Senior Manager, Investigations Operations

With 75 years of experience, our focus is on helping the most vulnerable children overcome poverty and experience fullness of life. We help children of all backgrounds, even in the most dangerous places, inspired by our Christian faith.

Come join our 31,000+ staff working in nearly 100 countries and share the joy of transforming vulnerable children’s life stories!

Key Responsibilities:

Please submit your CV in English.

This is a remote/homeworking role. To support collaboration across our global teams, we will give preference to candidates located within ±4 to 5 hours of Costa Rica's time zone (Central Standard Time, CST, UTC−6) and in countries where World Vision International (WVI) is registered to operate. Nevertheless, we encourage qualified candidates from other locations to apply.

JOB PURPOSE

The Senior Manager, Investigations Operations position provides leadership and guidance to multiple functions and teams that conduct investigations, in response to different types of incidents across the Partnership to provide strategic alignment in relation to complaint handling and investigations. This will include working to lead improvements and alignment to systems used by the Integrated Investigations team, Regional Investigative Specialists, Fleet, Cybersecurity, VisionFund International (VFI) and other World Vision (WV) functions that conduct investigations and Field- level Investigators.

The incumbent will be responsible for the development of aligning and identifying significant efficiencies throughout the operational aspects of investigations to ultimately create efficiencies and ensure high-quality, consistent investigations that protect WV’s reputation and ministry.

Additionally, this role will be responsible for developing and executing the training and capacity building strategy for full- and part- time investigators across the Partnership, creating a centre of excellence that will set the standard for all internal investigations.

This role will serve as a matrix manager to 7 Regional Investigative Specialists, providing leadership, problem-solving guidance, and coaching on how to manage high-quality investigations conducted by Field Offices and Regions. The Sr. Manager will have a wide span of influence and need to carefully design investigations operations that ensure WV investigations are being done in line with external standards, while also aligning with the unique cultural profiles and ministry of WV.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

Leading Investigations Operations

• Act as the most senior subject matter expert in developing and maintaining streamlined and consistent set of investigation tools and protocols that are fit for use by all WV investigators, both within the Integrated Investigations team, other GC teams (cybersecurity, Fleet safety, VFI), and by a large network of Regional and Field based part-time investigators.
• Leader and point of contact for line management and leaders across the organisation to escalate concerns or requests related to investigative operations, including quality and capacity related issues.
• Provide matrix leadership for 7 Regional Investigative Specialists (RIS) whose primary role is managing Regional Oversight Committees in triaging, assigning, monitoring, and reporting on all incidents and complaints being investigated within a given region and in managing part-time investigator capacity across all Field Offices in WV.
• Ensure that all investigators and other responsible for elements of investigation and complaint handling are trained and adhering to the same set of operational guidelines.
• Respond to and resolve concerns from senior leaders and other key stakeholders related to investigative operational issues. Proactively monitor and identify opportunities for improvement in the intake and triage phases of new investigations to ensure best practices are being applied and opportunities for improvement are identified.
• As needed, lead and perform high-level and complex investigations as requested by the Director.
• Manage WITP (Workplace Investigations Training Programme) and KC (Knowledge Check) enrolment requests across English, Spanish, and French, ensuring timely processing of referrals and RIS notification upon enrolment.
• Lead and support monthly Investigations Operations and RIS meetings to facilitate coordination, alignment, and knowledge sharing across the investigative network, with team support.
• Ensure the Investigations Dashboard is updated and accurate.
• Coordinate the management and maintenance of the Investigations Management SharePoint site, ensuring content is current, accessible, and fit for purpose.

Strategic Stakeholder Engagement and Investigator Competency Management

• In consultation with senior leadership, develop and execute a comprehensive capacity building strategy and programme for investigators across Field Offices, Regional Offices, and GC investigators that ensures staff are fully equipped to conduct high quality investigations.
• Engage leaders from key areas (Finance, P&C, Safeguarding, SSR, etc.) to align capacity- building objectives and ensure training aligns with organisational objectives.
• Develop and streamline current “advanced” level investigator training programmes in coordination with SMEs to ensure that all investigators regularly undergo regular and advanced/specialized training in accordance with their roles.
• Own and operate a centralized registry of trained investigators that includes a record of training and investigations.
• Maintain strong relationships with all key stakeholders, providing overall leadership for WV’s investigation operations. This includes representing WV to external parties such as donors, regulators, and professional associations as needed.
• Remain up-to-date on relevant trends, training, and activities in global compliance, workplace, safeguarding, and fraud and corruption investigations within the humanitarian and development sector.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Engage senior leaders and other GC functions that perform investigations including: Cybersecurity, Fleet Management, SSR, VFI, P&C, Legal and others to ensure overall alignment investigative approaches, and advocate for adoption of operational models developed by the integrated investigations team.
• Provide oversight and guidance leadership to Regional Oversight Committee(s) in ensuring that Regional committees are facilitated by an individual with appropriate seniority and/or authorization from the SDO to ensure oversight and accountability for all investigations in each region.
• Ensure that information sharing protocols, triage, and investigations oversight process function smoothly and balance the risk of a potential event with the amount of effort requested from committee members to participate.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE FOR THE ROLE

• Bachelor’s degree and/or related higher education.
• Formal professional training and/or internationally recognized certification as an investigator in the areas of fraud and/or workplace behavior.
• 8-10 years’ experience leading and/or providing oversight to internal workplace investigations in a large international organisation (NGO).
• Strong analytical, written, and verbal skills.
• Proven ability to cultivate and maintain strong interpersonal and working relationships in a dispersed virtual, international context.
• Experience developing and training investigators.
• Experience with translating complex technical concepts and simplifying information for mass consumption and usage to a broad international audience.
• Proven ability to translate data into information and analysis that communicates an easily understood concept or message.
• Experience engaging and working with a wide-range of senior leadership level stakeholders.
• Strong investigative skills that include the ability to act as a lead investigator if needed.
• Ability to think strategically and evaluate complex and disparate processes used across the Partnership to identify and implement efficiencies and simplification projects that align external best practices.

PREFERRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE FOR THE ROLE

• Background with project management, training programme development, and process optimisation.
• Ability to coach staff in collection and handling facts and evidence.
• Strong business acumen, strategic thinking, and stakeholder management.
• Strong coordination, planning and leadership skills including ability to influence Senior Managers by consistent and clear communication.
• Solid communication skills and setting priorities.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency/high level of professional and technical spoken and written English. Fluency in another language (French, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese) is an added advantage.

Travel and/or Work Environment Requirement:

• Work setting: Homeworking.
• The position requires the ability and willingness to travel nationally and/or internationally up to 15% of the time.

Applicant Types Accepted:

Local Applicants Only

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organisation with a mission centred on following Jesus Christ in service to the world´s most vulnerable children. Therefore, in all locations to the fullest extent legally permissible, the successful applicant will affirm our core documents, observe conduct compatible with Christian principles, serve at a high level of professional ethics and strive to act in accordance with cultural sensitivities. Furthermore, regular attendance with team and office devotions, chapel and prayer gatherings are expected in line with policies in the World Vision host location and its departments.