Investigations Specialist (Latin America and the Caribbean)

About the role

The Office of Audit and Investigations (OAI) of UNDP is responsible for internal audit and investigations, and its Investigations Section conducts misconduct investigations and reviews compliance with UNDP's social and environmental policies. The Investigations Specialist works in the Latin America and the Caribbean team, reporting to the Investigations Team Lead (P4) and investigating alleged wrongdoing such as fraud, corruption, abuse of privileges and immunities, sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment and retaliation, as well as financial irregularities by contractors and partners.

Key responsibilities

• Plan and conduct investigations in line with UNDP policies, OAI investigation guidelines and the Uniform Principles and Guidelines for Investigations, including interviews of witnesses and subjects and collection of evidence with proper chain of custody.
• Use specialist services such as handwriting analysis, document examination and computer forensics, and investigative tools including case management systems, open-source intelligence and AI-enabled solutions.
• Make frequent, sometimes extended, missions to UNDP offices worldwide, including areas with hazardous working conditions.
• Draft high-quality investigation reports with conclusions and recommendations, and recommend case closure decisions to the Team Lead.
• Liaise with the Office of Legal Services, the Ethics Office, the Procurement Support Office, the Social and Environmental Compliance Unit, and with other international organizations and national anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies.
• Contribute to professional practice development, assess the potential for fraud and corruption, help with risk assessment planning, and keep up to date with UNDT and UNAT jurisprudence.

Required profile

• Advanced university degree (Master's or equivalent) in Investigations, Management, Finance, Law or a related field, or a bachelor's degree plus two years of qualifying experience.
• Minimum of 5 years (with a Master's) or 7 years (with a bachelor's) of progressively responsible experience in complex criminal and/or administrative investigations.
• Fluency in English; fluency in Spanish and knowledge of another UN official language are desirable.
• Desirable: formal training in investigation areas, advanced interview techniques, fraud investigations, AI tools for investigations, and at least one year of experience in an international investigation role.

Required skills

• Investigation management, evidence collection and analysis, and investigative interviewing.
• Clear written and verbal communication and effective decision making.