Director, Operational Resilience and Effectiveness

Asia Community Foundation (ACF) is the first Asia-wide platform for collaborative and strategic giving. We enable donors to give effectively across Asia through donor-advised funds (DAFs), collaborative and impact funds, and other philanthropic vehicles, supported by strong grantmaking, governance and operational infrastructure.

ACF is seeking a senior, hands-on practitioner to strengthen operational resilience and organisational effectiveness by building and embedding proportionate risk management, internal controls and cross-functional processes. The role sits within management as a senior second-line function it is not an independent internal audit appointment.

This is an initial 12-month fractional appointment of approximately 3-4 days per week, reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, with no direct reports initially. The role operates across ACF, with scope and priorities reviewed at six months and at year end.

There is potential for the role to evolve towards broader operational leadership as ACF grows. Future scope and resourcing will be determined following the Year 1 review, based on organisational needs and the capability established.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strengthen Internal Controls and Operational Resilience

• Map the existing control environment, identify priority gaps and agree a sequenced control improvement and remediation plan
• Develop and embed a proportionate internal control framework and minimum control standards across financial, operational, grantmaking, compliance and technology-related processes
• Document and strengthen priority end-to-end processes, including roles, decision rights, approvals, hand-offs, evidence and escalation points
• Test and re-test selected controls, document findings and coordinate remediation with accountable functional owners through to closure
• Establish and implement an operational resilience and business continuity framework, including practical escalation arrangements

2. Operationalise Enterprise and Grantmaking Risk

• Translate the outcomes of ACF's enterprise risk review and Board grantmaking risk workshop into practical controls, mitigation measures, owners, timelines and implementation plans
• Support functional heads in managing and monitoring risks, while they retain accountability for the risks, controls and processes within their areas
• Maintain an organisation-wide risk and control map, strengthen risk indicators and reporting, and establish an issue, action and escalation tracker
• Provide quarterly written updates to management and the Audit and Risk Committee on priorities, material risks, control gaps and remediation escalate material control, compliance or management concerns directly to the Committee Chair where needed
• Implement enterprise risk frameworks while the Chief responsible for Governance, Risk and Compliance retains executive accountability for governance, compliance and enterprise risk

3. Strengthen Cross-Functional Processes and Organisational Effectiveness

• Identify and address process gaps, unclear accountabilities and cross-functional dependencies with the Leadership Team and functional heads
• Lead selected organisation-wide process reviews and drive implementation of agreed improvements
• Strengthen operating disciplines, management reporting and follow-through, supporting more consistent cross-functional execution
• Support the evolution of ACF's operating model in line with its increasing scale and complexity

4. Support ShIP's Operational Development

• Use Shared Impact Philanthropy (ShIP) as the initial implementation platform to establish, test and refine controls before extending effective practices across ACF
• Review key interfaces between ShIP and ACF's finance, grantmaking, technology, legal, HR, governance and compliance functions
• Support ShIP's readiness for increased scale through clear controls, accountabilities and escalation arrangements

5. Build the Foundations for Assurance and Future Internal Audit

• Establish the systems, documentation and control environment required to support future internal audit and assurance
• Commission limited specialist support for defined technical areas requiring deeper expertise or independence coordinate independent reviews reporting to the Audit and Risk Committee
• Maintain clear boundaries between management-led control development and independent assurance, including assurance over work the Director has designed or implemented
• Present a year-end assessment to management, the Audit and Risk Committee and TMFF, identifying residual risks and recommending how the internal capability should be embedded within ACF and inform the next phase of donor-facing quality assurance

Requirements

• Approximately 12 to 15+ years of relevant experience across operational risk, internal controls, enterprise risk, assurance, process improvement or organisational operations
• Demonstrated experience designing and embedding proportionate controls in growing or complex organisations
• Strong cross-functional operating capability, including process design, implementation, change management and remediation
• Ability to engage credibly with Board members and senior leadership while working directly with teams on detailed implementation
• Sound understanding of governance, financial controls, compliance and technology-related risk
• Pragmatic judgement and the ability to distinguish essential controls from unnecessary bureaucracy
• Comfortable operating with autonomy and ambiguity and taking work from diagnosis through to implementation
• Experience in a non-profit, foundation, financial services or international operating environment would be advantageous
• High integrity
• Strong communication and relationship skills, with the ability to work constructively across different functions and levels of the organisation

To Apply

Interested candidates are invited to send a cover letter and CV. All enquiries will be treated with strict confidence.

ACF is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds and are an equal opportunity employer, selecting on merit regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, religion, disability, or any other characteristic unrelated to the role.