Consultancy on Protection against retaliation and policy work (Home-based), NYHQ, Ethics Office

Contract

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UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. And we never give up.

For every child, commitment.

Purpose of Activity:

To bring external expertise towards the management of complaints of protection against retaliation and other workplace issues based on relevant UN/UNICEF Policies and Standard Operating Procedures and provide expertise towards the work of the Office on Policy Review/Development.

Scope of Work:

1. Provide expert advice and services to the Director of Ethics, in his new role as the alternate chair of the Ethics Panel of the United Nations (EPUN), particularly in the review of the determinations of the UN Ethics Office (UNEO) on complaints of Protection against Retaliation (PAR) in line with the Secretary-General’s Bulletin (SG’s Bulletin) on Protection against Retaliation (ST/SGB/2017/2/Rev.1) and in the handling of referred cases from other UN Agencies due to conflict of interest and related issues.

a) Draft relevant memos and communications to the responsible offices, the complainant, and other relevant individuals, as appropriate, to request information and communicate the outcome of the review and make required revisions based on feedback received.

b) Provide input and assistance in relation to communications with the complainant and the administration to seek comments and/ or any required information.

2. Provide expert advice and services to the Director of Ethics, due to work surges or as required by special circumstances, in conducting a preliminary assessment of complaints of retaliation based on UNICEF policy on Protection Against Retaliation and the UNICEF Standard Operating Procedures.

a) Provide expertise in the preliminary assessment of reports and complaints of retaliation under the guidance of the Ethics Director.

b) If the assessment results in a prima facie case, provide expertise towards the preparation of the following for review by the Director of Ethics:

• Draft report to Office of Internal Audit and Investigation.
• In consultation with the Director of Ethics, determine if interim relief is needed and draft a recommendation for approval by the Executive Director.
• Draft note to be shared with the complainant on the outcome of the assessment and other relevant communications.

c) If the assessment result is that there is no retaliation, provide expertise towards the preparation of a draft memo and other communication to inform the complainant about the outcome.

d) When the investigation is completed on cases referred to OIAI, review the report and underlying evidence and, in consultation with the Director of Ethics, draft recommendations and propose actions based on UNICEF policy on Whistle-blower Protection against Retaliation

3. Contribute external expertise to the Office’s work on the planned conduct of Policy review and development, such as by providing expertise towards the work of the Office in the review, development, and revisions of the Policies on Whistle-blower Protection against retaliation, Financial Disclosure and other Ethics policies.

Payment of professional fees will be on a daily basis based on the agreed daily rate and satisfactory completion of deliverables.

Estimated Duration of the Contract: 60-day assignment between 26 June 2023 - 31 December 2023

Task/Milestone Deliverables

Tasks/Milestone:

Deliverables/Outputs:

Delivery Deadline

Provide expert advice and services to the Director in his new role as the alternate chair of EPUN in the review of UNEO PAR determinations and in the handling of referred cases from other UN Agencies due to conflict of interest and related issues.

Relevant memos, recommendations, and communications to relevant Offices, the complainant, administration, and other relevant individuals as required.

60-day assignment between 26 June 2023 - 31 December 2023*

Provide expert advice and services to the Director in the preliminary assessment of Complaints for Protection against retaliation.

Reports, memos, recommendations, or relevant communication on incoming cases assigned for review.

Provide expert advice and services in review of investigation reports from OIAI on cases referred for investigation and make recommendations for action.

Recommendation, memo, proposed action, and relevant communication, based on the Policy, for review by the Director of Ethics.

Contribute external expertise towards the review of policies, and relevant recommendations and good practices.

Report on the review of policies, recommendations, and good practices.

Provide expertise towards the drafting, revision, and updating of Policies such as the Policy on Whistle-blower protection against retaliation and the Executive Directive on Financial Disclosure and Declaration of Interest Statements based on the outcome of the review and consultations.

Draft, revised, and/ or updated Policies.

* The delivery date is to be agreed based on the date the case/ task is assigned.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• Second degree in Law, ethics, auditing, or related discipline is required. *A first-level university degree in a relevant field combined with ten years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.
• At least eight years of international experience in organizational ethics, law, corporate compliance, auditing, governance, or related roles is required.
• Experience in handling complaints of protection against retaliation or investigation in an international setting is required.
• Experience in Policy review and drafting is desirable.
• Experience handling confidential or sensitive information is an asset.
• Excellent Written and verbal communication skills in English is required.
• Fluency in other UNICEF languages (Arabic, French, or Spanish) is an asset.

Application procedure

Interested applicants are requested to submit their applications through the UNICEF jobs portal. Please attach:

1. Updated CV
2. Cover letter
3. Estimated Consultancy fee (Financial Proposal)

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Remarks:

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.