Manager, Ethics, Risk and Compliance

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, with a network of 191-member National Societies. The overall aim of the IFRC is “to inspire, encourage, facilitate, and promote at all times all forms of humanitarian activities by National Societies with a view to preventing and alleviating human suffering and thereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of human dignity and peace in the world.” IFRC works to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people before, during and after disasters, health emergencies and other crises.

IFRC is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (Movement), together with its member National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The work of the IFRC is guided by the following fundamental principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality.

IFRC is led by its Secretary General, and has its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The Headquarters are organized into three main Divisions: (i) National Society Development and Operations Coordination; (ii) Global Relations, Humanitarian Diplomacy and Digitalization; and (iii) Management Policy, Strategy and Corporate Services.

IFRC has five regional offices in Africa, Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, Europe, and the Americas. IFRC also has country cluster delegation and country delegations throughout the world. Together, the Geneva Headquarters and the field structure (regional, cluster and country) comprise the IFRC Secretariat.

The IFRC has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment and other forms of harassment, abuse of authority, discrimination, and lack of integrity (including but not limited to financial misconduct). IFRC also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles.

The Ethical Practices Department (EPD) acts as a strong, cohesive, effective and visible second-line vector for IFRC at global, regional and national levels. It provides oversight and expertise to IFRC first-line activities and operations and ensures that the organization operates in accordance with highest standards across the five following pillars:

• Ethics and Integrity to promote a culture of transparency, integrity and accountability in line with industry standards and IFRC policies.
• Risk Management to create a culture of positive risk taking within IFRC operations and activities, supported by appropriate tools and capacity.
• Social Safeguards including Prevention against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (PSEAH) and Protection, Gender and Inclusion (PGI) to ensure safety, dignity, access and inclusion are part of humanitarian programs and operations and that the principle of ‘do not harm’ is mainstreamed in all IFRC activities.
• Environmental Safeguards to ensure that all IFRC operations and activities are environmentally sustainable and accountable.
• Compliance to implement systemic, harmonized and coordinated internal control mechanisms across the organization and align with internal policies and international standards.

IFRC has worked in Afghanistan since 1990, supporting the Afghan Red Crescent Society in its auxiliary role, institutional development, partnerships, humanitarian diplomacy, emergency operations, and long-term programs.

As part of the Asia Pacific Region, the IFRC Afghanistan country delegation focuses on strengthening ARCS capacities and supporting implementation of its strategic plan across health, disaster risk management, food security and livelihoods, social outreach, and organizational development. The delegation promotes structured coordination and cooperation within the Movement, including with ICRC under the Movement Cooperation Agreement, to improve delivery, quality, and accountability across all ARCS priorities.

Furthermore, quality and accountability will be enhanced. In this background, the Manager, Ethics, Risk and Compliance will be appointed to set up and oversee a unit that implements strategic measures to enhance a culture ethics, risk management, compliance and PSEAH across IFRC operations and programmes in Afghanistan, in line with the global approach led by IFRC’s Ethical Practices Department.

Reporting to the Director, Ethical Practices Department and operating for the delegation, the Manager, Ethics, Risk and Compliance will focus on setting up and overseeing a unit that implements the EPD’s global strategy to enhance a culture of compliance, risk management, ethics and more specifically PSEAH across IFRC operations and programmes in Afghanistan. The position holder will work closely with EPD’s global leads on ethics, risk management, PSEAH and compliance in ensuring adherence to internal policies, applicable laws and regulations while fostering a culture of integrity, ethical conduct and risk management. S/he will also support efforts relating to guiding the Afghan Red Crescent Society in enhancing institutionalization and integration of ethics and risk culture, social safeguards and compliance.

The position holder will also allocate part of his/her time to support EPD’s focal point in IFRC Asia Pacific Regional Office (APRO) based on agreed priorities.

Risk Management:

• Conduct periodic risk assessments across all business areas and ensure follow-up in line with the IFRC’s operational risk management framework.
• Coordinate development and regular updating of the Afghanistan Country delegation risk register with country, regional and global focal points.
• Lead risk mitigation planning, monitor execution and provide monthly progress reports to the Head of Delegation.
• Organize and lead quarterly risk review workshops.
• Lead fraud risk assessments and partner risk assessments and follow up on mitigation measures.
• Coordinate risk inputs for the Business Continuity Plan and ensure alignment with Security Risk Management.
• Participate in the IFRC Risk Management Network and support roll-out of Secretariat-wide risk tools.
• Support ARCS in strengthening or establishing a solid and effective risk management framework.
• Deliver contextualized trainings to staff on the IFRC risk management framework, as agreed in the global and regional training plans.

