regulatory issues, and ensuring alignment between business practices and IFDC's mission-driven values. The position requires a seasoned professional who combines strong ethical judgment, legal and financial acumen, and the ability to build robust systems that support transparency and accountability organization wide.

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Governance

• Lead the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of IFDC's global compliance strategy and governance framework;
• Advise executive management and the Board on compliance, ethics, and risk management matters;
• Ensure compliance priorities align with IFDC's mission, strategy, and donor obligations.

Policy, Systems and Risk Oversight

• Oversee the design, update, and implementation of IFDC global compliance policies, procedures, and internal controls;
• Lead organization-wide compliance risk assessments and maintain a compliance risk register integrated with IFDC's enterprise risk framework;
• Monitor regulatory developments and donor requirements (EU and others) and ensure IFDC systems remain compliant;
• Coordinate closely with the Internal Audit function to ensure clear delineation between assurance (IA) and compliance responsibilities.

Investigations and Ethical Conduct

• Oversee investigations into potential non-financial misconduct, or non-compliance, ensuring confidentiality, fairness, and alignment with whistleblower protections;
• Coordinate with Human Resources and Internal Audit to ensure clear ownership of investigations; with HR leading employee relations matters and IA retaining responsibility for fraud and financial misconduct investigations;
• Track and monitor the resolution and closure of compliance and ethics cases, ensuring trends and systemic risks are reported to management and the BOD (where necessary);
• Support management in strengthening preventive controls and accountability mechanisms based on lessons learned from closed cases.

Capacity Building and Culture of Integrity

• Champion a culture of ethics, compliance, and accountability across all levels of IFDC;
• Design and deliver regular training programs on compliance, anti-corruption, data protection, conflict of interest and donor compliance;
• Develop compliance metrics and report on training completion rates, investigations, and compliance trends.

Reporting and External Liaison

• Prepare compliance reports and briefings for senior management andthe Board;
• Serve as the main liaison person with external auditors, donors, and regulators on compliance matters;
• Represent IFDC in compliance and ethics networks to benchmark and adopt leading practices.

Requirements

• Advanced degree (Master's preferred) in Law, Business Administration, Finance, Governance, or a related field;
• Minimum of 12 years of progressively responsible experience in compliance, governance, or risk management, preferably within international or donor-funded organizations;
• Demonstrated experience managing compliance functions across multiple countries and regulatory environments;
• Strong understanding of international donor regulations (e.g. EU and other multilateral agencies), governance frameworks, and anti-fraud/anti-corruption standards;
• Experience managing compliance in multi-country operations;
• Sound knowledge of internal controls, investigation coordination, and enterprise risk management;
• Professional certification such as Certified Compliance & Ethics Professional (CCEP), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), or Certified Risk Manager (CRM) strongly preferred;
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence and advise at all levels;
• Strategic thinker with strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills;
• Demonstrated leadership and people management experience;
• English fluency required; proficiency in French is an asset.

Reporting and Work Relationships

The Compliance Director reports directly to the President and CEO. The position will review the implementation and work by teams and employees and provide advice on compliance.

Location

This is a national recruitment with a duty station based in any of the IFDC offices in West Africa (preferred locations: Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, or Benin).

Benefits

IFDC's benefits include annual and sick leave, health and group life insurance coverage, a 13th-month salary, social security and pension contribution in compliance with local laws and end-of-contract benefits.

Salary Clause

The salary grade for this position is BG 12.

The determination of new employee salaries takes into account various factors. These include the salary range linked to the assigned job grade, the candidate's qualifications in relation to the job's responsibilities and prerequisites, internal fairness, the competitive state of the job market, as well as potential organizational and budgetary considerations.

Diversity Clause

IFDC is committed to fostering a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We believe in the value of bringing together people with a broad range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. All employment decisions at IFDC are made on the basis of ability, performance, and organizational need, in alignment with our values of fairness, respect, and opportunity for all.