Ethics Consultant on Organizational Conflict of Interest

WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles

Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis, and we are committed to promoting diversity and gender balance

Job Title: Ethics Consultant on Organizational Conflict of Interest

Type of Contract: Regular Consultancy

Division: ETO

Duty Station (City, Country): Rome, Italy

Duration: 6 months

OBJECTIVE AND JUSTIFICATION:

Disclosing and transparently managing actual, perceived and potential Conflicts of Interest (COIs) is the duty of all WFP Employees and is in the best interests of WFP to preserve individual’s and WFP’s integrity, independence and impartiality as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, Standards of Conduct for the International Civil Service, applicable Staff Regulations and Staff Rules, ED Circulars, WFP Code of Conduct, and the WFP Human Resources (HR) Manual.

Risks of COIs can be found in various types of conflicts of interest, frequently understood as personal conflicts of interest, functional conflicts of interest, and organizational conflicts of interest (OCIs). While UN and WFP legal instruments and policies indicate that the topic of personal conflicts of interest is well covered, functional COIs and OCIs are relatively new concepts for International Organizations. This issue has also been highlighted by the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) in its 2017 report on “Review of Mechanisms and Policies Addressing Conflict of Interest in the United Nations System”, which noted that OCIs remain an unexplored territory that the JIU’s review could not fully tackle owing to insufficient information being provided by the participating organizations. To fill this gap and to foster a better understanding of the meaning of OCIs in practice, the JIU recommended that Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations (including WFP) should undertake a system-wide mapping exercise of OCIs. Specifically,

“Executive heads of the United Nations system organizations [including WFP] should direct their officials entrusted with the ethics function to map the most common occurrences and register the risks of situations exposing their respective organizations to organizational conflicts of interest, no later than December 2019”.

This mapping is to be as complete as possible and, therefore, should also cover OCIs as related to what is referenced as private partnerships with businesses, foundations and individuals and WFP’s common relationships with NGOs, INGOs, and other partners, including governments, in furtherance of its strategic objectives. Functional COIs should also be included in the mapping exercise.

ORGANIZATIONAL SETTING AND REPORTING:

The Ethics Office of WFP is mandated by the Secretary-General’s Bulletin ST/SGB/2007/11 and was created in WFP by ED Circular 2008/002.  The Ethics Office assists the Executive Director in ensuring WFP functions consistent with the highest standard of integrity as required by the Charter of the United Nations, the UN Standards of Conduct, the WFP Code of Conduct and high ethical standards. The Ethics Office fosters an ethical culture through a holistic approach, and it assists WFP in identifying and addressing conflicts of interest for the purpose of mitigation or eliminating them in the best interest of WFP. This is achieved through both the administration of the Annual Conflict of Interest and Financial Disclosure Programme (ADP) and ad hoc advice and guidance to employees and Management.

Under the direct supervision and guidance of the Director and Chief Ethics Officer, the Consultant will be responsible for the implementation of the above-mentioned JIU recommendation, through the following main duties:

• Assess the scope of the JIU recommendation;
• Review existing WFP structure, administrative issuances and practices including on procurement and partnerships with donors, private sector, government and non-governmental entities as related to understanding possible COIs;
• Draft within four (4) weeks a project plan (which may include additional resources) for review and approval;
• Identify situations where, because of specific activities or relationships, including but not limited to partnerships/relationships with private, public and other entities, the organization’s objectivity in performing mandated work and/or activity is or might be impaired, or the organization may have an unfair competitive advantage;
• Identify situations where, because of specific activities or relationships, including but not limited to partnerships/relationships with private, public and other entities, a third party’s objectivity in performing WFP mandated work and/or activity is or might be impaired, or the third party may have an unfair competitive advantage vis a vis WFP or other third parties;
• Assess whether third party relationships/partnerships with WFP, or knowledge derived from such relationships, could give rise to actual, potential or perceived advancement of the interests of a third-party entity to the detriment of WFP’s mandate;
• Interact with senior management and WFP relevant units, including through meetings and interviews;
• Map out WFP's most common OCIs and functional COIs, in whatever form, and where feasible, propose suitable mitigation measures; 
• Support Management in assessing and registering risks of situations exposing WFP to OCIs and functional COIs; and
• Perform other tasks as assigned, most particularly as related to identifying and addressing conflicts of interest for the purpose of mitigation or eliminating them in the best interest of WFP as per the mandate of the Ethics Office through advice and guidance and otherwise.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:

1. Organizational mapping of the most common OCIs and functional COIs.

2. Support assessment and registration of risks of situations exposing WFP to OCIs and functional COIs.

3. Specific recommendations on how to address, mitigate or eliminate actual, perceived and potential OCIs and functional COIs.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:

Education: Advanced university degree in Public or Business Administration, Social Science, Human Resource Management, Ethics, Law, or other relevant field, or first university degree with additional years of related work experience or trainings/courses. Additional training/certification in project management is an asset.

Experience: At least 10 years or more of postgraduate progressively responsible professional experience in leading projects, Ethics, or a related field, and with an interest in international humanitarian development. Demonstrable experience working with senior and executive leadership is a requirement. Experience in ethics, compliance and conflicts of interest is an asset. Previous experience working for international organizations is desirable.

Knowledge/Skills: Strong institutional knowledge of UN/WFP system policies, rules, regulations and procedures, including, but not limited to, on conflicts of interest. The ability to think (and document) strategically. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Solid soft skills, tact and maturity, ability to interact with different counterparts including but not limited to senior management. Strong analysis skills and problem-solving approach. Independent decision-making skills while respecting the bounds of the authority vested in the position.  High standards of ethics and values.

Languages: Fluency in English language. Working knowledge of another official WFP language is desirable.

Terms and Conditions

WFP offers a competitive compensation package which will be determined by the contract type and selected candidate’s qualifications and experience.

Please visit the following websites for detailed information on working with WFP.

http://www.wfp.org Click on: “Our work” and “Countries” to learn more about WFP’s operations.

Deadline for applications: 15 July 2020

Ref.: VA No. 123109

Qualified female applicants and qualified applicants from developing countries are especially encouraged to apply

WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.