Background

The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, IRC offers life-saving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in more than 30 countries and in 22 U.S. cities, IRC restores safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted by conflict or disaster. IRC leads the way from harm to home.

The IRC has been present in Tanzania for 25 years, supporting refugees and Tanzanians with health, education and protection. With a National Office in Dar es Salaam and field offices in Kasulu, Kibondo and Kigoma, the IRC serves over 200,000 people each year.

The IRC currently has over 200 staff and employs a further 2,000 refugee workers to enable the frontline delivery of its programmes. Together, we aim to provide the best possible impact for some of the most vulnerable children, women and men. In all that we do, IRC strives to deliver through IRC’s core values of Integrity, Accountability, Service and Equality. This role is at the heart of that challenge.

Job Overview/Summary:

The Senior Compliance Manager will support the Country Director and senior staff to oversee ethics and compliance related functions across the country program. The core purpose of the role is:

To build a safe and compliant working environment within IRC, through proactive prevention initiatives to reduce wrongdoing and timely, coordinated action where behaviour is suspected to be inconsistent with IRC values and policies.

 The role will have a range of responsibilities, all aimed to promote ethics and compliance in the behaviour of staff, our refugee workers and other stakeholders, including partners and suppliers. The role will coordinate consistent and effective follow up as needed when there are allegations of misconduct. 

The role will work closely with all senior staff in the IRC country program, particularly with the CD and Field Coordinators, the HR department, finance controller and technical leads.

The role will also work directly with IRC’s Global Ethics and Compliance Unit (ECU) based in New York including safeguarding and fraud prevention staff and with regional investigators based in East Africa.   

Broadly, the role covers:

Prevention:

Working across stakeholders to promote a culture that adheres to IRC values and is fully compliant with our policies, procedures, and the law. This includes developing an appropriate control environment and ensuring standard operating procedures and IRC policies are followed. Where weaknesses in controls or their application is identified, the Senior Compliance Manager will recommend appropriate risk mitigation in consultation with relevant stakeholders and will also ensure appropriate reporting to central risk owners (including HR, Finance, Supply Chain, ECU, Field Coordinators, and the CD) to ensure central support remediation. 

Promoting a strong understanding of IRC values and a culture of integrity working with others to support training and communications on IRC’s Code of Conduct (IRC Way) and issues including fraud and corruption and safeguarding (exploitation and sexual harassment and violence against staff and clients).

 Promoting an expectation and culture of reporting suspected misconduct into the ECU for any suspected forms of abuse or wrongdoing, to allow for proper follow and action as required.

To develop and manage aspects of the country program’s risk management process, relating to ethics and compliance, to include fraud, corruption, safeguarding and sexual harassment and exploitation or violence.   

Misconduct Allegations and Investigations

The Compliance Manager will work with IRC’s global Ethics and Compliance Unit (ECU), to ensure that the local staff and partners are aware of the IRC’s reporting mechanisms; and shall timely support the ECU on investigations as appropriate in accordance with the IRC’s investigation’s process

The Senior Compliance Manager will report to the Country Director (CD), and, in the cases of investigations, to the Ethics and Compliance Unit’s Senior Director of Investigations (SDI).

Major Responsibilities:

Prevention: Create a safe and compliant environment

Support the development and monitoring of a country level risk register including identification of risk mitigations for ethics and compliance related concerns.

In coordination with and under the guidance and direction of the Country Director and the Global Ethics and Compliance Unit, act as focal point for IRC policies and ECU initiatives to be integrated at the country level

