For UN agencies, INGOs and global organisations
Reputation takes years to build. Ethical judgement protects it every day.
Policies matter. But most ethical failures do not happen because people have never seen the rules. They happen in grey zones: when loyalties compete, pressure rises, a colleague crosses a line, a manager brushes away a concern, or someone has to decide whether speaking up is worth the risk.
When the rulebook ends, judgement begins.
Build the judgement, courage and systems people need to act with integrity under pressure.
Trusted in high-stakes ethics, Ombudsman and speak-up contexts
UNICEF · UNOPS · FAO · WHO · UN Ombudsman · UNDP
Why this, why now
Ethics is not what people remember from a policy. It is what they do when the answer is not obvious, the pressure is real, and nobody is watching.
The Shiftbalance lens
Integrity creates safer, fairer workplaces where people want to stay, while reducing reputational risk and reinforcing the trust of clients, donors and local partners.
Why us
Shiftbalance helps organisations turn ethics from a compliance requirement into everyday decision-making capability, through diagnostics, case-based learning, manager practice, speak-up skills and practical follow-through.
01
We work with real-life ethical dilemmas tailored to your organisation and context: conflicts of interest, bystander moments, fraud and theft signals, gifts and favouritism, confidentiality, abuse of power, retaliation risks and difficult judgement calls.
02
Staff need confidence to recognise, question and raise concerns. Managers need additional capability to receive concerns, avoid retaliation, protect confidentiality, document appropriately and escalate through the right channels.
03
Ethics fails when people know what is right but do not believe it is safe or worthwhile to say it. So we work on what makes speaking up possible: voice, power, and the response people get when they do.
04
We adapt scenarios to the organisation, sector, geography, operating risks and policy environment, particularly for UN, humanitarian and international organisations.
05
Where useful, we combine training with diagnostics, manager tools, facilitator capacity, leadership debriefs and follow-through so ethics is reinforced beyond the session.
1
Patterns, policy pain points, risk moments
2
Decision framework, mapping of reporting channels
3
Cases, dilemmas, simulations
4
Raising concerns, bystander action, power dynamics
5
Manager response, protection, escalation
6
Tools, commitments, measurement
Inside the programme
Every format runs in English, French or Spanish, virtually, hybrid or in person.
For organisations seeking sustained capability, manager practice and follow-through.
Cohort: 12–20 participants per cohort
Cohort: Up to 25
Rapid rollout with distinct staff and manager responsibilities.
Cohort: Up to 25
Teams that want spaced practice around real dilemmas.
Cohort: Leadership / Ethics / HR
Organisations that need to understand speak-up, conduct or integrity patterns before choosing an intervention.
Cohort: Scalable
Global organisations that need common foundations plus facilitated application.
Who it is for
Designed for Ethics, Compliance, Ombudsman, HR, People & Culture and L&D teams, and for leaders and managers who carry responsibility for culture, conduct and the response people receive when they raise concerns.
Particularly relevant to
Selected work
Shiftbalance works directly with Ethics and Ombudsman functions and with teams operating in sensitive, high-pressure environments. Our experience spans staff learning, manager practice, respectful-workplace capacity, speak-up, mediation and difficult conversations.
Seven staff cohorts and three manager cohorts. Conflicts of interest, speaking up safely, fraud and theft signals, bystander dilemmas, receiving a concern and protecting the person who spoke up.
Delivery of the “Ethics Starts With Me” course internationally as part of the UNOPS Ethics team.
Training and coaching across continents in non-violent communication, psychological safety and conflict resolution, building internal capacity to handle sensitive issues constructively.
Supporting 100 staff through psychological safety, conflict resolution, manager/peer tensions and other difficult workplace situations.
Expert facilitation of virtual dialogues on anti-racism for UN Secretariat staff.
Equipping internal facilitators to lead courageous conversations, supported by co-facilitation and 1:1 coaching feedback, relevant to the speak-up and power dimensions of ethical culture.
Case study spotlight
In the 2026 UNICEF Venezuela ethics programme, Shiftbalance delivered 40 sessions across 10 cohorts for 150 participants, separating staff and manager responsibilities rather than giving everyone the same generic content.
Conflicts of interest, speak-up, fraud and theft signals and bystander dilemmas.
Recognising conflicts in their teams, receiving a concern from a direct report, responding to fraud or theft signals and protecting the person who spoke up.
Why this matters
Ethics capability is role-specific. The person raising a concern and the manager receiving it do not need the same practice.
Designing for both sides of the moment is what turns “speak up” from a slogan into a functioning culture.
Let’s talk
If your policies are clear but application is inconsistent, concerns arrive late, the working climate is unhealthy or managers need more confidence handling difficult ethical moments, start with the real situations your people are navigating – not another generic compliance slide deck.
Email us directly at susan@shiftbalance.org
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