Investigations Team Lead, Headquarters

Tiered Approach

In line with the commitment to safeguard capacity and support personnel already in the Organization, a majority of UNDP UNCDF/UNV vacancies are advertised using a tiered application process whereby:

Tier 0: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV IP staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments, whose posts will be abolished, or contracts will be terminated or not renewed during 2026. Tier 1: Other UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments Tier 2: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding temporary appointments (TA), personnel on regular PSA contracts, and Expert and Specialist UN Volunteers Tier 3 or no tier indicated: All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates

Please make note of the Tier(s) indicated in the vacancy title, if any, and ensure that you satisfy the eligibility to apply.

Background

The Office of Audit and Investigations (OAI) reports to the Administrator and is responsible for internal audit and investigations services to UNDP and its affiliated entities. It is comprised of the Audit Section and the Investigations Section. The Investigations Section (OAI/IS) is charged with conducting misconduct investigations and with compliance review of UNDP’s social and environmental policies and procedures and has sole responsibility for the conduct of all investigations within UNDP.

In its performance of misconduct investigations, OAI/IS addresses allegations of misconduct, such as fraud, theft and embezzlement, corruption, abuse of privileges and immunities, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, workplace harassment and abuse of authority, retaliation, or other acts or omissions in conflict with the general obligations and policies that govern the conduct of UNDP staff and other personnel. OAI also investigates allegations of fraud and other financial irregularities committed by contractors, implementing partners and other third parties, deemed to be detrimental to UNDP. OAI’s capacity includes specialized SEAH, IT forensics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), data analytics, and proactive investigations units and resources.

As the provider of a professional, secure and reliable mechanism that responds to and addresses reports of possible misconduct or fraud, OAI is the sole and centralized custodian of a unique dataset of information regarding possible irregularities across UNDP’s operations. As such, OAI has a role to play in providing real-time and data-supported advice to management on wrongdoing risks, controls, lessons and mitigation strategies, and to use this information to develop intelligence-led detection, diversion and proactive investigation strategies that prevent and deter wrongdoing without relying solely on received reports.

OAI conducts misconduct investigations in accordance with the Uniform Principles and Guidelines for Investigations endorsed by the 10th Conference of International Investigators, with the UNDP Legal Framework for Addressing Non-Compliance with the United Nations Standards of Conduct, and with the OAI Investigation Guidelines.

OAI’s Investigations Section has established Units, under the supervision of Investigation Chiefs, that are comprised of (a) functionally specialized teams and (b) regionally focused misconduct investigation teams. This structure facilitates the accessibility of specialized functions to the entirety of the Investigations Section under the guidance and leadership of a manager and ensures close and rigorous oversight of investigation matters, also under the appropriate level of leadership.

Position Purpose

The Investigations Team Lead (HQ/LAC) functionally reports to the Chief, Investigations, Unit 1, under the overall supervision of the Deputy Director (Investigations). Under the supervision of the Chief, Investigations, Unit 1, the primary role of the Team Lead (HQ/LAC) is to oversee, supervise and conduct investigations into alleged misconduct that falls within OAI’s mandate, as outlined in ‘Organizational Context’ above, and that relates to UNDP Headquarters and the Latin America and Caribbean region.

The Investigations Team Lead (HQ/LAC) will supervise the work of the team, including but not limited to Investigators at the P3 level and all other personnel assigned to the investigation team covering UNDP Headquarters and the Latin America and Caribbean, and will complete their annual performance appraisals.

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.

Duties and Responsibilities

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