Integrated Partnership Ethics and Business Conduct Executive

Reports to: Functionally to the Integrated Partnership Board (IPB) via the IPB-AFRC. Administratively to the Executive Managing Director (EMD) as the Chief Executive Officer of the SO as the employing entity.

Location: This position will be based in a CGIAR Center in the Global South (LMIC) in a duty station to be determined or Montpellier, France. Montpellier, shown above, is a default system setting and not the confirmed duty station.

Grade: SO8 / CG13

Date Published: 31 March 2025

Closing Date for Applications: 22 April 2025 at 16:00 CET.

About CGIAR

CGIAR is a global research partnership for a food-secure future. CGIAR science is dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources and ecosystem services. Its research is conducted closely with hundreds of partners, including national and regional research institutes, civil society organizations, academia, development organizations, and the private sector.

About the position

Driven by its Research and Innovation Strategy 2030, CGIAR has an ambitious agenda to deliver science and innovation and advance the transformation of food, land, and water systems to deliver diverse, healthy, safe, sufficient, and affordable diets, and ensure improved livelihoods and greater social equality. CGIAR operates as an integrated partnership of thirteen research Centers and the System Organization with some ten thousand staff operating across the globe. Each Center has its own governance and leadership structure operating alongside the integrated governance and leadership arrangements of CGIAR as a whole.

The Integrated Partnership Ethics and Business Conduct Function (“the EBC Function”) is comprised of the Ethics and Business Conduct leads for all Centers and the System organization, led by an Integrated Partnership Ethics & Business Conduct Executive. It is responsible for collaborating to deliver comprehensive ethics policies and guidelines, ensuring consistency of approach across the Integrated Partnership. It drives continuous improvement in Ethics and Business Conduct by analyzing trends and risks from aggregated data on reports and investigations, developing and updating policies, and providing training materials to ensure standards are upheld across the Partnership.

Reporting administratively to the Executive Management Director and functionally to the Integrated Partnership Board (IPB) through the integrated Partnership Board - Audit, Finance, and Risk Committee (IPB-AFRC), the Integrated Partnership Ethics and Business Conduct Executive is responsible for leading the development and implementation of the CGIAR Integrated Partnership Ethics and Business Conduct Escalation Framework. The Incumbent is, amongst others, responsible for driving continuous improvement in Ethics and Business Conduct practices, driving active collaboration between Centers’ and SO’s Ethics and Business Conduct Leads, advising Board members, senior leadership and staff with EBC roles as needed and setting and monitoring the quality standards for Ethics and Business Conduct activities.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Advance and lead the development and implementation of the CGIAR Integrated Partnership Ethics and Business Conduct Escalation Framework to ensure standardized processes for prioritizing, reporting, and addressing cases at all levels of severity.
• Drive continuous improvement by regularly reviewing and proposing updates to ethics policies and risk mitigation actions, and ensuring training on policy and processes is available for and delivered to  for all staff of the System Organization and Centers.
• Advance and lead the development and revision as needed of CGIAR-wide EBC-related policies and guidelines in collaboration with the EBC Center Leads, ensuring inclusive consultative processes that enable the approval of policies, in accordance with the Internal Rules Framework.
• Drive  active collaboration between Centers’ and SO’s Ethics and Business Conduct Leads  to strengthen the Ethics and Business Conduct Function, ensuring consistency and knowledge sharing across the Integrated Partnership.
• Inspire, support the development of, and empower the members of the Ethics and Business Conduct Function.
• Advise Board members, senior leaders, and staff with EBC roles and responsibilities in Centers and the System Organization as needed on the application of EBC policies and processes, including on appropriate channels of communication and escalation in line with the approved Escalation Framework
• Collaborate with other assurance functions to ensure cross-functions alignment and synergies, and to leverage existing capabilities in Centers to ensure continuous improvement in the Ethics and Business Conduct activities.
• Promote a culture of collaboration, inclusiveness and respect through modelling behaviors aligned with CGIAR Ethical Values.
• Establish, drive, advance and monitor quality standards for Ethics and Business Conduct activities.
• Report quarterly to the Integrated Partnership Board Audit, Finance, and Risk Committee (IPB-AFRC) and Center AFRCs on behalf of the EBC Function on aggregated cross-partnership ethics matters, including reported events, outcome of investigations, trends, and systemic risks that may impact the ethical integrity of the Integrated Partnership.
• Provide regular updates to the Global Leadership Team (GLT) on the progress of the EBC Function’s activities and provide advisory support as needed.
• Develop annual budgets and plans for the EBC Function.

Education and Experience

• Advanced university degree (Masters' or equivalent) in law, public administration, social sciences, political sciences, or related fields. Formal professional membership or accreditation in governance and ethics or related field is desirable.

• Extensive professional experience at senior level gained in a comparable environment in the field of corporate ethics, including systems design and development; and accountability & compliance frameworks and programs.

• Demonstrated experience in collaborating with and advising executive management on issues of ethics and engaging across organizational levels to build capacity, raise awareness, and embed ethics into policies and practice.
• Demonstrated experience in partnering with organizational functions such as risk management and diversity and inclusion, and human resources to further strengthen a values-driven, respectful and safe global work culture..

Key Competences

• In-depth knowledge of current best practices, management frameworks, and methodologies relating to ethics and business conduct.
• Demonstrated ability to successfully manage multi-stakeholder relationships and processes in cross-functional, cross-cultural and cross-geographic, matrix work environments.
• Ability to establish and manage strategic relationships, working collaboratively across a broad range of internal and external stakeholders in diverse cultural contexts and sensitive or complex operational environments.
• Ability to operate credibly and effectively at the Board and senior executive levels, contributing across a wide range of business issues and in an internationally extended enterprise.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills to build trust, influence, and work collaboratively  with a  range global stakeholders to  deliver results within approved timelines and budgets.
• Excellent change management skills and an ability to positively influence key strategic processes and decisions.
• Uphold the highest ethical standards, inspiring trust and treating all people with respect and personal integrity, shaping an inclusive, diverse and open organizational culture..

Languages

• Excellent command of the English language, both written and spoken.
• A working knowledge of an additional language such as Spanish, French or Arabic is an advantage.

The selected staff member will be offered terms and conditions commensurate with the grade of the position, qualifications and experience.

Submitting Your Application

If you face challenges in submitting your application, please email recruitment@cgiar.org with the position title in the subject line.

Please note that shortlisted candidates will be contacted by our partner, SRI Executive.