Ethics & Compliance Coordinator (National Position)

Work Arrangement:

Job Description

Background

The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, IRC offers life-saving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in more than 30 countries and in 22 U.S. cities, IRC restores safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted by conflict or disaster. IRC leads the way from harm to home. The IRC has been operating in Thailand since 1975 and currently provides Health, Protection and Empowerment services to displaced persons in Tak, Kanchanaburi, Ratchaburi and Mae Hong Son provinces and supports improved disaster preparedness in Thailand’s southern border provinces. The IRC Thailand Country Program also provides support services the Resettlement Support Center, housed in the Bangkok and Mae Sot offices. IRC Thailand currently has over 300 staff and employs a further 1680 refugee workers to enable the frontline delivery of its programs. Together, we aim to provide the best possible impact for some of the most vulnerable children, women, and men. In all that we do, IRC strives to deliver through IRC’s core values of Integrity, Accountability, Equality and Service. This new role is at the heart of that challenge.

Job Overview/Summary:

The Ethics & Compliance Coordinator will support the Country Director and Senior Management Team (SMT) to oversee ethics and compliance related functions across the country program. The core purpose of the role is:

To build a safe and compliant working environment within IRC, through proactive prevention initiatives to reduce wrongdoing and timely, coordinated action where behavior is seen to be inconsistent with IRC values and policies.

The role will have a range of responsibilities, all aimed to promote ethics and compliance in the behavior of staff, incentive workers, and local partners and to coordinate consistent and effective follow up as needed when there are allegations of misconduct.

Broadly, the role covers:

Working to promote a culture that adheres to IRC values and is fully compliant with our policies, procedures and the law. Promoting a strong understanding of IRC values and working with others to support training and communications on fraud and safeguarding issues. Promoting an expectation and culture of reporting suspected misconduct into the ECU.

Developing and managing aspects of the country program’s risk management process, relating to ethics and compliance, to include fraud, corruption, safeguarding and sexual harassment and exploitation or violence.

Coordinating country-led investigations as appropriate in accordance with the IRC’s investigation’s process.

Major Responsibilities:

Prevention: Create a safe and compliant environment

- Support the development and monitoring of a country level risk register including identification of risk mitigations for ethics and compliance related concerns. - In coordination with and under the guidance and direction of the Country Director and the Global Ethics and Compliance Unit, act as focal point for IRC- ECU policies - Coordinate a training and awareness programme for all staff on ethics and compliance issues. Work with many stakeholders (HR, gender champions, finance, supply chain and organizational leadership) to roll-out policies and initiatives and consistently refresh training provided. - Strengthen the use of the risk register (created pursuant to IRC’s risk framework) for the country program across operations and programs. - Coordinate and conduct ethics and compliance risk reviews of IRC, partner, and sub-partner activities to assess adequacy and effectiveness of internal controls, risk management and compliance. Aim to build the capacity of partners wherever possible. - Using a range of innovative strategies to promote a culture of ethical and compliant behaviours across all sites - Support the development or adaptation of policies designed to create a safer working environment - Promote a culture of reporting on ethics and compliance concerns, providing appropriate feedback to staff, partners and complainants, working closely to ensure support and follow up is provided. - Produce consolidated internal reports (ethics and compliance) with findings and issues identified during these reviews, give appropriate recommendations on improvements to the country program and related partners’ processes, systems and procedures where appropriate. - Work with HR and local staff to ensure implementation of IRC’s global safeguarding strategy addressing prevention of and response to Safeguarding misconduct.

Misconduct Allegations and Investigations

- The Ethics & Compliance Coordinator will work with IRC’s global Ethics and Compliance Unit, to ensure that staff and partners are aware of the IRC’s reporting mechanisms; and shall provide timely support the ECU on investigations as appropriate, in accordance with the IRC’s investigations process. - Coordinate country-led investigations under the guidance of ECU (Sr Director of Investigations). This may include the below: -By agreement with ECU, support or undertake investigations of alleged fraud, waste, financial corruption, misconduct, ensuring objectivity, impartiality and fairness throughout investigative processes in accordance with generally recognized international investigative standards, and IRC guidelines; - Prepare reports and ad hoc briefs pertaining to investigations in coordination with ECU and country leadership - Undertake investigation assignments in the local area at the direction, and in coordination, with ECU, keeping country and regional management informed consistent with any investigation confidentiality constraints - Liaise closely with ECU and HR as needed on fraud and corruption, and exploitation and abuse of beneficiaries, partner organizations and staff.

Other

- Perform other tasks as requested by the CD as required. - Conduct any ad-hoc internal investigative/ crisis related assignments as requested by the Country Director and in coordination with ECU or HR or in response to donor specific queries.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: Country Director Position directly supervises: N/A Indirect Reporting: N/A Other Internal and/or external contacts: Internal: Deputy Director Finance, Deputy Director Operations, Deputy Director Program, HR Lead, Partnership Coordinator, Field Coordinators, Ethics and Compliance Unit team. External: Partner Organizations

Qualifications

Job Requirements:

- A degree in a relevant discipline- Legal or HR preferred but not essential. At least 5 years management experience, ideally in a similar or comparable setting - Good understanding of Internal Control principles and standards. - Previous investigation experience, whether on safeguarding, fraud or corruption matters. - Experience with NGOs or in the development / humanitarian sector, with knowledge of donor rules and regulation, is desirable. - Strong planning, organizational and interpersonal skills. - Excellent analytical, presentation, and reporting skills. - Ability to respond to changing priorities. - Ability to work independently on own initiative. - Strong verbal and written communication skills in Thai and English - Evidence of successful experience in compiling and conducting training workshops is an advantage. - Excellent IT skills in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel. - Strong commitment to IRC’s mission, purpose and values. - Scrupulous personal integrity, including rigorously confidentiality and an unstoppable determination to ensure IRC programmes and staff are working to IRC values.

Working Environment: The position will be based in the IRC office in Bangkok or Mae Sot, with travel to field sites along the Thailand-Myanmar border.

Professional Standards The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Equality, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Equal Opportunity Employer: IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.