Ethics Consultant on Organizational Conflict of Interest

Result of Service

The consultant is expected to work remotely, and to present regular reports in accordance with a schedule to be agreed as part of the contract for this assignment.

Work Location

Remotely

Expected duration

up to 45 working days over 4 months

Duties and Responsibilities

THE ORGANIZATIONAL SETTING
Functioning on the principles of independence, impartiality and confidentiality, the Ethics Office is responsible for promoting ethical conduct and decision-making by all ICAO personnel through counsel and confidential advice to senior leadership and staff. The Ethics Office also assists the Secretary General and the Council in nurturing a strong organizational culture of ethics, transparency and accountability by providing guidance to reflect ethical considerations in policies, practices, and processes. In this context, the Ethics Office is also responsible for assessing mechanisms and practices currently in place that address conflicts of interest (CoIs) in order to preserve individual’s and ICAO’s integrity, independence and impartiality. Risks of CoIs can be found in various types of conflicts of interest, frequently understood as personal conflicts of interest, and organizational conflicts of interest (OCIs). While ICAO regulatory framework indicate that the topic of personal conflicts of interest is covered, OCIs is a relatively new concept for International Organizations. This issue was also 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 recommended that Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations (including ICAO) should undertake a system-wide mapping exercise of OCIs.

The consultancy assignment is under the direct supervision of the Ethics Officer. The consultant is expected to work remotely, and to present regular reports in accordance with a schedule to be agreed as part of the contract for this assignment.


THE CONSULTANCY ASSIGNMENT

The Consultant on Organizational Conflict of Interest will:
• Assess the scope of the JIU recommendation.
• Within the first week or assignment, develop a project plan for review and approval of the Ethics Officer
• Review existing ICAO structure, administrative issuances and practices including on procurement and partnerships with donors, private sector, industry, government and non-governmental entities as related to understanding possible COIs;
• 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 ICAO mandated work and/or activity is or might be impaired, or the third party may have an unfair competitive advantage vis-á-vis ICAO or other third parties.
• Assess whether third party relationships/partnerships with ICAO, 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 ICAO’s mandate.
• Interact with senior management and ICAO relevant Bureaus and Offices, including through meetings and interviews.
• Map out ICAO'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 ICAO 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 ICAO as per the mandate of the Ethics Office through advice and guidance and otherwise.

Qualifications/special skills

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.

Professional experience and knowledge
Essential:
- Minimum 12 years of postgraduate progressively responsible professional experience in leading and managing projects on ethics or a related field, preferably involving international organizations and/or international civil aviation.
- Strong institutional knowledge of UN/ICAO system policies, rules, regulations and procedures, including, but not limited to, on ethics, standards of conduct and conflicts of interest.
- Experience in working with senior and executive leadership.
- Strong analysis skills and problem-solving approach.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
- High standards of ethics and ethical conduct, impeccable integrity, and respect for confidentiality

Desirable:
- Working experience in ethics, compliance and conflicts of interest.
- Strong project management and time management skills.
- Strong initiative-taker and proven ability to work productively and independently, yet collaboratively, within a team.
- Solid soft skills, tact and maturity, ability to interact with different counterparts including but not limited to senior management.
- Relevant working experience within the UN system or other international organizations.

Languages

Essential
Fluent reading, writing and speaking abilities in English.

Desirable
A working knowledge of a second language of the Organization (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, or Spanish).

Additional Information

It should be noted that the assignment is for a period of approximately 40 working days over 4 months, starting as soon as possible.

The consultant is expected to work remotely, and to present regular reports in accordance with a schedule to be agreed as part of the contract.

A competitive rate will be offered depending on the assignment and the qualifications required.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.