Director, Internal Audit

Position Overview

The Office of General Counsel (OGC) is responsible for providing expert advice of counsel and legal representation to DCPS' Chancellor, Central Office, principals, and other school-based staff to help ensure that all DCPS students, regardless of background or circumstance, receive a world-class education that prepares them for success in college, career, and life. Major practice areas in OGC include: Labor and Employment, General Practice, and Litigation, which includes Special Education due process litigation under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA).

The Director, Internal Audit supervises the audit team. The Director, Internal Audit will promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in the administration of DCPS’ programs and operations. The Director must be a seasoned regulatory professional with experience working in compliance, auditing, and data trends. The Director will oversee a team responsible for identifying flaws in internal controls, identifying the need for policy development, or the implementation of agency and district-wide policies and processes that will assist in facilitating in the mitigation and elimination of instances of waste, fraud, and/or abuse. The Director will spend considerable time collaborating with various stakeholders to articulate and advocate for the adherence to policy, regulations and laws.

The Director, Internal Audit will report to the Deputy Chief, Compliance.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The below statements are intended to describe the general nature and scope of work being performed by this position. This is not a complete listing of all responsibilities, duties, and/or skills required. Other duties may be assigned.

• Coordinates and facilitates audits of DCPS programs performed by the District of Columbia Office of the Inspector General, the District of Columbia Auditor, the Chief Financial Officer’s Office of Integrity and Oversight, various federal agencies’ Inspector General Offices and various independent public accounting firms who conduct audits and reviews within DCPS.
• Develops standardized audit, review and evaluation programs to respond to various recurring audit requests from DCPS management and school principals that are designed to determine whether the function, operation or program maintains internal controls that adequately safeguard assets; provide timely, reliable and accurate programmatic and financial data; and comply with applicable statutes, DCPS directives, policies and procedures, District and federal regulations, based on annual and long range priority levels.
• Develops overall program strategy and clear, specific, and ambitious performance measures for multiple projects and operational priorities; and translates targets into individual work goals and deliverables for team members.
• Individually or as a team member performs a variety of investigations of complaints filtered through DCPS from external agencies.
• Has inclusive management style, delegates appropriately and provides growth opportunities for staff.
• Periodically provides testimony related to audit work in civil or criminal courts of law.
• Interacts with and responds effectively to urgent requests from multiple internal and external DCPS stakeholders.
• Manages staff and resources against shifting deadlines and competing priorities. Works comfortably and effectively with all stakeholders.
• Assigns, directs, and evaluates the work of direct reports; guides and supports the professional development and training of reports; and helps implement team’s HR needs such as hiring, performance evaluation, and team structure.
• Prepares and reviews working papers, reports and recommendations to evidence gathered from interviews, observations, printed data and analysis of data in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS).
• Builds relationships and liaises with various internal departments to drive collaboration and project success and interacts with and responds effectively to urgent requests from multiple internal and external DCPS stakeholders.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and five to seven years of related work experience.
• Master's degree preferred.
• Previous exposure to or experience in the education sector a plus.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Prior management experience and prior experience managing projects or audit engagements.
• Previous exposure to or experience in the K-12 education sector a plus.

DCPS Values

• STUDENTS FIRST : We recognize students as whole children and put their needs first in everything we do.
• COURAGE : We have the audacity to learn from our successes and failures, to try new things, and to lead the nation as a proof point of PK-12 success.
• EQUITY : We work proactively to eliminate opportunity gaps by interrupting institutional bias and investing in effective strategies to ensure every student succeeds.
• EXCELLENCE : We work with integrity and hold ourselves accountable for exemplary outcomes, service, and interactions.
• TEAMWORK : We recognize that our greatest asset is our collective vision and ability to work collaboratively and authentically.
• JOY : We enjoy our collective work and will enthusiastically celebrate our success and each other.