Organizational setting and reporting

The Ethics, Risk, and Compliance Office was established in September 2024 to provide comprehensive guidance and support across the entire Secretariat, with a focus on promoting ethical conduct, effective risk management, and compliance with internal policies. Its purpose is to foster a culture where these principles are embedded in all aspects of the Secretariat. As an independent office within the WTO Secretariat, the Ethics, Risk, and Compliance Office functions autonomously from other divisions, particularly in matters related to ethics and advisory services.

The Ethics Officer will report to the Chief Ethics, Risk and Compliance Officer.

Context of the position

This vacancy represents the first formally designated Ethics Officer position at the WTO, and the successful candidate will play a pioneering role in shaping the Secretariat’s ethics architecture.

The candidate will be required to combine technical expertise in ethics and compliance with change‑management skills, working closely with senior management to establish credibility, ownership, and institutional legitimacy for the new Ethics Officer function.

General Functions

1. Ethics‑policy and standards development

Lead the development, review, and updating of ethics-related policies and instruments — including conflicts of interest, gifts and hospitality, and outside activities — and advise on the ethics-sensitive design and amendment of all WTO policies and procedures.

Ensure ethics standards are coherently integrated into the broader compliance and risk-management framework, including the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework and crisis-management plans.

2. Confidential ethics advice and management

Provide confidential, impartial ethics advice to staff at all levels on complex ethical dilemmas, real-time decision-making, and conflicts of interest.

Operate and manage a centralised record management and reporting system for ethics queries, ng and analysing trends and recurring issues across the Secretariat.

3. Conflict of interest and outside‑activity management

Oversee the administration of conflict-of-interest declarations, including the design and maintenance of digital tools, workflows, and guidance materials; evaluate declared conflicts and outside activities and recommend management measures where risks are identified.

Monitor and analyse patterns of conflicts and outside activities to identify systemic risks and propose policy or procedural adjustments.

4. Ethics training, culture‑building, and communication

Design and deliver targeted ethics training programmes for staff groups, including new starters and managers, and develop e-learning modules, awareness campaigns, and internal communications that make ethical standards relevant to daily work.

Partner with ERCO colleagues to co-develop integrated workshops highlighting the interplay between ethics, risk management, and compliance.

5. Risk‑based ethics and integrity monitoring

Contribute to the risk‑based planning of ERCO’s work, identifying and prioritising areas of the Secretariat where ethics‑related risks are elevated (e.g., high‑value procurement etc).

Use data from records, conflict-of-interest declarations, and training feedback to produce periodic ethics-risk and integrity dashboards for senior management, and propose preventive measures and controls (e.g., enhanced disclosure requirements, standardised ethics‑screening checklists for high‑risk activities) to reduce the likelihood and impact of ethics breaches.

6. Independence, governance, and external coordination

Ensure that the ethics function operates with independence and objectivity, particularly in advisory and individual advisory record ‑handling roles, while maintaining constructive coordination with other divisions and senior management.

Support ERCO's reporting to the Director-General and designated governance bodies on ethics-related issues and emerging risks, and represent the WTO Ethics Office in inter-agency or regional dialogues on public-sector ethics and integrity.

Monitor international best practices in ethics and integrity management in other international organisations and adapt relevant lessons to the WTO context.