Compliance:

• Develop a country-specific compliance framework in consultation with the Senior Management Team and regional and global leads.
• Ensure systematic vetting of programmes and operations for compliance with IFRC policies, rules, the Code of Conduct, Fraud and Corruption Prevention Policy, Delegation of Authority, and relevant international regulatory frameworks.
• Provide contextualized training to staff on day-to-day compliance obligations across all business areas.
• Coordinate compliance due diligence checks on vendors, service providers, partners, staff, and other entities.
• Participate periodically in Local Committees of Contracts and review procurement documentation for completeness and value for money.
• Conduct periodic compliance assessments and spot checks across various teams and units.
• Review recurring or material compliance issues to identify gaps and propose improvements in policy and implementation of procedures.
• Lead transactional testing as appropriate to identify deviations from standards and ensure issues are addressed, escalated, and resolved by the responsible unit.
• Prepare compliance briefings and reports for the Head of Delegation and EPD summarizing internal control effectiveness and key compliance and risk trends.
• Exercise authority to request documents, verify evidence, and recommend halting or escalating transactions that present compliance risks.
• Conduct compliance reviews of operational and procurement plans and flag compliance risks prior to approval.
• Undertake field visits to review programme and project implementation from a compliance and internal control perspective.
• Maintain the compliance tracker, follow up on actions, and ensure close coordination with Finance, HR, supply chain, and Security.
• Oversee the implementation of the segregation of duties.

PSEAH:

• Lead the development of a country-specific Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (SEAH) and child safeguarding framework with country, regional and global stakeholders.
• Work with the Community Engagement and Accountability (CEA), and Protection, Gender and Inclusion (PGI) focal points to improve complaint mechanisms, referral pathways and PSEAH communications for affected people and personnel.
• Provide contextualized SEAH awareness sessions for staff, partners, vendors and service providers.
• Ensure survivor-centred and confidential handling of PSEAH concerns and guide staff on safe referral and reporting procedures.
• Monitor safe programming, CEA integration, and PGI Minimum Standards in operations and programmes.

• Promote safe recruitment, safe procurement, and safe partnership practices across delegation processes.
• Work closely with ARCS to finalise and operationalise PSEAH related policies and action plan.
• Maintain and update local referral pathways and the SEAH focal point directory.

Ethics and Integrity:

• Lead the implementation of IFRC’s ethics and integrity framework across IFRC operations and programmes in Afghanistan
• Oversee the implementation of the Code of Ethics and Conduct, the financial disclosure programme including the conflict-of-interests declaration, the whistleblowing policy, the anti-fraud and anti-corruption programme and the gift and hospitality policy.
• Provide regular updates to Head of Delegation and EPD as part of IFRC’s ethics and integrity strategic and operational cycles.

Coordination and Networking:

• Work with the Head of Delegation to strengthen collaboration with the IFRC network on ethics, compliance, risk management, and PSEAH.
• Serve as the primary focal point for international organizations, international non-government agencies, UN agencies and donors on strategic country level compliance, risk, and PSEAH issues.
• Represent IFRC in inter-agency fora on ethics, compliance, risk management, and PSEAH when requested by the Head of Delegation,
• Prepare briefing notes, talking points, and thematic analyses as needed and requested.

People Management:

• Supervise ethics, compliance, risk management, and PSEAH personnel and promote continuous learning and accountability through clear objectives and performance reviews.

Effective Matrix Management:

• Work with country teams to support the ARCS in institutionalizing ethics, compliance, risk management, and PSEAH through updated policies, standards, tools, and procedures.
• Provide contextualised awareness sessions for vendors, service providers, partners, and other entities on applicable policies and rules of the IFRC (including on Fraud and Corruption Prevention Policy, and SEAH) as well as international regulatory framework that govern various aspects of humanitarian assistance (including due diligence checks against sanctions lists).
• Serve as the Focal Point for Office of Internal Audit and Investigations (OIAI) in facilitating and assisting any efforts of their work on Afghanistan as requested.

Other Duties

• Promote a culture of risk awareness, accountability, transparency, and integrity across all functions.
• Perform any other related duties assigned by the line manager including travel and field presence as needed.

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in law, business administration, finance, governance, risk management, public administration
• Professional accreditation as required for senior compliance roles (certified internal auditor - CIA, CRMA, CFE, ISO risk management certifications).
• A minimum of ten (10) years' work experience in ethics, compliance, PSEAH, anti-fraud or risk management in humanitarian settings or related fields.
• Experience in complex or high-risk environments.
• Experience in designing and implementing risk management frameworks and internal control systems.
• Experience advising senior management on ethics and/or compliance issues.
• Proven experience in successfully implementing a PSEAH strategy in humanitarian context.
• Experience in conducting due diligence checks.
• Experienced working with partner organizations.
• Experience coordinating complex projects with multiple stakeholders.
• Able to work out of office hours, during emergencies, when necessary

Preferred

• Master’s degree in advanced/relevant studies.
• A good understanding of both development and humanitarian issues.
• Experience producing reports and other documentation for a range of audiences.
• Experience in the developing and implementing learning processes.
• Ensures inclusive practice and promotes diversity.

Required

• Solid and up-to-date knowledge of best practices in compliance, risk management, and PSEAH.
• Building and maintaining partnerships and relationships.
• Proven integrity and accountability record.
• Ability to work effectively with diverse stakeholders to influence practice.
• Skills in active listening, empathy, communications, and influencing.
• Training and coaching skills.
• Attention to detail.
• Self-supporting in computers and internet-based tools.
• Fluently spoken and written English.
• Fluently spoken and written Dari and Pashto.

Preferred

• Knowledge of the Red Cross and Red Crescent International Movement.

Values: Respect for diversity; Integrity; Professionalism; Accountability
Core competencies: Communication; Collaboration and teamwork; Judgement and decision making; National society and customer relations; Creativity and innovation; Building trust
Functional competencies: Strategic orientation; Building alliances; Leadership; Empowering others
Managerial competencies: Managing staff performance; Managing staff development