Business Integrity Network & Organization Development
VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT Vacancy No:
H-AICFO/2014/011
Position:
Business Integrity Network & Organization Development Consultant
Project:
Business Integrity Network
Organization: Harakat – AICFO Salary:
According to organization salary range.
Duration:
1 Year with possibility of Extension
Duty Station:
Kabul, Afghanistan
Nationality:
Nationals & Internationals
Closing Date:
March 18, 2014
1.
Introduction to Harakat-AICFO:
Harakat – Afghanistan Investment Climate Facility Organization (AICFO) is an independent, not-forprofit, Afghan managed organization that provides grant funds to the private sector, government and civil society to implement projects that reduce or remove institutional and regulatory barriers to doing business in Afghanistan. Harakat – AICFO aims to improve Afghanistan’s business environment by removing obstacles to private investment www.harakat.af . 2.
Introduction to Business Integrity Network (BIN):
The business sector in Afghanistan has gone through different stages of development interrupted by frequent change of political systems and the government in the past four to five decades. As a result, among other challenges, the business sector has been operating in an ad-hoc basis and has not reached its full potential in establishing and sustaining robust and professional enterprises. Lack of internal systems and working procedures as well as a culture of social and corporate responsibility contribute to susceptibility of these businesses to corruption in dealing with the government as well as with the wider stakeholders. In terms of fighting corruption, a lot of effort has been made to enforce rule of law, establish anticorruption government organizations, improve punishment and prosecution, etc. as a regulatory and imposing approach by the government. Alternatively, there are immense possibilities of reducing corruption through norm-building, preventive and self-regulatory approaches among the private sector businesses. Even though the concept of self-regulation and norm-building approach among the private sector is new and untested in Afghanistan, there are tens of initiatives elsewhere that have proved essential in promoting integrity and social responsibility resulting in avoidance of corrupt activities. For instance, BCorporation, Better Business Bureau, Social Venture Network are a few examples of excellent
initiatives aimed at promoting business integrity, social responsibility, and ethical conduct of business. The objective of establishing the Business Integrity Network is to create a group of transparent businesses committed to promote business integrity and transparency as well as help reduce corruption in daily operations of the private sector businesses. Harakat funding will play an integral role in the establishment of the Business Integrity Network until the private sector businesses, as members, are able to finance the organization independently. The whole model of establishing the integrity network for promoting transparency and business ethics among businesses and reducing corruption in their transactions with the government is new and unprecedented in Afghanistan which requires initial investment from an organization like Harakat to build the initial momentum. Despite strong interest from the private sector businesses, with who detailed consultation has been done, Harakat funding is required to establish the organization and support its activities up to a level when the businesses see the initiative as an example and start joining the effort. The key activities of Harakat’s intention of promoting corporate responsibility, through establishing and sustain the organization, fall in four main categories. First, the project will create foundations of and establish the business integrity organization. Second, the project will support the promotion and mainstreaming of Code of Ethics/Conduct for Businesses among organization members and establish support mechanisms for expansion of the organization to include more and more businesses. Third, the project will raise extensive awareness about and create a reputation for the organization as a transparent and responsible group aimed at advocating and promoting integrity, transparency, and anticorruption initiatives. Fourth, the project will support the organization to establish partnerships and engage stakeholders from all relevant sectors including academia, civil society organizations, private sector associations, and some others. As a result of the project endeavours, for the first time Afghanistan will have a dedicated organization aiming to promote business integrity, ethical conduct, and social responsibility among the private sector businesses. We believe the private sector will experience increased transparency, reduced transaction costs in dealing with government, and reduced corruption in their transaction with different stakeholders after completion of the project. 3.
Summary of the Consulting Position:
The initiative is very new and unprecedented in Afghanistan with almost no similar initiative taken before. Making the initiative succeed requires strong understanding of the business context in Afghanistan as well as good experience of similar initiatives in other countries such as BCorporation, Better Business Bureau, Social Venture Network, etc. The consultant solicited through this announcement will put the foundation of the BIN in place and provide strong support in development of the integrity principles while keeping in mind successes and failures of similar models in other countries. The consultant shall play more of a supporting role as technical advisor to the newly-selected Board of Directors of BIN making sure the organization is established well and the directors make the right decisions and put the foundation right. In other words, the entire initiative’s vision is that the private
sector representatives, as in the Board of Directors, lead the process and establish the organization for themselves in light of the guidelines of the initiative’s project document namely, “Business Integrity Network Proposal.” The Consultant’s role will mainly include guiding the board in developing the Code of Conduct for Businesses, developing appropriate governance structure, developing necessary internal control mechanisms, developing vetting process, etc. all in close coordination with Harakat-AICFO and the BIN leadership. 4.
