Job title: Compliance Lead
Team: Operations
Reports to: Chief Operating Officer
Location: NRGI Registered Countries, with preference for the Global South
Direct reports: Finance and Compliance Manager
Key relationships: Finance Director, HR Lead, regional directors, country managers and legal counsel
About NRGI
The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) is a leading international non-profit organization to ensure that countries rich in oil, gas and minerals achieve sustainable, inclusive development. At a time when the energy transition is reshaping economies and societies, our mission to transform the governance of natural resources has never been more urgent.
Learn more: About us | Natural Resource Governance Institute
NRGI is seeking an experienced Compliance Lead to join our Operations team and serve as the organization’s in-house expert on donor compliance and enterprise risk management.
Operating across nine legal entities and around 20 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, NRGI requires robust and practical systems to ensure that donor, legal, regulatory and internal requirements are consistently met.
Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the Compliance Lead will own NRGI’s compliance and enterprise risk frameworks, procurement and contracting systems, and key operational policies. The role brings a strong financial lens to compliance, ensuring that donor financial requirements and internal financial controls are applied alongside legal and regulatory obligations.
The Compliance Lead will enable country and regional teams to operate confidently and compliantly in complex environments and support the COO in providing assurance to leadership and the Governing Board.
The role will work closely with the Finance Director, HR Lead, regional directors and country managers, legal counsel and colleagues across NRGI.
The successful candidate will demonstrate NRGI’s values of rigor, collaboration, passion, integrity and impact.
Learn more about the role: Compliance_Lead_Full_Job_Description_092026.pdf
Core Responsibilities
- Own and maintain NRGI’s enterprise risk management framework, including organizational and country-level risk registers, risk assessments, mitigation actions and reporting.
- Lead donor compliance across grants and contracts, including cost eligibility, reporting requirements, prior approvals, audit readiness, close-out and partner/sub-grantee compliance.
- Serve as NRGI’s point of expertise on funder rules and translate complex requirements into practical guidance for program and country teams.
- Lead the development, review and implementation of organizational policies, procedures and internal controls, working with the Finance Director on financial controls.
- Maintain NRGI’s anti-fraud, anti-bribery, sanctions screening and whistleblowing procedures, and support compliance with relevant data protection obligations.
- Own procurement and contracting policies and procedures, ensuring procurement is transparent, cost-effective and compliant with funder requirements.
- Monitor country and regional operations for compliance with local legal, regulatory and statutory requirements, including registrations and filings.
- Build donor compliance and risk-management capability across teams through training, practical guidance and tools.
- Coordinate donor audits, internal reviews and compliance assessments, ensuring findings are addressed and lessons captured.
- Line manage the Finance and Compliance Manager and provide clear direction, priority-setting and development support.
- Work closely with Finance, HR, IT, Legal and Programs to support integrated operational approaches and effective cross-functional coordination.
Experience & Technical Skills
- Significant experience in donor compliance and enterprise risk management within an international organization or INGO.
- Deep working knowledge of the rules and regulations of major funders, including grant and sub-grant management.
- Demonstrated experience designing or running an enterprise risk management framework.
- Strong understanding of procurement, contracting, internal controls and audit processes.
- Legal training or a legal background is strongly preferred.
- Experience working across multiple countries and legal jurisdictions.
- Working knowledge of financial controls and grant financial management within a multi-entity, multi-donor environment.
- Demonstrated ability to develop, interpret and apply policies and procedures with precision.
- High attention to detail and the ability to manage complex documentation.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain technical requirements clearly to non-specialists.
- Strong advisory and capacity-building skills.
- Experience line managing staff.
- Professional fluency in English; French or Spanish is an advantage.
Education & Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business administration, or a related field.
- Postgraduate qualifications (MBA, MSc Finance, or similar) highly desirable.
- Working knowledge of French, Spanish or another language relevant to NRGI's regions is a plus.
- Equivalent experience and transferable skills will also be considered.
