New boss will lead the reform of Goal

Aid agency Goal is to make a series of changes to its internal checks and controls in the wake of the investigation by its US donors into allegations of fraud and bribery in some of its operations in Syria.

The embattled agency, which has had some USAid and Irish Aid funding withheld pending the outcome of the probe, yesterday announced the appointment of an external management consultant as its general manager for the next year.

Celine Fitzgerald, whose background is in outsourcing and the telecommunications industry, will take up the position on November 1. She stands in for chief executive Barry Andrews, who announced he was standing down to give the organisation a fresh start.