Specific Duties and Responsibilities:
The Consultant for Business Integrity Network initiative will work with the BIN Board of Directors, BIN Executive Director and Harakat – AICFO to achieve the following objectives:
Establish and develop necessary governing structure for the new entity that should include a bylaws, terms of references (ToRs) for the Board of Directors, ToRs for the key staff members;
Advise on the legal structure of the organization and support the registration process where necessary; Through an inclusive and participatory approach, develop a unified Code of Conduct for Businesses in Afghanistan in light of the local realities and international best practices;
Develop a robust membership criteria and vetting process for the entity in order to select new businesses as members of the entity who comply with the code of conduct and the principles of integrity set forth by BIN;
Develop a comprehensive self-assessment tool with the necessary guidelines for businesses interested to comply with the code of conduct and principles of integrity set forth by BIN;
Help admit a number of businesses to the network by using the newly developed vetting process as a way to not only test the applicability of the vetting process but also expand the network to a good number in the initial few months;
Develop a multi-year businesses plan for the network keeping in mind the overall objectives of the initiative as well as necessary sustainability measures beyond Harakat funding to the organization;
Develop a strong monitoring, compliance & evaluation system including a manual, guidelines, assessment tools, etc. for the certified members of BIN to ensure business subscribers continue to comply with the code of conduct and principles of integrity set forth by the BIN;
Train, build capacity of, and mentor the Afghan team including the Managing Director, Ethics Specialist, and Compliance Officer on the vetting process, assessment tools, documentation of compliance checks, etc. making sure the team has the capability to run the technical and administrative matters of BIN well;
Develop a comprehensive training content for a toolkit on the Code of Conduct for Businesses with sufficient details for the secretariat to use in training sessions and seminars for the private sector
businesses. Also lead a number of seminars and training sessions for the private sector businesses on the code and membership criteria where necessary;
Provide Training of Trainers to the secretariat (and other relevant parties such as the board members) on the Code of Conduct, membership criteria, and awareness campaign;
Develop and promote a strong “incentives mechanism” for the private sector businesses to join BIN and comply with the codes and the principles of integrity. This is especially important for sustainability and success of the initiative because the private sector businesses would only join the network if there were sufficient incentives provided by BIN;
Design a number of seminars and business gatherings to promote the code and recruit new business members for the network in light of the vetting process;
Support the process of developing an Awareness and Communication Strategy for the network by providing technical advice and strategic guidance as to the way the BIN and its principles could be promoted well; Establish the concept, criteria and selection process for an “Anti-Corruption Hero”, which is an annual award to an individual business owner or executive with exceptional performance on promoting integrity and fighting corruption;
Establish the concept, criteria and selection process for a “Badge of Honour”, which is an annual award to a company with exceptional performance on promoting integrity and fighting corruption;
Build a partnership strategy for BIN so the entity can develop cooperation with supporting organizations such as universities, private sector associations, civil society organizations, etc.
Support the BIN Executive Director on designing extensive and creative awareness strategies and help the Executive Director create a reputation for the entity as a transparent and responsible entity for promoting and advocating integrity, transparency, and anti-corruption initiatives among the private sector;
Identify key concerns/problems affecting private sector related to integrity and transparency in business transactions and incorporate them in the bylaws/operational manual/toolkit for the entity;
Perform any other relevant activities when required by the BIN Executive Director and, potentially, the BIN board members.
6.
Qualification and Experience: Minimum a master’s degree in Business Administrations, Public Administration, Business Law, Economics, Public Policy, Development Studies, or any other relevant degree with 5-10 years of work experience in preferably business ethics code development, private sector development, has worked with relevant institutions, or any field close to the terms of references set above. Preference shall be given to those applicants who posses good research background in business, legal, regulatory, or someone who has performed similar assignments. The applicant should also have excellent communication, negotiation, writing, and research skills.
Organization development experience. Experience in development of codes of ethics, and integrity principles. Experience or good understanding of business and local context of Afghanistan Legal business know-how and experience.
7.
Living Arrangements The consultant will make own living arrangements in Kabul while on this assignment.
8.
