LAC) [Open to Tier 0, 1 and 2 applicants]

UNDP•Panama City, FL

About The Position

The Investigations Team Lead oversees, supervises, and conducts investigations into alleged misconduct within the mandate of the Office of Audit and Investigations (OAI), focused on UNDP Headquarters and the Latin America and Caribbean region. The role functionally reports to the Chief, Investigations, Unit 1, under the overall supervision of the Deputy Director (Investigations). The Team Lead provides operational leadership for the HQ/LAC Investigations Team, manages its investigative portfolio, directs investigations, and is accountable for the quality, timeliness, and defensibility of team outputs. The role supervises investigators and other personnel, conducts performance appraisals, allocates work, supports recruitment, and promotes a constructive and high-performing team culture. The Team Lead personally conducts investigations in complex, high-risk, or sensitive matters and oversees other investigations carried out by team members. The position ensures that investigations follow international standards, UNDP policies and legal frameworks, and OAI guidelines. It also oversees evidence handling, due process, confidentiality, information security, and victim-centered approaches; supports the ethical use of investigative technologies and AI; liaises with internal and external stakeholders; and undertakes mandatory fieldwork and mission travel, including to hardship or hazardous duty locations. The role also contributes to risk assessments, knowledge sharing, professional practice, and continuous improvement across OAI.

Requirements

Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Criminal Justice or an investigations-related specialization, Law, Management, Finance, or a related field; alternatively, a first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in these areas with two additional years of experience may be considered in lieu of the advanced degree.
At least seven years of progressively responsible professional experience in complex criminal and/or administrative investigations with a master’s degree, or at least nine years with a bachelor’s degree.
Experience leading or overseeing investigative workstreams, acting as an investigator, or in an equivalent role.
Experience conducting and overseeing investigations into administrative misconduct and/or criminal offences, including fraud and other financial crimes, sexual misconduct, and workplace standards-of-conduct violations, from intake through final reporting.
Experience providing technical and functional leadership in investigations, guiding less experienced investigators, coordinating multidisciplinary teams, prioritizing workloads, and ensuring the quality and timeliness of outputs.
Specialized training in core investigative techniques, including interviewing, evidence handling, evidence analysis, and investigative report writing.
Ability to communicate clearly and persuasively and exercise sound judgment in complex and sensitive situations, including difficult interviews, challenging stakeholders, and briefings to senior management.
Fluency in English.

Nice To Haves

Formal professional training across a comprehensive range of investigation-related areas, such as training from a national law enforcement or investigations academy.
Experience addressing underperformance or misconduct within investigative teams, including corrective feedback, documenting performance concerns, supporting improvement, and escalating issues.
Specialized training and/or experience in advanced investigative skills, such as interviewing vulnerable victims and witnesses, handling sensitive cases, digital forensics, and complex evidence analysis.
Experience using investigative technologies, data analytics, and artificial intelligence tools to improve investigative efficiency, accuracy, or timeliness while ensuring due process, confidentiality, and ethical use.
Experience conducting risk assessments related to investigations, integrity risks, or misconduct trends.
At least one year of experience in an international or multicultural investigative environment.
Fluency in Spanish.
Working knowledge of French or Portuguese.
Knowledge of another United Nations official language.

Responsibilities

Provide day-to-day operational leadership of the HQ/LAC Investigations Team and ensure investigative activities meet OAI priorities, policies, and performance expectations.
Manage the investigative portfolio, including case allocation, prioritization, workload balancing, and monitoring progress; escalate risks and capacity issues as appropriate.
Oversee and direct investigations, develop appropriate strategies, pursue relevant lines of inquiry, and deploy resources effectively.
Review and edit investigation reports and related documents to ensure high-quality, objective, factual, and well-supported conclusions and recommendations.
Personally conduct investigations in complex, high-risk, or sensitive matters and provide technical direction, oversight, and quality assurance for other team investigations.
Supervise investigators and other personnel, set expectations and priorities, conduct structured case and performance reviews, and complete annual performance appraisals.
Address underperformance, skills gaps, or conduct issues through coaching, feedback, and performance management, escalating matters when required.
Ensure investigations comply with international investigative standards, UNDP legal and policy frameworks, OAI Investigation Guidelines, and Standard Operating Procedures.
Ensure due process, confidentiality, information security, and victim-centered approaches, particularly in sensitive cases.
Oversee the collection, handling, analysis, and safeguarding of physical, digital, and testimonial evidence, including chain of custody.
Identify investigative, procedural, institutional, and systemic risks and escalate high-risk issues to the Chief.
Promote the effective and ethical use of case management systems, analytical software, open-source intelligence tools, and AI-enabled solutions.
Identify opportunities to streamline processes, improve workflows, and support continuous improvement.
Liaise with internal stakeholders, including legal services, HR, ethics, procurement, management, regional offices, and relevant UNDP offices; engage with other international investigation sections and national anti-corruption or law enforcement agencies as appropriate.
Maintain accurate, complete, and current case records, databases, and documentation.
Formulate and recommend case closure decisions for review and approval by the Chief.
Provide the Chief with operational briefings, trend information, and case-related inputs.
Undertake and, where appropriate, lead investigative missions to UNDP offices worldwide, including hardship or hazardous duty locations; fieldwork and mission travel are mandatory.
Plan team work, distribute workload, provide senior expertise and advice, recruit personnel as necessary, and supervise staff and non-staff personnel.
Build a supportive, collegiate, inclusive, and accountable team culture; provide performance feedback and work collaboratively with peers and stakeholders.
Share caseload insights with senior managers, participate in regional or country-level meetings, and provide advisory support to policy managers on strengthening risk controls where appropriate.
Contribute to OAI professional practices, risk assessment planning, knowledge sharing, lessons learned, and capacity-building initiatives.
Keep abreast of United Nations Dispute Tribunal and United Nations Appeals Tribunal jurisprudence and participate in personal learning and training development.
Perform other duties and assignments within the functional profile as required.