Ethics & Compliance Specialist

Contract

This is a IICA-2 contract. This kind of contract is known as International Individual Contractor Agreements. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's an external contract. It usually requires 5 years of experience, depending on education. More about IICA-2 contracts.

Background Information - Job-specific

UNOPS is committed to fostering an organisational culture of ethics and a harmonious and inclusive work environment, anchored in the values of integrity, accountability, transparency, respect and professionalism.

The Ethics and Compliance Office (ECO) is integral to this effort, and it has an overall mandate to act as an independent office pursuant to SGB (2007/11). More specifically, the role of the ECO is to cultivate and nurture an organizational culture of ethics, integrity and accountability, and thereby enhance the trust in, and the credibility of UNOPS, both internally and externally. It is also to reinforce a culture of transparency, respect and professionalism, to support a harmonious and inclusive work environment. The ECO’s purpose is to grow an organisational culture where individuals understand how to perform their functions consistently and with the highest standards of integrity, how to do the right thing and go beyond compliance with rules - abiding by the spirit not just the wording of UNOPS policies. The ECO is set up in two interconnected functions:

• Ethics function - responsible for developing standards, training and education on ethical issues, providing independent, impartial and confidential ethics advice to individuals and management, identifying key ethical risks and developing, implementing and monitoring policies and procedures, for ethical risk management and prevention of unethical behaviours as well as safeguarding personnel by providing protection against retaliation.
• Compliance function - responsible for managing compliance expectations, providing compliance management advice and potential compliance management mechanisms/advice to policyholders.Coordinating the overview of non-compliance as well as recommending systemic (cross-functional) solutions for minimising non-compliance.

The ECO is led by the Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer who reports to the Executive Director.

The Ethics and Compliance Specialist reports to the Ethics Advisor who provides the general guidance and supervision. The Ethics and Compliance Specialist supports the effective running of the Compliance function, with the focus on:

• Triage of the Ethics Helpline, providing preliminary advice and supporting the Ethics Advisor in the provision of more complex advice confidential ethics advice to individuals and management.
• Supporting the development and management of ethics & compliance policies, standards and procedures including preliminary drafting.
• Maintaining the compliance overview supporting the coordination of the pan-UNOPS effort on managing non-compliance.
• Developing/inputting to relevant training materials and culture initiatives
• Supporting the delivery of ethics and compliance initiatives

Functional Responsibilities

Summary of functions:

1. Ethics and compliance management and advice
2. Stakeholder engagement, communications and training
3. Knowledge management and innovation

Ethics and compliance management and advice

• Triage of the Ethics Helpline ensuring that concerns are effectively managed by the ECO team and that all cases are addressed in a timely, accurate, constructive and professional manner.
• Provide independent, impartial and confidential ethics advice to individuals escalating the more complex/sensitive cases for action/final decision to the Ethics Advisor.
• Manage requests for approval of outside activities and advice on conflicts of interest and draw up draft recommendations for review by the Ethics Advisor. Maintain a register of outside activities and reported conflicts of interest which is fit for purpose and kept up to date.
• Conduct preliminary reviews of requests for protection against retaliation, escalating the more complex cases to the Ethics Advisor.
• Identifying ethics and policy needs in the course of your work, suggesting enhancements to ethics & compliance policies, standards and procedures including preliminary drafting.
• Manage the process of advising personnel in relation to gifts and hospitality and maintain a register of any gifts and hospitality which is fit for purpose and kept up to date.
• Support the Ethics & Compliance Advisor in the roll-out of the Global Ethics Risk Assessment, including development of reporting metrics and continuous monitoring efforts.
• Provide substantive inputs to compliance management framework development and support its implementation and management.
• Day to day execution of the activities to ensure material compliance with respect to ethics compliance policies and programmes.

• Actively contribute to wider ECO and ethics initiatives on an ad hoc basis

  Stakeholder engagement, communications and training

• Day to day management of the stakeholder engagement plan to ensure that all stakeholders receive regular updates and engagement.

• Support the Ethics & Compliance Advisor with the roll out of communication activities, focused on ethics and compliance topics - as per the ECO communications & engagement plan and draft preliminary content.
• Support campaigns aimed at fostering desired corporate culture where the focus is on integrity, accountability, transparency, respect and professionalism.
• Project manage ethics and compliance training initiatives (i.e. from onboarding, through induction to ongoing development).
• Maintain the compliance overview supporting the coordination of the pan-UNOPS effort on managing non-compliance

Knowledge management and innovation

• Support the exchange of lessons learnt and best practice for compliance management related topics, between different functions within UNOPS.
• Contribute to the implementation of programs and activities that are part of UNOPS Knowledge Management strategy.
• Propose learning initiatives focused on raising awareness of the ECO´s programs by applying innovation, technology, and efficiency.

Competencies

Develops and implements sustainable business strategies, thinks long term and externally in order to positively shape the organization. Anticipates and perceives the impact and implications of future decisions and activities on other parts of the organization. Treats all individuals with respect; responds sensitively to differences and encourages others to do the same. Upholds organizational and ethical norms. Maintains high standards of trustworthiness. Role model for diversity and inclusion.

Acts as a positive role model contributing to the team spirit. Collaborates and supports the development of others. Acts as positive leadership role model, motivates, directs and inspires others to succeed, utilizing appropriate leadership styles. Demonstrates understanding of the impact of own role on all partners and always puts the end beneficiary first. Builds and maintains strong external relationships and is a competent partner for others (if relevant to the role). Efficiently establishes an appropriate course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a goal. Actions lead to total task accomplishment through concern for quality in all areas. Sees opportunities and takes the initiative to act on them. Understands that responsible use of resources maximizes our impact on our beneficiaries. Open to change and flexible in a fast paced environment. Effectively adapts own approach to suit changing circumstances or requirements. Reflects on experiences and modifies own behavior. Performance is consistent, even under pressure. Always pursues continuous improvements. Evaluates data and courses of action to reach logical, pragmatic decisions. Takes an unbiased, rational approach with calculated risks. Applies innovation and creativity to problem-solving. Expresses ideas or facts in a clear, concise and open manner. Communication indicates a consideration for the feelings and needs of others. Actively listens and proactively shares knowledge. Handles conflict effectively, by overcoming differences of opinion and finding common ground.

Education/Experience/Language requirements

Education: - A Master’s degree in a relevant field such as law, criminology, relevant social sciences, relevant humanities, business administration, psychology, corporate ethics or related field is required. - Or, a Bachelor’s degree with an additional 2 years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the education requirements outlined above. - Or, a secondary school diploma with an additional 6 years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of a Master's degree.

Experience: - Minimum 5 years of experience in ethics and compliance is required. - Experience in compliance management with an international organization with a global reach would be an asset - Experience of working in an in house ethics function would be an asset

Language: - Fluency in English - Proficiency in another UN official language, in particular French or Spanish would be an asset.

Contract type, level and duration

Contract type: IICA Contract level: IICA 2 Contract duration: Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.

For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link: https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx

Additional Considerations

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

Background Information - UNOPS

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.