Background

The United Nations Development Programme is the global development network of the United Nations system that is on the ground in 177 countries, with its Headquarters in New York, USA.   The Bureau of Management (BoM) is a central Bureau tasked with the development of corporate strategies, policies, tools and systems in key cross-cutting management areas. Drawing on sound analytics and a risk-management approach, BoM supports the achievement of development results through management advice, innovative business solutions, and other corporate services in line with international best practices and evolving needs and expectations of development partners.  BoM also ensures policy adherence in operations management within UN Rules & Regulations, safeguarding UNDP’s accountability vis-à-vis Member States and other stakeholders.

In support of UNDP’s current Strategic Plan, the Service Delivery Model adopted by the Bureau of Management (BoM) aims to provide more integrated, effective, and customer focused services.  These values inform the realigned Offices of Human Resources, Financial Resources Management, BoM Directorate, and the Office of Management Services (OMS).

The Office of Human Resources (OHR) supports UNDP in achieving its vision and objectives through enabling the organization to attract, manage, and retain staff with relevant technical expertise, competencies and skills, by providing strategic HR advice and creating an inclusive working environment where staff are engaged, continuously develop professionally and perform at their best. Operating within the Bureau of Management (BoM), OHR’s key clients include UNDP executives, CO and HQs leaders and managers, individual staff members and HR practitioners.  The team works closely with colleagues in business solutions, OFRM and others in the BoM team to ensure a seamless service to our clients.

Human Resource Management (HRM) the team within OHR responsible for the delivery of a full spectrum of strategic HR services to UNDP clients aimed to ensure that Bureaus and Offices can attract and effectively manage required talent in the culture of high performance, innovation and informed risk-taking.

The Team offers several service lines, including business partnering for managers and staff, as well as a range of operational HR services from staff recruitment to separation and off-boarding. A distinct service line refers to the development of HR processes and systems with a particular focus on the use of technology to support and enable effective HR management, workforce analytics, HR performance monitoring and business process reengineering.

HRM collaborates closely with the Integrated Talent Management (ITM) and Policy and Compensation teams, and is an authoritative source of strategic advice and guidance on all issues of human resources management, as well as in providing client-specific HR solutions that are fair, consistent, objective and compliant with the policies and procedures of UNDP.
Under the guidance and supervision of the HR Business Partner and in close collaboration with the OHR team, the HR Specialist will provide transparent and consistent interpretation of HR policies. The HR specialist will ensure proper development and implementation of the HR strategies, and deliver Bureau/Unit specific business solutions.

The HR Specialist promotes a collaborative client-oriented approach and contributes to foster staff engagement.

In the absence of the HR Business Partner, the HR Specialist will act as Officer-in-Charge, as required.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of key functions:

• Workforce Planning, and Analytics;
• Interpretation of HR policies, implementation of corporate HR exercises;
• Capacity Development and Knowledge Building;
• Organizational Development and Change Management;
• Partnership Building.

Workforce Planning, Analytics & Organization Development:

• Generates workforce data, interprets data and statistics;
• Ensures an intelligent analysis of workforce against the business model; Provides authoritative advice and recommendations based on HR analytics. Prepares HR reports, presentations, briefing notes based on the analysis of the workforce data;
• Implements and recommends HR practices and strategic interventions to optimize the use of ITM products/guidelines, and policies;
• Analyzes and provides advice on selection & recruitment initiatives;
• Advocates the best application of HR practices, staffing, development and organizational planning, targeted interventions to achieve business objectives;
• Studies and analyzes the results of global/regional HR surveys and contributes to design interventions, and action plans where necessary;
• Gathers data from PMD to develop reporting of potential career paths and development needs for staff, and liaises with other OHR Units to deliver on specific needs;
• Provides advice based on HR analytics, proposes enhancements of existing platforms and reports.

Interpretation of HR policies, implementation of corporate HR exercises:

• Provides advice and support to managers and staff on human resources related matters;
• Ensures continuous analysis of corporate HR strategies and policies, assessing the impact of changes and making recommendation on their implementation in UNDP;
• Interprets corporate strategic sourcing and succession planning and ensures accurate projection of vacancies and staffing requirements to the appropriate corporate unit;
• Initiates transparent and competitive centralized recruitment and selection processes (review of job descriptions, provision of input to job classification process, vacancy announcement, longlisting, shortlisting) in line with corporate guidelines and policies, and ensures a timely transfer of the process to the respective Case Manager.  Provides guidance on decentralized recruitment;
• Supports HR Business Partner in HR strategy development and HR corporate initiatives for regional bureau, provides inputs to management plans, products, strategies, and tools.

