Ethics and Assurance Manager – Erbil, Iraq At Mercy Corps

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

Mercy Corps works in places of transition, where conflict, disaster, political upheaval, or economic collapse present opportunities to build more secure, productive, and just communities. Providing emergency relief in times of crisis, we move quickly to help communities recover and build resilience to future shocks and promote sustainable change by supporting community-led and market-driven initiatives. Recognizing both the great potential and the complex challenges faced by the Middle East, since 1989 Mercy Corps has been implementing a range of humanitarian assistance and development programs tailored to the specific needs of the region and of those communities where we work.

Since 2003, Mercy Corps has been working to pave the way for a new Iraq. We continue to deliver emergency, life-saving assistance to conflict affected populations while also addressing longer term needs and underlying causes. Ongoing cycles of conflict have resulted in millions of people displaced, basic infrastructure destroyed, livelihoods disrupted, and deepening divisions within communities. Since our work began in Iraq, we’ve provided support to more than 5 million people affected by war, violence, and displacement.

The Position

The Ethics and Assurance Manager (EAM) will serve as the Mercy Corps Iraq focal point for ensuring compliance with Mercy Corps’ Code of Conduct and ethics policies and procedures. They will examine, review, and analyze records, reports, financial information and management practices to ensure compliance with laws, regulations and Mercy Corps’ policies and procedures and will investigate potential violations of Mercy Corps’ Ethics policies, with an emphasis on fraud and corruption. The Ethics and Assurance Manager will assist the country management team in developing, implementing and monitoring effective financial and operational controls over activities and offices to mitigate risk.

Essential Job Responsibilities

ETHICS INCIDENT RESPONSE

Following Mercy Corps’ policies and procedures, serve as country focal point for the internal reporting of any allegations of Ethics violations, including fraud and corruption.
Liaise with the Headquarters Ethics team, and other teams as needed, in the resolution of all reported fraud and corruption incidents.
As agreed with the Headquarters Ethics department, conduct inquiries and investigations to determine the facts, circumstances and scope of any fraud and corruption allegations raised.
Collect, analyze and document the results of fraud and corruption investigations and communicate observations and recommendations with the collaboration of the Country Director, as appropriate.
Prepare final reports to fully document the investigation and resolution of incidents. Reports will be reviewed by the Headquarters Ethics team.
Respond to Ethics violation referrals received through the Community Accountability Response Mechanism (CARM).

ETHICS TRAINING AND AWARENESS

Assist the country management team with the implementation of new Headquarters or country Ethics policies and procedures, acting as a catalyst for change and acceptance and supporting smooth implementation.
In coordination with established onboarding processes, assist with the onboarding of new country team members to ensure awareness and understanding of Ethics policies.
Conduct and/or coordinate regular anti-fraud and anti-corruption prevention for country response staff and partners.

INTERNAL CONTROLS

Assist the country management team in determining effective and efficient solutions to operational issues that ensure compliance with Mercy Corps’ policies and donor regulations, mitigate the risk of fraud or corruption, and facilitate the achievement of program objectives.
Assist program, operations and finance teams with implementing standard procedures or, as necessary, developing and documenting enhanced procedures for high-risk program activities, in particular those providing a direct financial benefit to participants (e.g., vouchers, cash distributions), requiring high value procurement, or the distribution of in-kind goods.
In coordination with the country management team and program managers, maintain the country-level Risk Register to identify key risks and document strategies to mitigate these risks. Manage the quarterly update process and ensure communication of action plans.
In coordination with relevant teams, perform periodic internal control reviews of in country financial, procurement, human resource, and logistics procedures.
In coordination with program and monitoring and evaluation staff, conduct field reviews of program activities to ensure that adequate controls are in place and are functioning properly. Communicate findings and work with the relevant departments to correct weaknesses and improve controls as needed.
As agreed with the program and finance teams, advise on the development of monitoring plans for partners, including sub recipients, key vendors and other partners that must adhere to ethics policies. In coordination with relevant teams, perform periodic compliance reviews of partners.
In coordination with the country management team and HQ Finance, assist with the follow-up and resolution of external audit or Mercy Corps Internal Audit findings.
Perform other related special projects and duties as determined and assigned by management.

SECURITY

Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

Supervisory Responsibility

Ethics and Assurance Senior Officer

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Country Director

Works Directly With: Headquarters Ethics team (which has authority for Ethics reporting and investigation matters); country senior management team; Program Directors/ Managers; Finance, Compliance, and Operations teams; HR Manager; and all country staff.

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

Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting or a related business field is required; and an advanced degree is a plus.
5 years+ related work experience with a not-for-profit organization implementing international programs or other reputable private sector entities.
Strong background in compliance, systems and internal controls.
Relevant experience in fraud investigations or Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) or Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) designations are strongly preferred.
Solid understanding of a wide-range of ethics violations, including fraud and corruption in humanitarian and/or development settings; Understanding of best practice in ethics management and accountability within INGOs, including best practices for investigations of ethical violations;
Demonstrated experience in successfully working with administrative and program staff at all organizational levels.
Solid organizational and research skills with a broad understanding of various program sectors and activities.
Demonstrated experience in financial and operational data analysis.
Advanced computer skills in MS Office programs, particularly Excel.
Fluent written and oral communication in English. Knowledge of Arabic, preferred.

Success Factors

The successful Ethics and Assurance Manager will possess an exemplary professional standard of ethics as well as the willingness and ability to enforce compliance with Mercy Corps’ internal policies and procedures and external regulations. They will have excellent communication and interpersonal skills to interact effectively with internal and external stakeholders on sensitive and confidential matters. They will have the ability to navigate difficult circumstances with a calm demeanor, in an analytical and methodical manner. They will demonstrate the ability to multi-task, meet deadlines and process information in support of changing program activities. They will possess a broad understanding of humanitarian and development programs coupled with the ability to analyze financial operational data and clearly present conclusions and recommendations is essential.

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting. 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 locations.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

This position is based in Erbil, Iraq; it is an unaccompanied position. Travel within Iraq is required to support the field offices (50% travel). The team member must follow all security protocols at all times. This position is eligible for hardship and R&R breaks. The scope of work and workload caused by humanitarian objectives of Mercy Corps’ programs may require flexibility in working hours and frequent travel to field offices, program sites and sub recipient locations.

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. 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 elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.