Counsel – Anti-Harassment & Anti-Discrimination – Ethics & Internal Justice Systems

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges.

The World Bank’s Ethics and Internal Justice Services Vice Presidency (EIJ VPU) is a newly created Vice Presidency within the World Bank Group (WBG) that brings together, under a single umbrella, the WBG’s approach to values, ethics and the resolution of workplace conflict.  The EIJ VPU’s vision is to foster a values-based workplace culture and help staff uphold the WBG’s ethical standards.  EIJ provides an integrated, empathetic and efficient approach to resolving workplace conflict, allowing staff to focus with urgency on the WBG’s mission.  EIJ’s work covers each of the five WBG institutions. 

The Vice Presidency has recently been organized as follows:

1. Ethics Advice and Early Interventions Department, which consists of:

• Advisory, Training & Values (ATV) – responsible for the Core Values and the Code of Ethics and associated rules; manages all training and outreach on behalf of the VPU; provides advice and guidance on the Code, with specific focus on conflicts of interest; and manages the Bank’s Declarations of Interest program;
• Anti-Harassment and Anti-Discrimination (AHAD) comprising the Anti-Harassment Coordinator’s Office, and the Race Equity Office.
• The Anti-Harassment Coordinator (AHC) – addresses reports of harassment, and sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse; provides guidance to management on preventing and addressing such behaviors; and
• The Race Equity Office (REO) – acts as the focal point for the WBG for addressing reports of workplace racism and racial discrimination, at both the individual and systemic levels.

Mediation and Formal Reviews Department, which consists of: 

• Mediation Services (MEF) – offers a confidential conflict resolution process for staff to resolve workplace issues with the assistance of a neutral third-party.  MEF also provides team building and team facilitation services;
• Peer Review Services (PRS) – provides an independent review by a panel of peers of managerial decisions, actions or inactions (not related to performance management) affecting a staff member;
• Performance Management Review (PMR) – provides an independent appellate review of performance management-related decisions; and
• Investigations (INV) – conducts independent fact-finding investigations of allegations of staff misconduct.

Ombuds Services, which offers staff a confidential off the record, impartial and informal venue to discuss any workplace issues, and alerts management to systemic trends.

Client Services, which consists of: 

• EIJ Navigator – a centralized intake function to assist staff with their concerns by pairing them with the appropriate channel within the EIJ VPU to resolve their concerns efficiently and expediently.
• Respectful Workplace Advisors (RWAs) – comprising staff selected by their peers, RWAs act as a confidential sounding board for staff and a source of information about EIJ services.

Core Services, which consists of: 

• Front Office – providing day to day unit-based administrative support;
• Core Services – overseeing centralized administrative and resource management coordination across the VPU, and supporting cohesion through VPU-wide communications.
• Anti-Harassment and Anti-Discrimination (AHAD) Counsel
• The EIJ VPU is seeking to recruit a Counsel to work on the anti-harassment and anti-discrimination work programs in the South Asia and East Asia Pacific regions and who will report to the Manager, AHAD Unit. The selected candidate is required to have strong written and oral communication skills, the ability to analyze complex sets of facts, categorize issues and provide recommendations for resolution while allowing affected staff members to make their own choices about how to proceed. The selected candidate must have a track record of handling workplace-related complaints or other types of disputes through either formal or informal conflict resolution mechanisms.
• The selected candidate must also have a proven record of demonstrating the WBG core values in his/her professional experience. The position may require travel to other countries, outside of one’s duty station.

Duties And Responsibilities:

Under the supervision and overall guidance of the Manager, AHAD, the Anti-Harassment and Anti-Discrimination Counsel will carry out the following duties:

• Review allegations of (sexual) harassment and discrimination involving WBG staff members in the workplace and make appropriate recommendations as to whether these allegations should be addressed by the AHAD unit, referred to the INV team for formal review, or referred to other resources of the EIJ VPU, such as MEF or PRS.
• Provide confidential guidance and advice to staff members who have experienced and/or witnessed harassment or discrimination along with available options for addressing it.
• Provide confidential guidance and advice to managers on how to address, manage and prevent harassment and discrimination.
• Prepare correspondence in harassment or discrimination cases, including talking points for interventions, referrals to the INV team, cautions to alleged offenders and other sensitive documents, for review by the Anti-Harassment Coordinator, the Race Equity Coordinator or the AHAD Manager.
• Conduct post-resolution monitoring of cases after AHAD intervention, investigation or the imposition of a disciplinary sanction.  Seek feedback from affected staff members to ensure there is no recurrence of the problematic behavior and to address any concerns related to retaliation.
• Maintain and track inquiries and responses in the case management system and additional reporting tools to ensure timely and proper record keeping.
• Prepare and edit outreach presentations. Deliver training and outreach to WB staff on harassment, discrimination and related issues, in collaboration with ATV and with the WBG Diversity, Equity & Inclusion unit.
• Assist in sharing of best practices, trends, knowledge and lessons learned regarding harassment and discrimination issues across units and with clients and partners.
• Assist on special initiatives/projects and undertake other ad hoc assignments.

Selection Criteria:

• Masters’ degree or equivalent in law, alternative dispute resolution, or other relevant field.
• A minimum of five (5) years of substantial professional experience in workplace conflict resolution, corporate compliance, law or a related field, which includes experience in addressing allegations of harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination or other types of workplace-related issues through formal or informal mechanism and/or reviewing allegations of misconduct or other type of wrongdoing.
• Knowledge of rules to prevent and address prohibited conduct in the workplace and conflict resolution mechanisms, preferably in an international organization, is desirable.
• Ability to generate, collect, and present statistical data. Advanced proficiency in Excel, including working with pivot tables.
• Advanced experience working with Case Management Systems or other similar data and document recording systems.
• Excellent communications and presentations skills both oral and written; proven ability to clearly and concisely draft case summaries, recommendations for case resolution, communications to parties and reports.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to work effectively in a team and to build rapport with staff seeking assistance.
• Excellent interviewing skills, including the ability to use active listening skills, focus interviews and to elicit critical information in a respectful manner from individuals feeling distressed.
• Experience in managing conflicting priorities within tight deadlines.
• Fluency in oral and written English; proficiency in Hindi is desirable.

Source:  https://worldbankgroup.csod.com/ats/careersite/JobDetails.aspx?id=29561&site=1