Capacity Development and Knowledge Building:

• Ensures enhanced capacity of HR staff through delivery of workshops and virtual clinics, synthesis of lessons learned;
• Disseminates lessons learned, best practices, and sound contributions in knowledge networks and communities of practice;
• Provides advice on learning & development options for staff.  Provides guidance on techniques and options for learning delivery;
• Supports active community of HR staff.  Plans, facilitates and evaluates team building sessions;
• Scans capacity of the HR staff, develops indicators to identify targeted interventions.  Plans, facilitates and evaluates team building sessions, and supports active.

Organizational Development and Change Management Facilitation:

• Provides advice on change management strategies, as required, based on corporate policy but with elements of innovation, as required, using internal consulting models and process consultations;
• Contributes to the development of organizational design solutions, including structural design options;
• Supports senior managers with implementation of structural changes through effective information sharing and problem solving. Forecasts risks, and liaises with relevant stakeholders.

Partnership Building:

• Partners with other agencies to exchange on best practices, lessons learned and policy guidelines; synthesizes knowledge gained to leverage team’s work;
• Organizes and participates in work groups, meetings and consultations with partners on issues related to organizational effectiveness;
• Serves as an effective spokesperson internally and externally and nurture strong partnerships with relevant partners to help meet organization's objectives with respect to overall policy initiatives.

Staff members may be required to perform other duties as assigned.

Competencies

Core:

Innovation:

• Ability to make new and useful ideas work.

Creates independently:

• Adept with complex concepts;
• Creates new and relevant ideas and leads others to implement them;
• Provides authoritative advice to decision makers;
• Challenges convention purposefully;
• Critically assesses established methods.

Leadership - Ability to persuade others to follow:

• Creates excitement for work through demonstrated excellence;
• Generates individual commitment, excitement and excellence;
• Creates opportunities for team to learn and take on new responsibilities;
• Actively shares experience and knowledge.

People Management:

 Ability to improve performance and satisfaction

• Motivates excellence and engagement;
• Expands team substantive capacity;
• Models independent thinking and action;
• Raises standards, motivates excellence;
• Coaches team members to appropriately share knowledge across teams;
• Addresses conflicts in a timely, sensitive manner; escalates to leadership when appropriate;
• Expands team engagement.

Communication:

Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform

• Advocates, able to change mind of self, peers and partners;
• Persuades others to embrace new ideas, even when controversial;
• Empathizes with client perspectives and needs;
• Prepares and presents authoritative advice;
• Represents team in formal settings;
• Expands expertise of team through sharing expertise.

Delivery:

• Ability to get things done.

Makes new ideas work:

• Critically assesses value and relevance of existing thinking and policy;
• Embraces difficult obstacles that interfere with getting work done;
• Anticipates constraints and identifies solutions;
• Strives to improve team reputation with clients;
• Expands capacity of team to deliver on time and on target;
• Accountable for project implementation and/or team deliverables.

Technical/Functional:

Primary:

Human Resources Management (General):

• Knowledge of HR management issues and principles and the ability to apply them to strategic and/or practical situations.

Case Management:

• Ability to organize, record, and manage employee interactions with HR including but not limited to terminations, separations, visa management, vacancy management, HR crises.

Recruiting:

• Knowledge of recruiting issues, procedures, and principles and the ability to apply them to strategic and/or practical situations to secure quality candidates.

Employee Engagement:

• Ability to motivate and inspire internal resources.

Stakeholders Management:

• Ability to manage multiple stakeholders and balance often contradictory expectations, building and maintaining relationships.

Secondary:

Knowledge Management:

• Ability to efficiently handle and share information and knowledge.

Team Building:

• Ability to work effectively with diverse groups of professionals towards common goals.

Mentoring and Capacity Building:

• Ability to coach/mentor technical staff to enhance sustain capacity development.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree in the Social Sciences, Business Administration, Public Administration, Organization Psychology, Psychology, Sociology, Economics, Development Economics, International Relations, Human Resource Management or Organization Development or related fields.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of relevant experience in Human Resources Management, or must have held similar positions in other international organizations, or has significant international human resources experience at a similar level;
• Experience in building strong strategic partnerships with clients;
• Track record of working as a team member as well as independently, demonstrating application of initiative, innovation and critical thinking in problem solving and trouble-shooting;
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills including the ability to work in a multilingual and multicultural setting;
• Strong organizational skills, ability to follow through on assignments and to meet deadlines.

Language:

• Fluency in English;
• Proficiency in French and/or Spanish desirable.