•  Coordinate a training and awareness programme for all staff on ethics and compliance issues. Work with many stakeholders (HR, gender champions, finance, supply chain and organizational leadership) to roll-out policies and initiatives and consistently refresh training provided.
•  Strengthen the use of the risk register (created pursuant to IRC’s risk framework) for the country program across operations and programs.
• Coordinate and conduct ethics and compliance risk reviews of IRC, partner and sub-partner activities to assess adequacy and effectiveness of internal controls, risk management and compliance. Aim to build the capacity of partners wherever possible.
• Using a range of innovative strategies promote a culture of ethical and compliant behaviours across all sites
• Support the development or adaptation of policies designed to create a safer working environment.
• Promote a culture of reporting on ethics and compliance concerns, providing appropriate feedback to staff, partners and complainants, working closely to ensure support and follow up is provided.
• Produce consolidated internal reports (ethics and compliance) with findings and issues identified during these reviews, give appropriate recommendations on improvements to the country program and related partners’ processes, systems and procedures where appropriate.
• Work with ECU and IRC’s Safeguarding focal point(s), HR and local staff to ensure implementation of IRC’s global safeguarding strategy addressing prevention of and response to Safeguarding misconduct.
• Working across the agencies in Kigoma region in developing strategies for prevention of SEA and safeguarding violations by participating in PSEA taskforce within Kigoma, initiating discussion on measures to address some behaviors around the sectors and implementation of the agreed strategies within the country program.

Misconduct Allegations and Investigations

The Senior Compliance Manager will work with IRC’s global Ethics and Compliance Unit, to ensure that staff and partners are aware of the IRC’s reporting mechanisms; and shall timely support the ECU on investigations as appropriate, in accordance with the IRC’s investigations process.

 Contribute to investigations on a case by case basis under the guidance of ECU (Sr Director of Investigations).  This may include:

• By agreement with ECU, support or undertake investigations of alleged fraud, waste, financial corruption, safeguarding misconduct, and ensure objectivity, impartiality and fairness throughout investigative processes in accordance with generally recognized international investigative standards, and IRC guidelines;
• Prepare reports and ad hoc briefs pertaining to investigations in coordination with ECU and country leadership
• Undertake investigation assignments in the local area at the direction of, and in coordination with ECU, keeping country and regional management informed consistent with any investigation confidentiality constraints

Liaise closely with ECU and HR as needed on fraud and corruption, employee relations, and exploitation and abuse of beneficiaries and staff.

Act as a Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Focal person for all cases reported at IRC where the subject is an IRC staff or another organization staff. Immediate referring SEA cases to UNHCR and/ or other stakeholders as relevant and provide updates on the referred cases whenever required by another agency or IRC.

Other

•  Perform other tasks as requested by the CD as required. 
•  Conduct any ad-hoc internal investigative/ crisis related assignments as requested by the Country Director and in coordination with ECU or HR or in response to donor specific queries.

 Professional Standards

 The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Standards for Professional Conduct.  These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability.  In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Qualifications

•  A degree in a relevant discipline- Legal  HR, Social science studies or any other related field or demonstrable equivalent work experience.
• Good understanding of Accounting and Internal Control standards.
• Previous investigation experience, whether on safeguarding, fraud or corruption matters.
• International experience within NGOs or in the development / humanitarian sector, with knowledge of donor rules and regulation, is desirable.
• Strong planning, organizational and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent analytical, presentation, and reporting skills.
• Ability to respond to changing priorities.
• Ability to work independently on own initiative
• Excellent communication skills, verbally and in writing, in Kiswahili and English (French will be added advantage)
• Evidence of successful experience in compiling and conducting training workshops is an advantage.
• Excellent IT skills in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel.
• Strong commitment to IRC’s mission, purpose, and values.
• Scrupulous personal integrity, including rigorously confidentiality and an unstoppable determination to ensure IRC programmes and staff are working in accordance with IRC values.
• Decision making skills on complex issues whenever required.
• Strong reporting writing skills- to include investigation reports, activities report, and donor reports as required.
• Knowledgeable in risks management- identification, assessment, analysis, and management of the risks.

Equal Opportunities:

IRC is an equal opportunity employer and considers all job applicants on the basis of merit, without regard to race, nationality, tribe or place of origin, colour, national extraction, social origin, political or religious opinion, gender, pregnancy, marital status or family responsibility, sexual orientation, disability, HIV/Aids, age, or station of life.

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Standards for Professional Conduct.  These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability.  In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.