Application Guidelines:
Interested candidates are required to submit their resume along with a detailed cover letter explaining the candidate’s qualification for the position to [email protected] clearly indicating in the subject line “BIN Consultant” no later than March 18th 2014
H-AICFO/2014/011
Position:
Business Integrity Network & Organization Development Consultant
Project:
Business Integrity Network
Organization: Harakat – AICFO Salary:
According to organization salary range.
Duration:
1 Year with possibility of Extension
Duty Station:
Kabul, Afghanistan
Nationality:
Nationals & Internationals
Closing Date:
March 18, 2014
1.
Introduction to Harakat-AICFO:
Harakat – Afghanistan Investment Climate Facility Organization (AICFO) is an independent, not-forprofit, Afghan managed organization that provides grant funds to the private sector, government and civil society to implement projects that reduce or remove institutional and regulatory barriers to doing business in Afghanistan. Harakat – AICFO aims to improve Afghanistan’s business environment by removing obstacles to private investment www.harakat.af . 2.
Introduction to Business Integrity Network (BIN):
The business sector in Afghanistan has gone through different stages of development interrupted by frequent change of political systems and the government in the past four to five decades. As a result, among other challenges, the business sector has been operating in an ad-hoc basis and has not reached its full potential in establishing and sustaining robust and professional enterprises. Lack of internal systems and working procedures as well as a culture of social and corporate responsibility contribute to susceptibility of these businesses to corruption in dealing with the government as well as with the wider stakeholders. In terms of fighting corruption, a lot of effort has been made to enforce rule of law, establish anticorruption government organizations, improve punishment and prosecution, etc. as a regulatory and imposing approach by the government. Alternatively, there are immense possibilities of reducing corruption through norm-building, preventive and self-regulatory approaches among the private sector businesses. Even though the concept of self-regulation and norm-building approach among the private sector is new and untested in Afghanistan, there are tens of initiatives elsewhere that have proved essential in promoting integrity and social responsibility resulting in avoidance of corrupt activities. For instance, BCorporation, Better Business Bureau, Social Venture Network are a few examples of excellent
initiatives aimed at promoting business integrity, social responsibility, and ethical conduct of business. The objective of establishing the Business Integrity Network is to create a group of transparent businesses committed to promote business integrity and transparency as well as help reduce corruption in daily operations of the private sector businesses. Harakat funding will play an integral role in the establishment of the Business Integrity Network until the private sector businesses, as members, are able to finance the organization independently. The whole model of establishing the integrity network for promoting transparency and business ethics among businesses and reducing corruption in their transactions with the government is new and unprecedented in Afghanistan which requires initial investment from an organization like Harakat to build the initial momentum. Despite strong interest from the private sector businesses, with who detailed consultation has been done, Harakat funding is required to establish the organization and support its activities up to a level when the businesses see the initiative as an example and start joining the effort. The key activities of Harakat’s intention of promoting corporate responsibility, through establishing and sustain the organization, fall in four main categories. First, the project will create foundations of and establish the business integrity organization. Second, the project will support the promotion and mainstreaming of Code of Ethics/Conduct for Businesses among organization members and establish support mechanisms for expansion of the organization to include more and more businesses. Third, the project will raise extensive awareness about and create a reputation for the organization as a transparent and responsible group aimed at advocating and promoting integrity, transparency, and anticorruption initiatives. Fourth, the project will support the organization to establish partnerships and engage stakeholders from all relevant sectors including academia, civil society organizations, private sector associations, and some others. As a result of the project endeavours, for the first time Afghanistan will have a dedicated organization aiming to promote business integrity, ethical conduct, and social responsibility among the private sector businesses. We believe the private sector will experience increased transparency, reduced transaction costs in dealing with government, and reduced corruption in their transaction with different stakeholders after completion of the project. 3.
Summary of the Consulting Position:
The initiative is very new and unprecedented in Afghanistan with almost no similar initiative taken before. Making the initiative succeed requires strong understanding of the business context in Afghanistan as well as good experience of similar initiatives in other countries such as BCorporation, Better Business Bureau, Social Venture Network, etc. The consultant solicited through this announcement will put the foundation of the BIN in place and provide strong support in development of the integrity principles while keeping in mind successes and failures of similar models in other countries. The consultant shall play more of a supporting role as technical advisor to the newly-selected Board of Directors of BIN making sure the organization is established well and the directors make the right decisions and put the foundation right. In other words, the entire initiative’s vision is that the private
sector representatives, as in the Board of Directors, lead the process and establish the organization for themselves in light of the guidelines of the initiative’s project document namely, “Business Integrity Network Proposal.” The Consultant’s role will mainly include guiding the board in developing the Code of Conduct for Businesses, developing appropriate governance structure, developing necessary internal control mechanisms, developing vetting process, etc. all in close coordination with Harakat-AICFO and the BIN leadership. 4.
