View Vacancy - Business Integrity Pilot Manager, British Embassy Mexico City

Main purpose of job

The Business Integrity Initiative is a joint initiative of the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the UK Department for International Trade (DIT) and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).  The objective is to help companies integrate analysis and management of integrity issues into their strategies for doing business successfully in frontier markets.  This means applying ethical principles to business practices, with a focus on the prevention of bribery. The initiative aims to achieve the following impacts: more UK businesses operating with integrity in frontier markets, leading to reduced corruption, increased and more sustainable trade and investment, and an enhanced UK reputation. Based on companies’ feedback, DFID, DIT and FCO wish to run three pilots, in Mexico, Pakistan and Kenya to explore a new approach to business integrity support from UK missions. The objectives of the Mexico pilot will be to:

• test what a structured approach to identifying integrity issues could look like and how best to provide support to companies through the British Embassy (BE)
• provide international companies looking to do or currently doing business in Mexico with practical guidance on navigating integrity challenges, and increase engagement between Mexican and international companies
• promote improvements to local market conditions through dialogue with Mexican authorities based on the insights from businesses

The long-term ambition is that business integrity support becomes a global offer of all UK missions.  The three pilots are therefore aimed at achieving a spread of geographies and economies to test different interventions, which will result in a menu of support options that UK posts around the world can choose from based on their resources.

What will the jobholder be expected to achieve?

The purpose of this role is to manage the implementation of the Mexico pilot of the Business Integrity Initiative for a period of 12 months, working to the Head of DIT and Head of Political Section, and coordinating closely with programme and policy teams.  This is a business facing role, which will require the building and maintaining of relationships with a variety of associations and companies.  It will also require close collaboration with the Prosperity and Political Teams of the BE in Mexico, and the Business Integrity Hub in London amongst others.

The post-holder will lead three phases of the pilot:

Finalisation of the design phase - consolidation of existing knowledge (1 month)

1. Collect and analyse existing information on where corruption happens, why, how, when, and how it impacts on international companies looking to export or invest in Mexico (building on the initial scoping work to be done by the Lead Adviser on the wider Business Integrity Initiative in early 2019). 

2.  Conduct business roundtables with international companies looking to do or currently doing business in Mexico if needed help prioritise a set of integrity issues to tackle, and priority activities.

3.  Conduct further interviews with other interested parties, including with DFID, DIT and FCO colleagues in the BE, civil society organisations/initiatives with a focus on business integrity (e.g. B Lab), and relevant, local government agencies (e.g. Anti-Corruption Agencies) to align expectations and gather additional ideas.

4.  Integrate into existing HMG networks, and identify practical, business-facing anti-corruption synergies with other country programmes.

5.  Develop and agree an implementation plan for the Mexico pilot with costed activities and deadlines, with a clear description of the integrity issues to be tackled and an outline of potential partners for each intervention, with the Prosperity and Political Teams of the British Embassy and the Business Integrity Hub by 31 July 2019.

Management of the implementation phase (9 months)

6.  Implement a set of activities (the implementation plan) to a high standard and agreed timelines.  Example activities (subject to detailed scoping on the ground):

• detailed mapping of local corruption issues, with a focus on targeting priority challenges/sectors e.g. ports, construction sector etc.
• provide AC training to HMG colleagues, and businesses associations e.g. chambers of commerce, to ensure that high-quality, systematic guidance is offered on AC challenges.  This could include investing in a practitioners’ guide for BE staff on how to talk UK companies through the requirements of the Bribery Act, the benefits of doing business with integrity, and the HMG service offer.
• work with national chambers of commerce, associations, and other international partners with the aim of solving corruption/bribery problems in the supply chain that international companies typically encounter.
• promote visible backing from the BE and diplomatic interventions to help companies trouble shoot AC issues.
• encourage business facing bodies e.g. Chambers of Commerce to develop trouble shooting services and mechanisms e.g. task forces that can provide effective guidance to business facing AC challenges.
• establish dialogue mechanisms for businesses to share information among each other to draw on their local expertise and insights on AC issues.  This could include encouraging Multi-National Corporations to upskill SMEs working in their supply chains on due diligence etc. as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility strategies. 
• provide support to collective action initiatives on business integrity related issues with and for the private sector e.g. the DFID funded Construction Sector Transparency Initiative (COST)
• Work with national chambers, alliance for integrity and other existing partners to strengthen existing resources and toolkits on due diligence with detailed information on corruption issues.  Facilitate an ongoing face-to-face dialogue between companies and SMEs for informal guidance on due diligence, requirements and risk assessments for companies in the Mexican market.
• lead communications campaigns or materials to change the perceptions of companies through better information on integrity risks.

7.  Act as the first point of contact in the BE in Mexico on business integrity, drawing on all levers of the UK government (DFID, DIT and FCO) to develop solutions and signposting companies to existing support (including information and guidance provided by organisations outside of the BE).

8.  Attend meetings of the Anti-Corruption and Rule of Law Virtual Team in the BE and ensure the active engagement of its staff members as and when required to update them on progress, discuss operational matters, and start transitioning some of the activities into the job description(s) of (a) colleague(s).

9.  Promote the evolving business integrity service offer of the BE through the development of a one-pager, other materials, the website, and relevant events, such as investment conferences across Mexico.

10.  Work across multiple sectors, liaising closely with other DIT sector leads.

Support to the monitoring and evaluation efforts of the wider Business Integrity Initiative (on-going, with increased focused in May/June 2020)

11. Conduct monthly calls with the Lead Adviser of the wider Business Integrity Initiative who will provide a strategic oversight function, and may be able to share new resources, ideas or support in resolving issues.  Participate in quarterly calls with the above Lead Adviser, the other two DFID advisers overseeing one of the other two country pilots each, and DIT/FCO colleagues in London to facilitate learning across the pilots.

12. Collect and analyse the feedback of companies, the Prosperity Team and other partners after 10 months (around May 2020) and write a report with recommendations on: a) which of the tested interventions proved most effective, b) how to ensure the sustainability of the most effective activities, and c) how to influence other UK missions in Central America to duplicate parts of the business integrity service offer.  This report should be submitted to the Business Integrity Hub no later than 31 May 2020.

We expect the jobholder to have strong judgement skills and an ability to work independently on day-to-day issues.

Essential on arrival: Experience leading high-level projects, managing budgets, and working with international partners.