Ethics Legal Advisor

Contract

This is a IICA-3 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 7 years of experience, depending on education. More about IICA-3 contracts.

Background Information - Job-specific

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

The Ethics Office (EO) is integral to this effort, and has an overall mandate to act as an independent office pursuant to its establishment as per ST/SGB/2007/11. Overall, the role of the EO 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.

More specifically, the EO is responsible for developing standards, training and education on ethics issues, providing independent, impartial and confidential ethics advice to individuals and management in ethics related dilemmas, identifying key ethical risks and developing, implementing and monitoring policies and procedures, for ethical risk management and prevention of unethical behavior as well as safeguarding personnel by providing protection against retaliation.

The Ethics Legal Advisor reports to the Director of the Ethics Office.

The Ethics Legal Advisor is instrumental to an effective running of the Ethics function, with the focus on review of cases in relation to protection against retaliation, advice on gifts- and awards taking, advice on conflicts of interest, advice on the financial disclosure programme and advice on overall ethics dilemmas. The Ethics Legal Advisor also builds and maintains productive relationships with the wider stakeholders of the Office, including but not limited to the Internal Audit and Investigations Group (IAIG), Internal Grievances (IG) and Legal Group (LG).

Functional Responsibilities

Summary of functions

1. Legal and Ethics related advice and case management
2. Policy and programme management
3. Partnering and building productive working relationships
4. Knowledge management

Legal and Ethics related advice and case management - Conducts preliminary reviews in whistleblower and protection against retaliation cases including speaking with complainants and other relevant personnel and examining submitted documents and drafts prima facie case and final reports upon review of investigations into retaliation, contributes to strategies to prevent retaliation, contributes to foster an environment free from retaliation and fear from retaliation; - Provides assistance in developing coherence within the UN system with regards to whistleblower protections and cases covered by the protection against retaliation policy; - Provides timely and confidential legal advice and guidance on diverse and substantive questions of considerable complexity, including monitoring trends and conducting analysis into root causes of legal or ethics dilemmas for UNOPS personnel on the basis of United Nations Staff Rules and regulations and applicable jurisprudence;

• Provides legal advice on the interpretation and application of staff regulations and rules, including the review of administrative decisions;
• Advises clients on applicable whistleblower and protection against retaliation policies and internal grievance mechanisms;
• Independently handles a wide-range and multi-discipline and complex legal matters involving issues of international administrative law to include interpretation and application of instruments;

Policy and programme management - Develops standard operating procedures, guidelines or other relevant documentation to address or fill policy gaps or provide further practical guidance in the application or implementation of policies; - Provides confidential ethics advice and guidance to management and individual personnel on ethics issues, including but not limited to workplace issues, conflict of interests, gifts and honors and outside employment and activities; - Performs extensive legal research in applicable policies, jurisprudence of the UN Tribunal and prepares analysis, determinations, briefs, correspondences as required; - Develops recommendations where appropriate, consulting on potential remedies and the resolution process; - Provides guidance and advice to staff on conflicts of interest matters as needed; - Upon request, contributes to implementation of the financial disclosure programme and liaises with external reviewing party; - Monitors and responds to requests made to the Navex portal and Ethics helpline as needed; - Supports drafting of the Ethics Office annual report.

Partnering and building productive working relationships - Engages and creates productive relationships with internal partners in the UNOPS internal justice system including the Internal Audit and Investigations Team (IAIG), Legal Group (LG), Internal Grievances (IG); - Contribute to communications, education and training on ethics, values and standards to improve knowledge and skills for ethical decision-making.

Knowledge management - Maintains strict confidentiality in communications with complainants, drafts correspondence and assists in management of relevant files, information and data-bases; - Supports case tracking by recording and analyzing trends and recommending measures to improve the system.

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. For people managers only: 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, social sciences, administration, psychology, corporate ethics or related field is required. - A combination of a Bachelor’s degree with an additional 2 years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the education requirements outlined above.

Experience: - Minimum 7 years of experience in organizational ethics, law, including analysis, research and writing, personnel misconduct, investigations, employee relations or related areas is required.

• Experience in implementing whistle-blower protection in an international organization and/or corporate organization. is desirable.
• Proven ability to take-initiative but also to collaborate with others in a multi-cultural and matrixed environment.
• Specific experience in providing ethics advice under the UN system is desirable.
• Recognized relevant certification and knowledge of current industry best practices relating to ethics are an asset.
• Proven experience with critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making and analytical skills to independently advise, recommend and resolve highly complex problems.

Language Requirements: - Fluency in English is required - Knowledge of French and/or Spanish would be an asset.

Contract type, level and duration

Contract type: ICA Contract level: IICA-3 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 peace and 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 5,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,400 personnel recruited on behalf of our partners, spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced and diverse labour force — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs. We continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage the recruitment of qualified female candidates.

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