Ethics Advisor

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is committed to fostering an organizational culture of ethics and a harmonious and inclusive work environment, anchored in the values of integrity, accountability, transparency, mutual respect and professionalism. The Ethics Office is integral to this effort, and it has an overall mandate to act as an independent organ. The office is working under the leadership of the Senior Ethics Officer who reports directly to the Director-General.

Reporting Lines

The incumbent will work under the direct supervision of the Ethics Officer.

Technical Focus

Substantial support to all the areas of the Ethics Office’s mandate, specifically: 
Advice and guidance; Reporting; Policy development, Prima facie reviews of retaliation complaints, Training and outreach activities.

This Call for Expression of Interest (EOI) is issued to build a pool of suitable candidates from junior to senior level, who can undertake a range of different tasks as and when required depending on the specific needs of the Ethics Office. The technical focus of the specific assignment may therefore not comprehend all the areas mentioned above.

Tasks and responsibilities

In close collaboration with the Ethics Office personnel, the incumbent will:
•     Support formulation of FAO-wide policies and procedures on Ethics matters in alignment with FAO’s organizational strategy, the practical realities of operating in the field, UN Reform, FAO’s work environment, and the public environment with the safety and dignity of those we serve at the core of all the work.
•     Review, advise and support standard setting and policy support activities of other departments including country and regional offices, helping to ensure that the corporate policies are adequately implemented on the ground.
•     Review individual cases and provide advice and guidance on issues related to the Ethics office mandate and in particular on conflicts of interest and protection from retaliation.  
•     Monitor current developments and best practices in organizational ethics and proactively suggest improvements to internal policies and practices.
•     Develop internal and public outreach material in all key policy and functional areas of the Ethics Office to create awareness and mainstream ethical principles across the Organization, facilitating also accountability towards external stakeholders.
•     Propose changes to the Ethics Office intranet and internet websites based also on user-statistics analyses.
•     Support the development of project documents, administrative reports, power point presentations and webinars, to staff and senior management.
•     Support the development of ethics training materials and programmes.
•     Support the development and dissemination of information products for the annual disclosure programme (ADP) exercise, such as messages to heads of offices, focal points and filing staff, and announcements or website articles, reports on areas of ADP activity such as filing and verification exercises.
•     Any other task related to carrying out successfully the Ethics Office mandate.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•     Advanced university degree from an institution recognized by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/UNESCO in political science, law, public administration, communication or other relevant areas. Consultants with bachelor's degree need two additional years of relevant professional experience in the subject areas mentioned, which is acceptable for certain types of consultancies. 
•     At least five years of relevant experience for category B and at least one year of experience for category C with focus on ethics, compliance, UN administrative law, risk assessment and management, policy drafting and development, etc. Relevant ethics experience within an international organization is considered an asset.  
•     For Consultants (level C and B): Working knowledge of English is required, working knowledge of French and/or Spanish is desired, and knowledge of Arabic, Chinese, or Russian is considered as an asset.

FAO Core Competencies

•     Results Focus
•     Teamwork
•     Communication
•     Building Effective Relationships
•     Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

•     Strong analytical, written and oral communication skills, as well as conceptual thinking;
•     Proven project management skills;
•     Demonstrable report writing skills;
•     Ability to collect, collate and analyse data in an efficient manner;
•     Experience from a UN/Multilateral organization;
•     High standards of ethics and ethical conduct, impeccable integrity, and respect for confidentiality;
•     Experience with content management systems as well as collecting and analyzing user-statistics;
•     Proven ability to produce outputs independently with minimal supervision or guidance, while at the same time seeking innovative ways to mainstream Ethics across the Organization.