Fraud Risk Practitioner (Post Ref: 20001612) at Durban University of Technology

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIREMENTS:

• Relevant Honours Degree (NQF Level 8) in Forensic Science; Enterprise Risk Management; Internal Audit; Finance, or related field (economics, business management, statistics, or law).
• Certification in Fraud Risk Management (CFRM).
• Membership to a professional body, e.g. Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).

 IDEAL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

• MPhil Fraud Risk Management.

MINIMUM EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

• 8 years or more within a fully-fledged Compliance environment.
• 5 years’ experience in:-
• Fraud risk profiling/assessment value chain (from identification through to reporting)
• Analysis of key trends in relation to the institutional fraud risk landscape, including emerging risks.
• Effective coordination of whistleblowing activities, including proactive response to hotline reports.
• Undertaking preliminary forensic investigations with confidentiality and deadline-driven posture.
• Leading fraud and forensics related training and awareness across an organisation.
• Responding to practical complexities pertaining to fraud and forensics related cases.
• Evaluation of an institutional fraud and forensics value chain, including implemented recommendations for improvement.
• Development of fraud and forensics governance documents, including socialisation across an organisation.
• Combined Assurance Framework (CAF).
• Contract management, identifying loopholes and unmitigated risks prior to executive sign-off.
• Project management with tangible outcomes/impact.
• Interacting across all hierarchical levels (At all levels within the institution), viz. with line management and other CAF lines of assurance role players.

Ideal Experience:

• Experience in the Higher Education Sector.
• Insights into organisational strategy.
• Experience in the implementation of an ERM software.
• Experience in serving on an oversight structure, even if as merely an internal role player.

MIMIMUM LEGAL REQUIREMENT:

Membership, in good standing, with a professional fraud-focused body, viz.:-

• Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), or
• Institute of Commercial Forensic Practitioners (ICFP), or Equivalent

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

FRAUD AND FORENSICS GOVERNANCE

Develop and/or update fraud and forensics related policies, frameworks, and procedures, including:

• Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Policy
• ERM Framework
• Fraud, Bribery, and Corruption Prevention Policy
• Conflict of Interest Policy
• Whistleblowing Policy
• Undertake benchmarking as a source of innovation and infusion of market trends, demonstrating a growth mindset.
• Integrate institutional strategy into governance documents to ensure alignment and awareness.
• Produce detailed reports and dashboards with graphical illustrations, highlighting the interconnectedness of fraud, corruption, and control breaches.

FRAUD RESPONSE PLANNING & PREVENTION

• Proactively track fraud-related red flags across institutional activities and develop appropriate mitigation tactics.
• Capture and track lessons learned from forensic investigation reports and use these insights to strengthen prevention measures.
• Act as a sounding board for first-line assurance role players by shaping fraud-sensitive dialogue.
• Provide actionable input into the university’s green-paper processes, informed by market best practices.
• Contribute towards AppFactory MoUs, MoAs, and other agreements by identifying fraud-related loopholes.
• Promote and embed a strong risk management philosophy and culture.

FORENSIC INVESTIGATIONS MANAGEMENT

• Engage relevant leadership team members to capture critical details for RFQ specifications.
• Compile RFQs for projects requiring external forensic services, ensuring specifications are well scoped.
• Liaise effectively with stakeholders to gather, analyse, and track evidence, and identify emerging fraud trends.

Apply protocols for forensic investigations, including:

• Evidence gathering to safeguard integrity of investigations
• Competent compilation of evidence for possible criminal prosecution
• Conduct thorough root cause analyses of fraud cases.
• Present evidence at disciplinary hearings to defend forensic reports and ensure accountability.

WHISTLEBLOWING AND HOTLINE

• Liaise with the external service provider administering the whistleblowing hotline.
• Manage and coordinate whistleblowing processes, ensuring confidentiality, responsiveness, and organisational trust in the system.

FRAUD AWARENESS AND TRAINING

• Contribute to creating a culture of openness and accountability across DUT.
• Lead fraud awareness and training sessions, drawing on case studies, local and global (glocal) market trends, and lessons learned from investigations.
• Promote institutional resilience by embedding fraud awareness across all organisational levels.