UN Women: Consultant, Ethics and Integrity Benchmarking Advisory Review, Independent Evaluation and Audit Services (IEAS)

Background

Please read the following notice before you proceed with your application:

UN Women is transitioning to a new E-recruitment system. This vacancy is also posted in the new system. 

All applications for this vacancy must be submitted at https://unwomen.taleo.net/careersection/unw_external/jobdetail.ftl?job=1900001Q&tz=GMT-04%3A00&tzname=America%2FNew_York

Applications received through other sources/sites will be treated as incomplete and WILL NOT be considered for further assessment.

NOTE: The consultancy will be for 4 months on when-actually-employed basis. The consultant will be expected to be present at the UN Women HQ for the field work; planning and report writing can be done home-based.

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

The Internal Audit Service (IAS) of the Independent Evaluation and Audit Services (IEAS) is responsible for internal audit services to UN Women. IAS provides independent, objective assurance on the effectiveness of risk management and the effectiveness and adequacy of internal controls. It manages the internal audit services for UN Women covering its Headquarters and offices away from headquarters. 

Ethics and Integrity Advisory Engagement

The 2019 IAS risk-based audit plan includes an advisory assignment on Ethics and Integrity Benchmarking of UN-Women. As a part of this assignment, IAS aims to hire a subject matter expert to participate at this assignment on a temporary consultancy basis.   

A key objective of this advisory engagement is to assess and benchmark the effectiveness of governance, risk management and controls in regard to organizational ethics and integrity, and to develop together with management a specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound action plan to address key residual risks related to Ethics and Integrity in UN-Women which have not been adequately mitigated. This review will include assessment of the organizational culture, existing policies, procedures, and process, and benchmark them against the best practices developed among UN and the public sector in general.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant will report to the Chief, IAS to carry out her/his audit assignment. Under the supervision of the Chief, IAS, the consultant will be expected to perform the following:

• An ethics and integrity risk assessment to define the key risks;
• Maturity assessment of UNW ethics and integrity against a methodology agreed with management including the criteria and maturity level to be agreed with IAS during the planning stage (e.g. UN Ethics Advice and Guidance ;
• Benchmarking UNW against other UN agencies and other international organizations (e.g. OECD, Work Bank, international non-governmental organizations), looking for the best practices which can be cost-effectively adapted to UN Women context;
• Developing specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timebound recommendations and validating a management action plan which will assist UNW in moving to the appropriate level of maturity, considering cost-effectiveness of the recommendations (cost-benefit analysis of proposed mitigated measures vs residual risks).

The Consultant will be required to:

• Conduct advisory assignment in accordance with the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing issued by the Institute of Internal Auditors;
• Prepare the engagement planning, including individual engagement risk-assessment and Terms of Reference;
• Extensively consult with stakeholders at UN Women offices at Headquarters, Regional, Multi-country and Country Offices as well as selected external stakeholders such as the Advisory Committee on Oversight, UN Ethics Office, and others;
• Research for the best practices on Ethics and Integrity among other UN and international organizations;
• Prepare adequate and comprehensive working papers to support the work done and conclusions reached. Address any questions from the Quality Assurance Review conducted by supervisor or peer;
• Prepare Summary of Findings for the exit conference which will incorporate inputs from audit clients and other units/functions involved in this engagement;
• Present the results to the management;
• Develop specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timebound recommendations, and validate the management plan of actions to address the recommendations;
• Prepare draft reports; and
• Work with the Chief, IAS and the Director, IEAS to finalize and issue the report.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Complete the assignment in accordance with the advisory assignment plan and International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing (IPPF) that is timely implemented, on scope and on budget;
• After completion of the field work, present summary of preliminary findings at exit meeting;
• Within 2 weeks after the field work completion, deliver quality audit working papers and draft report with key recommendations in accordance with IPPF;
• Work with the management involved in the engagement on agreeing on recommendations and preparation of action plan. In case of major disagreements to the recommendations, document key reasons for and against the recommendation for final decision of Chief, IAS and Director, IEAS;
• Discuss high level issues identified during the engagement with Chief for escalation to the responsible units for timely actions.

Timeline

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity;
• Integrity;
• Professionalism.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Functional Competencies:

• Demonstrated ability and experience to perform and manage similar engagements;
• Ability to identify good practices and areas for improvement, in particular root causes, in the areas of governance, risk and controls in terms of their adequacy, effectiveness and efficiency, and provide specific and feasible recommendations and solutions;
• Ability to produce timely, quality outputs;
• Ability to handle multi-tasks, resourceful and work independently with little supervision;
• Strong interpersonal, negotiation, presentation and communication skills including ability to listens actively and responds effectively;
• Strong report writing skills; and
• Demonstrated ability to use Microsoft office suite.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree in Auditing and Evaluation, Business Administration, Public Administration, or related field. A first level degree in combination with a certification as Chartered Accountant or Certified Public Accountant may be accepted in lieu of an advanced degree;
• Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) or Ethics and Compliance certifications are desirable; and
• Additional professional certifications (e.g. CFE) are an advantage.

Experience:

• A minimum of 15 years of professional experience in assessing or auditing organizational ethics and integrity of complex inter-governmental or international entities, or another directly relevant area;
• Experience in assessing organizational culture within a multi-cultural environment, leadership, and performance management is highly desirable; and
• Experience in the UN or public sector is an asset
• Experience advising or consulting with management on organizational governance, ethics and culture.
• Experience drafting clear, action-oriented audit or advisory reports.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another UN language, particularly French or Spanish is desirable.

 Selection criteria:

• Education background (10 points), work experience (20 points), experience with similar projects (40 points) and financial proposal (30 points).
• Candidates are requested to submit a lump-sum financial proposal by copy-pasting this information on top of the uploaded CV or P11 form file.