Senior Fraud and Corruption Investigator - United States or any Mercy Corps location

Description

Location: Any Mercy Corps office location or Remote US

Valid unrestricted work authorization in the country in which you will be based (United States) is required at the time of application for this position.

Position Status: Exempt, Full-time, Regular

Salary: US: Starting salary for this role will be $76,800 - $91,200 commensurate on experience, based on local benchmark for candidates outside of the United States.

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.

The Program / Department / Team

Mercy Corps’ global fraud and corruption team is a key part of the Mercy Corps Ethics and Compliance Department (ECD) and leads our organizational efforts to prevent, detect, deter and respond to fraud and corruption issues. The team reports to the Senior Director, Fraud and Corruption Investigations, who reports to the Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer (CECO). The global fraud and corruption team is bolstered by a global network of investigators and focal points working at the country level to investigate fraud and corruption and raise awareness about Ethics and fraud and corruption.

The Position

Under the direction of the Senior Director, Fraud and Corruption Investigations, the Senior Fraud and Corruption Investigator will play a lead role from receipt of an allegation to the submission of the final investigation report. The Senior Fraud and Corruption Investigator is responsible for overseeing and/or conducting investigations into allegations of violations of Mercy Corps’ Anti-Fraud and Anti-Corruption Policy, training others on the conduct of investigations, representing Mercy Corps with donor ethics and oversight bodies, and developing and analyzing ethics data. It is the role of the Senior Fraud and Corruption Investigator to ensure that Mercy Corps takes all reports of misconduct seriously and that fraud and corruption allegations are investigated thoroughly and impartially consistent with sector-wide best practices and donor expectations.

Essential Responsibilities

Strategy and Vision

• Manage investigations by setting clear direction and strategy; anticipate challenges and risks and identify strategies for mitigation
• Deliver quality results even under difficult or changing conditions
• Ensure that lessons learned are captured from fraud and corruption investigations for the agency to consider when revising policies, procedures, and training
• Understands ethics related compliance requirements and what it takes to ensure a culture that takes ethical issues and obligations seriously
• Leads and enables activities that enhance Mercy Corps’ reputation for analytical rigor and innovation

Investigation Support

• Effectively oversee and/or plan and execute impartial, thorough, timely and confidential investigations into allegations of fraud and corruptions
• Ensure investigations are conducted in a manner that considers the safety and security of all involved, including risk assessments and mitigation
• Manage investigations conducted by country-level investigators
• Ensure timely reporting of ethics incidents to donors
• Ensure country-level investigators follow the ECD Investigation Manual
• Provide guidance to country-level investigators on investigative steps
• Review investigation reports prepared by country-level investigators on a timely basis
• Ensure investigation files are organized, thorough, and maintained in a confidential manner
• Maintain appropriate confidentiality within the agency and with third parties

Training and Awareness

• Help build trust and confidence in Mercy Corps’ reporting, investigation, and follow up systems, and foster a climate where team members feel confident and comfortable coming forward with issues

• In coordination with established onboarding processes, assist with the onboarding of new team members to ensure awareness and understanding of Mercy Corps’ ethics policies

• Conduct and/or coordinate regular anti-fraud and anti-corruption trainings for team members

Personal Leadership

• Consistently strive to exceed expectations and demonstrate flexibility, resilience and the ability to maintain positive relationships and composure, even under difficult circumstancesMaintain high ethical standards and treat people with respect and dignity

• Demonstrate an awareness of personal strengths and development needs, modeling non-defensive behavior and openness to feedback; builds a culture of feedback and learning

• Identify a robust personal Work Plan that reflects Mercy Corps’ performance expectations, including development objectives that contribute to Mercy Corps’ objectives

Team Leadership & Development

• Demonstrate sound judgment at all times, encouraging a climate of idea generation and bold thinking. Implement new approaches and evaluate their impact.

• Share information proactively and appropriately, creating a trusting, collaborative team environment

• Clearly and transparently state expectations and be accountable to high standards. Manage performance proactively, taking steps to address poor performance. Coach, develop, and provide feedback to others to help them succeed and achieve their potential.

Influence and Representation

• Maintain productive relationships with all stakeholders, including country teams, other headquarters functions, donors, and regulators

• Communicate effectively to ensure overall project targets and donor obligations are met

Supervisory Responsibility

Regional Investigator, Ethics and Assurance Managers (through dotted line reporting)

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Senior Director, Fraud and Corruption Investigations

Works Directly With: Ethics and Assurance Managers, Integrity Focal Points, country-level senior management teams, global finance team, Mercy Corps Europe Compliance team

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Minimum Qualifications & Transferable Skills

• At least 5 years of experience as a trained and practiced investigator is required;
• Proven investigative skills and demonstrated ability to manage others and act as a lead investigator, including the interviewing of subjects of complaints and witnesses, the collection of potential evidence, and other related investigative procedures;
• Demonstrated ability to produce detailed investigation reports;
• Demonstrated knowledge and interest in ethics, fraud, and corruption, and a sensitivity to cultural diversity and gender issues;
• Solid understanding of a wide-range of ethics violations, including fraud and corruption;
• Experience working in humanitarian aid or development, either living overseas or spending a significant amount of time in foreign countries, is preferred;
• Strong verbal and written communication skills;
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, effective organizational and interpersonal skills;
• Ability to navigate difficult circumstances with a calm demeanor and in a methodical, analytical manager;
• Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws;
• Additional experience as an ethics officer, attorney, or similar position is preferred;
• English fluency (written & verbally) required; proficiency in Spanish and/or French is a plus.

Success Factors

The successful Senior Fraud and Corruption Investigator will have (or quickly develop) knowledge of the INGO environment; deep knowledge of best practices in conducting fraud and corruption investigations; a proven ability to analyze complex situations with varying cultures, languages and education levels; the ability to objectively document and prioritize findings and to develop workable recommendations for improvement. This person will have an utmost understanding of and appreciation for the confidential nature of this work. They will have strong management skills and be adept at communicating with and motivating a diverse array of stakeholders.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position may travel up to 15% of the time to countries which may include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited. Travel for investigations is occasionally urgent, resulting in travel departure within days of notice. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and Mercy Corps’ policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the  Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme . By applying for this role an applicant confirms that they have not previously violated an employer’s sexual misconduct, sexual exploitation and abuse, child safeguarding or trafficking policy. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to  Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

As an applicant, if you witness or experience any form of sexual misconduct during the recruitment process, please report this to Mercy Corps Integrity Hotline (integrityhotline@mercycorps.org).

Covid-19 Vaccine Policy for US-Based Employees

Mercy Corps has determined that, in an effort to protect the health, safety, and well-being of all Mercy Corps employees working in the United States, all U.S.-based employees must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, regardless of prior COVID-19 infection status. This policy is necessary to ensure not only the safety of our workforce, but the ongoing functionality of the organization.

This policy will be revised as needed to comply with federal, state, and local requirements, and to respond to changing guidance from public health authorities.

For new employees this requirement goes into effect within 10 business days of employment.  Team members that travel are expected to comply with host-country requirements, including vaccinations.  Failure to comply may impact your employment.  Proof of vaccination or exemption must be provided.

Keywords

FraudCorruptionInvestigatorEthicsComplianceInvestigationEthics PolicyAnti-FraudAnti-CorruptionTrainingAwarenessLeadershipManagementReportingHumanitarian AidDevelopmentCultural DiversityGender IssuesCommunicationTravel