UNDP Jobs - 81336- LTA Consultant - Compliance Officer SECU

LTA Consultant - Compliance Officer SECU

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

25-Oct-18 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The Office of Audit and Investigations (OAI) reports to the Administrator and is responsible for internal audit and investigations services to UNDP and its affiliated entities. OAI provides independent, objective assurance on the effectiveness of risk management and the effectiveness and adequacy of internal controls. OAI also responds to allegations of misconduct by conducting and reporting on investigations.

The Investigations Section of OAI is responsible for conducting investigations into allegations of misconduct, such as mismanagement, fraud, corruption, retaliation on whistle-blowers, workplace harassment, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, violation or wilful disregard of UNDP regulations, rules, and administrative instructions, that involve UNDP staff, contractors and other applicable persons.

In 2013 OAI established the Social and Environmental Compliance Unit (SECU) to respond to complaints that UNDP may not be meeting its social and environmental commitments. SECU became operational on 1 January 2015. The purpose of a compliance review is to investigate alleged violations of UNDP’s social and environmental policies and procedures, and to identify approaches to bring projects into compliance.

In June 2014 UNDP approved Social and Environmental Standards (SES) and the Stakeholder Response Mechanism (SRM) to be integrated into UNDP’s policies and procedures and effective for all new projects starting January 1, 2015.

OAI seeks to engage in a Long-Term Agreement (LTA) with suitably skilled and experienced consultants (maximum 4 consultants) to call upon as required from time to time to support OAI in matters relating to Social and Environmental Compliance of UNDP.

Duties and Responsibilities

Nature of services and scope of work

The consultant will support and, as tasked by the Lead Compliance Officer, undertake the following activities:

Support the work of the Lead Compliance Officer for UNDP’s Compliance Mechanism.
Receive and review eligibility of claims.
Support and conduct investigations related to compliance with Social and Environmental policies.
Refer claims that are ineligible for compliance review to the appropriate window in the UNDP grievance mechanism.
Prepare training and outreach materials explaining the compliance review process both to UNDP staff and to potentially affected persons.
Provide advice about the Social and Environmental Compliance Unit to potential claimants.
Provide advice to OAI Management and UNDP staff about the application of UNDP Social and Environmental standards to UNDP projects.
Substantial research and writing assistance on compliance cases and policy development.
Support the development of investigation reports.
Support the preparation of responses to external stakeholders about SECU and its functions.
Support the preparation of outreach and communications materials about SECU and its functions.
Maintain the SECU roster of compliance experts.
Support the preparation of annual reports on SECU.
Support engagement with the Stakeholder Response Mechanism.

Expected outputs

Advisory notes to the Lead Compliance Officer and Management of OAI as requested.
Analysis of social and environmental commitments and their application to UNDP proposed and current projects.
Explanatory materials for internal and external audiences about the Social and Environmental Compliance Unit and its procedures.

Competencies

Communication: The consultant should be able to communicate effectively in writing to a varied and broad audience in a simple and concise manner.

Professionalism: The consultant should be capable of working in a high pressure environment with sharp and frequent deadlines, managing many tasks simultaneously; Able to handle a large volume of data and reports accurately and thoroughly, with great attention to detail; Exercise the highest level of responsibility and be able to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner.

Teamwork: The consultant should work well in a team; Projects a positive image and is ready to take on a wide range of tasks; Focuses on results for the stakeholders; and welcomes constructive feedback.

Technical Skills: The consultant should be able to draft and edit documents in word and excel in English; French and/or Spanish are assets; Have excellent computer skills.

Knowledge Management and Learning: The consultant should willingly share knowledge and experience and make contributions to UNDP practice areas (e.g., documented knowledge, community of practice building initiatives); actively develop substantive understanding and experience in one or more knowledge areas, including process and/or technical knowledge.

Required Skills and Experience

An advanced degree in environmental or international development related field is required.
Ten (10) years of experience in implementing or evaluating social and environmental impact assessment practices and procedures is required.

Fluency in oral and written English is required.
Expertise in the social and environmental safeguard policies of international institutions is essential.
Expertise in the purpose, design and use of accountability mechanisms is an advantage.
Experience in stakeholder engagement, including communities is desirable.
Knowledge of UNDP’s Programming and Operations Policies and Procedures, as well as the UNDP Social and Environmental Standards is desirable.
Fluency in French, Spanish or Arabic is highly desirable.

Fluency in Hindi, Russian, Malay/Bahasa, Swahili, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Bengali, or Persian is desirable.

How to apply:

Interested candidates must apply through UNDP job site:

- Use the cover letter part provided in the website;

- Upload P11 to UNDP job-site;

- Applicants who are invited to interview will be asked to submit their financial proposal into the designated email address: oai.bids@undp.org within the given deadline prior to the interview date.

TOR, P11 template, financial proposal template and Procurement Notice with details on evaluation criteria are posted in the UNDP Procurement Website with the link: http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=50356