Senior Director, Investigations

Background/IRC Summary:

The International Rescue Committee is among the world’s leading humanitarian relief and development organizations. The IRC has been at the forefront of virtually every major humanitarian initiative to assist people uprooted by war, persecution, or civil conflict for the last 80 years. And, more than 80 years after Albert Einstein helped create the IRC, the number and intensity of humanitarian crises across the globe warrant a dose of Einstein-inspired innovation.

The world’s more than 50 million displaced people, the most since World War II, require more than “aid as usual.” Their growing and increasingly complex needs mandate a transformation—a creative rethinking—in the global humanitarian response.

The beneficiaries of its programs deserve evidence-based interventions that bring real change to their lives. That is what the IRC is determined to deliver. The IRC has grown because its teams have gone to the toughest places, done cutting-edge research, developed in-depth knowledge, and forged vital relationships with local governments. Today its 11,000 employees and 13,000 incentive workers work in 170 field offices in 40 crisis-torn countries are helping communities rebuild after Ebola, survive terrorist insurgencies, and recover from war. From health care to education to protection for women and girls, the IRC is there. And unlike any other humanitarian organization, it is also here, in 26 U.S. cities, helping newly arrived refugees adjust to life in America and make a contribution to their new country.

Job Overview/Summary:

Reporting to the Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer (CECO), the Senior Director of Investigations will manage and/or conduct investigations of allegations involving fraud, waste, abuse, corruption, and safeguarding. The individual will also support broader efforts to prevent, detect and respond appropriately to such misconduct.

Two commitments lie at the foundation of the IRC’s work: 1) our unceasing quest to serve the needs of our beneficiaries; and 2) our determination to meet the requirements of our donors as trusted stewards of their resources. This position will play a key role in meeting these twin challenges by helping the IRC to safeguard its resources against breaches of the IRC Code of Conduct in challenging and high-risk operating environments.

Major Responsibilities:

Staff Management:

• Manage, guide, and train investigation and case intake staff (and external investigation consultants) and foster teamwork and communication amongst staff across the IRC organization

Investigation Policies and Procedures:

• Formulate and implement policies and procedures for the management of investigations into allegations of misconduct and breaches of IRC Code of Conduct related to fraud, corruption, sexual exploitation and abuse, or any other type of misconduct involving IRC staff, contractors, implementing partners and other applicable persons
• Establish and maintain internal policies and procedures in accordance with investigation best practices for international organizations and ensure that all staff are properly briefed and trained on these
• Participate in the development of internal policies, guidelines, templates, tools to strengthen investigation capacity building and staff development

Investigation and Case Intake Management:

• Manage the investigation and case intake function efficiently in order to meet the needs of the Organization as well as the expectation of stakeholders and donors
• Oversee the triage of all reported misconduct to evaluate, classify and triage incoming matters based on nature and severity
• Oversee the development of investigation work plans, preliminary assessments, and investigations including objectives, scope, timing, staffing, resources, information gathering techniques, communication plans and jurisdictional considerations
• Manage and perform (as required) fact and evidence gathering through interviews, document reviews, data analytics, and testing and inspections
• Identify lessons learned corrective actions and internal control improvement opportunities identified through root cause analysis

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Liaise with donors including USAID, FCDO, SIDA, UN agencies and ECHO through quarterly donor case status reports and meetings, and provide responses to all ad hoc donor inquires
• Prepare periodic reports on the overall caseload, case status and results, and trend metrics to be shared with senior leadership as well as IRC Boards and Audit Committees
• Develop and maintain relationships with key internal and external stakeholders as appropriate.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer
Position directly supervises:Senior Investigators, Senior Case Officer

Indirect Reporting:
Other Internal and/or external contacts

Internal: Headquarters departments, international and U.S. program operations as needed

External: International representatives, donors, partners, vendors, service providers and external auditors as needed

Job Requirements

Education: A graduate degree in law, public administration, business, accounting or related field, or equivalent professional experience required.

Certificates or Licenses: CFE/CFF/CPA/CA/CCEP a plus

Work Experience:

• Minimum 10 years of business, legal, financial, audit and/or law enforcement experience
• Minimum 8 years management experience
• Minimum 5 years international investigative experience (including some in developing countries)
• Experience working in the Not-for-Profit, INGO sectors or grant-supported organizations, or the inspector general function within a large government organization

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• Excellent management, technical, and leadership skills
• Mature judgement and initiative, energy, and diplomacy
• Excellent networking, team building, organizational, communication and conflict resolution skills
• Strong sense of integrity, impartiality, objectivity, and confidentiality
• Outstanding strategic planning and action management skills to produce results
• Ability to establish collaborative and effective working relationships, both within and outside the Organization
• Familiarity with fraud Investigation Principles and Techniques
• Demonstrated experience of managing investigations into sexual exploitation and abuse
• Communications – Written and Oral English

Language Skills: Fluency in French, Arabic, or Spanish a plus

Working Environment:**

• Position is a Global hire with ability for candidates to work remotely or from an IRC office. Candidates must have a work permit to work in their country of residence.
• Travel 50% or more to developing countries including insecure environments as required.

COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement: In accordance with IRC’s duty to provide and maintain a workplace that is free of known hazards and our commitment to safeguard the health of our employees, clients, and communities, IRC requires new hires to furnish proof of vaccination against COVID-19 in order to be considered for any in-office or hybrid positions. All IRC US offices require full vaccination to attend any in-office functions (e.g., meetings, trainings).

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusivity: IRC is committed to building a diverse organization and a climate of inclusivity. We strongly encourage applications from candidates who can demonstrate that they can contribute to this goal.

Equal Opportunity Employer: We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

US Benefits: We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days depending on role and tenure, medical insurance starting at $120 per month, dental starting at $7 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with immediately vested matching, disability & life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.