Specific Duties and Responsibilities:
The Consultant for Business Integrity Network initiative will work with the BIN Board of Directors, BIN Executive Director and Harakat – AICFO to achieve the following objectives:
Establish and develop necessary governing structure for the new entity that should include a bylaws, terms of references (ToRs) for the Board of Directors, ToRs for the key staff members;
Advise on the legal structure of the organization and support the registration process where necessary; Through an inclusive and participatory approach, develop a unified Code of Conduct for Businesses in Afghanistan in light of the local realities and international best practices;
Develop a robust membership criteria and vetting process for the entity in order to select new businesses as members of the entity who comply with the code of conduct and the principles of integrity set forth by BIN;
Develop a comprehensive self-assessment tool with the necessary guidelines for businesses interested to comply with the code of conduct and principles of integrity set forth by BIN;
Help admit a number of businesses to the network by using the newly developed vetting process as a way to not only test the applicability of the vetting process but also expand the network to a good number in the initial few months;
Develop a multi-year businesses plan for the network keeping in mind the overall objectives of the initiative as well as necessary sustainability measures beyond Harakat funding to the organization;
Develop a strong monitoring, compliance & evaluation system including a manual, guidelines, assessment tools, etc. for the certified members of BIN to ensure business subscribers continue to comply with the code of conduct and principles of integrity set forth by the BIN;
Train, build capacity of, and mentor the Afghan team including the Managing Director, Ethics Specialist, and Compliance Officer on the vetting process, assessment tools, documentation of compliance checks, etc. making sure the team has the capability to run the technical and administrative matters of BIN well;
Develop a comprehensive training content for a toolkit on the Code of Conduct for Businesses with sufficient details for the secretariat to use in training sessions and seminars for the private sector
businesses. Also lead a number of seminars and training sessions for the private sector businesses on the code and membership criteria where necessary;
Provide Training of Trainers to the secretariat (and other relevant parties such as the board members) on the Code of Conduct, membership criteria, and awareness campaign;
Develop and promote a strong “incentives mechanism” for the private sector businesses to join BIN and comply with the codes and the principles of integrity. This is especially important for sustainability and success of the initiative because the private sector businesses would only join the network if there were sufficient incentives provided by BIN;
Design a number of seminars and business gatherings to promote the code and recruit new business members for the network in light of the vetting process;
Support the process of developing an Awareness and Communication Strategy for the network by providing technical advice and strategic guidance as to the way the BIN and its principles could be promoted well; Establish the concept, criteria and selection process for an “Anti-Corruption Hero”, which is an annual award to an individual business owner or executive with exceptional performance on promoting integrity and fighting corruption;
Establish the concept, criteria and selection process for a “Badge of Honour”, which is an annual award to a company with exceptional performance on promoting integrity and fighting corruption;
Build a partnership strategy for BIN so the entity can develop cooperation with supporting organizations such as universities, private sector associations, civil society organizations, etc.
Support the BIN Executive Director on designing extensive and creative awareness strategies and help the Executive Director create a reputation for the entity as a transparent and responsible entity for promoting and advocating integrity, transparency, and anti-corruption initiatives among the private sector;
Identify key concerns/problems affecting private sector related to integrity and transparency in business transactions and incorporate them in the bylaws/operational manual/toolkit for the entity;
Perform any other relevant activities when required by the BIN Executive Director and, potentially, the BIN board members.
6.
Qualification and Experience: Minimum a master’s degree in Business Administrations, Public Administration, Business Law, Economics, Public Policy, Development Studies, or any other relevant degree with 5-10 years of work experience in preferably business ethics code development, private sector development, has worked with relevant institutions, or any field close to the terms of references set above. Preference shall be given to those applicants who posses good research background in business, legal, regulatory, or someone who has performed similar assignments. The applicant should also have excellent communication, negotiation, writing, and research skills.
Organization development experience. Experience in development of codes of ethics, and integrity principles. Experience or good understanding of business and local context of Afghanistan Legal business know-how and experience.
7.
Living Arrangements The consultant will make own living arrangements in Kabul while on this assignment.
8.
Application Guidelines:
Interested candidates are required to submit their resume along with a detailed cover letter explaining the candidate’s qualification for the position to [email protected] clearly indicating in the subject line “BIN Consultant” no later than March 18th 2014
