Head of Compliance (m/f/x)

Reporting to the Director Legal Affairs, the post holder will be responsible for the following main areas of work:

Scheme Ownership

• Manage and review Fairtrade International’s oversight mechanism to deliver on agreed principles such as competency, consistency and impartiality and risk management in assurance and licensing
• Manage evaluation and decision-making processes of the scheme owner, this includes drafting and presenting high quality papers to the Fairtrade Oversight Committee
• Review with assurance providers and licensing bodies their improvement plans, perform oversight audits and follow up on implementation of corrective actions
• Manage audits and follow up procedures from accreditation and umbrella bodies and ensure implementation of agreed improvement plans
• Manage relations and agreements with other schemes, in particular regarding recognition of standards, audits and certificates
• Manage projects to define assurance or licensing requirements related to new or revised standards, according to procedures
• Manage projects to review existing oversight, licensing and assurance regulations
• Participate in larger S&P standard reviews or other FI unit projects regarding assurance or licensing aspects

Compliance

• Lead the development and implementation of a comprehensive compliance management system for Fairtrade, including reviewing and aligning the procedures and policies related to Fairtrade’s complaints and allegations management
• Implement and manage the Fairtrade Whistle-Blowing-System to ensure a compliant, confidential and trust worthy complaints and allegations case management that protects whistleblowers and ensures that any reported non-compliance with external or internal regulations undergo a proper investigation, legal assessment and adequate measures are taken and, in this function, coordinate case management with the appointed “Internal Reporting Office” in accordance with the German Whistleblower Protection Act (Ombudsperson)
• Regularly generate reports on complaints and allegation cases submitted, analyze the data to identify key learnings and provide guidance (to HR, Finance, etc.) on development of new policies or improvement opportunities.
• Support member organizations with the implementation of the relevant policies and procedures in compliance with the Fairtrade Organization Code and global compliance strategy, and monitor their performance
• Ensure Fairtrade member organizations are informed and trained to implement the relevant policies and procedures for alignment with the Fairtrade Organization Code and global compliance strategy.
• Act as the key contact for compliance matters within Fairtrade, and for handling and coordinating the complaints and allegations that do not fall into the scope of the ombudsman.
• Work closely with the compliance focal persons in Fairtrade member organizations and support members with creating opportunities for regular expert exchange on compliance topics via regular meetings and annual compliance forums.
• Work closely with the Finance Team on identifying any potential risk exposures and support the development of mitigation action
• Manage and regularly review the Fairtrade Organization Code
• Provide regular reports to the Fairtrade International Board and executive leadership team
• Ensure Fairtrade International Board, executive leadership team, senior management and employees are informed of developments from a regulatory and compliance perspective and ensure implementation of respective policies and procedures in the different units/ entities

Line management

• Maintain and further develop an effective and motivated team
• Recruit, train, appraise, supervise, support, develop and guide team members
• Ensure effective management and maintain the well-being of the team