Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.
 
Under the overall supervision of the Team Leader for Recruitment and Staffing at HQ, the Human Resources (HR) Specialist facilitates the management of human resources for some organizational units in HQ and with focus on a specific geographic region in the areas of recruitment and staffing, policy implementation, staff development and staff/management relations.
 
The incumbent will ensure that recruitment and staffing priorities, processes and outcomes for the assigned units are in line with UN Women goals, plans and strategies. More specifically, on recruitment of fixed term General Service and National Professional staff within the assigned geographic region, the incumbent will assist the Regional Compliance Review Body and Regional Director in ensuring compliance of recruitment within the Region with corporate standards. The incumbent will also advise and monitor the contracting of non-staff personnel in the respective organizational units.
 
The incumbent also supports the implementation of strategic staffing and HR initiatives within the Region in the wake of organizational change, including staff deployment/re-deployment and displacement. The incumbent will also promote and facilitate staff development. He/She will keep the Team Leader for Recruitment and Staffing, as well as the Regional Director, aware of HR issues within the Region requiring attention and keep them abreast on staff/management issues.
 
It should be noted that there is a possibility that the position will be relocated/reassigned to a Regional Office.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions:

  • Policy advice to managers and staff on contractual, recruitment and staffing matters;
  • Effective and efficient recruitment for the Region;
  • Performance Management/Staff Development and Learning;
  • Staff/Management Relations and Staff Well Being;
  • Communication and Knowledge Management.
Policy advice to managers and staff on contractual, recruitment and staffing matter
  • Provide guidance to organizational units on conditions of service, determination of staffing requirements, recruitment and contracting policies;
  • Coordinate with and support the Benefits and Entitlements team in the administration of contracts, benefits/entitlements, and related HR administrative matters of staff and non-staff;
  • Provide guidance to local staff/non-staff on entitlements; provide clarification on their contractual rights and obligations;
  • Review submission for new posts, providing technical and operational support and guidance on policy application and interpretation, and providing advice on job design and drafting job descriptions;
  • For oversight purposes, prepare and submit necessary monitoring reports to Regional Director and HRC on HR decisions taken and exceptions granted.
Effective and efficient management of recruitment and staffing
  • Oversee that positions within the Region are filled in a timely manner to meet staffing needs;
  • Develop and apply innovative strategies for external recruitment, from sourcing, through selection to appointment, and contracting; ensuring core and functional competencies, as well as demographic diversity goals are consistently promoted and applied;
  • Act as Secretary to the Regional Compliance Review Body to help ensure compliance of FTA (fixed term appointment) recruitment at General Service and National Professional level with UN Women policies, standards, and processes;
  • Work with HQ and COs to facilitate recruitment of qualified IP (international professional) candidates for posts in the assigned Region and/or organizational units, including JPOs and UNVs, in accordance with UN Staff Rules and requirements of corporate review bodies;
  • Maintain smooth and effective coordination with outsourced service providers on the   overall administration of benefits/entitlement management for staff; On a special needs basis, liaise with UNDP Copenhagen service on behalf of individual staff members to seek clarification on certain benefits and entitlements;
  • Engage in HR reform initiatives, as necessary, internally and in inter-agency fora
Performance Management/Staff Development and Learning
  • Ensure that annual performance management plans for all staff in the assigned organizational units exist, and are implemented annually in accordance with UN Women policies, guidelines and practice;
  • Brief and orient staff and managers within the assigned units on the UN Women performance management system, and oversee compliance;
  • Provide annual monitoring reports to HR Section/HQ on performance management compliance;
  • Advise the managers on contractual actions and/or disciplinary actions to be taken in the case ongoing poor performance, fraud, sexual harassment, or other matters related to staff discipline;
  • Work with HR Section HQ on poor performance cases which could impact on contractual status or career of staff;
  • Use performance management data, skills gap analysis, and other means to draw up and implement an annual regional staff and development plan for the respective organizational units.
Staff/Management Relations and Staff Well Being
  • Promote and implement staff/management meetings in offices to ensure open, transparent communications on all matters pertaining to staff;
  • Encourage the establishment of Regional Staff Representation Committee (Staff Council) to represent the views of regional staff at different UN Women fora (Regional Learning and Development Team, Regional meetings of Representatives, etc);
  • Promote and implement UN Women Staff Well Being policies and initiatives within the organizational units.
Communication and Knowledge Management.
  • Monitor HR activities within the Region and report as required to HQ and RO management on trends and practice;
  • Keep HR Section HQ and managers informed of best practices by other UN Agencies and contribute to policy development on benefits and entitlements;
  • Track implementation of Audit recommendations related to HR within the respective organizational units and keep HQ and concerned managers informed;
  • Share knowledge and collaborate at inter-agency level within the Region on all HR matters, including the inter-agency mobility arrangements.

Impact of Results:

The key results have an impact on organizational effectiveness and efficiency of UN Women by ensuring that the Organization has the best possible workforce, fit for purpose, and capable of delivering the mandate of UN Women within the Region. By ensuring top quality timely HRM and HRD support to the Regional Director, and CO/MCO management across the Region, the incumbent ensures that an effective harmonious workforce delivers for UN Women, and enhances the credibility and effectiveness of the Organization, in every duty station in the Region.

Competencies

Core values/guiding principles

Integrity:
  • Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Professionalism:

  • Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.

Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity:

  • Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.
Core competencies
 
Ethics and Values:
  • Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.

Organizational Awareness:

  • Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Development and Innovation:

  • Take charge of self-development and take initiative.

Work in teams:

  • Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Communicating and Information Sharing:

  • Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.

Self-management and Emotional Intelligence:

  • Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others.

Conflict Management:

  • Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.

Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing:

  • Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.

Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making:

  • Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making.
Functional competencies
  • Proven ability to apply modern HR principles and practice in large international multicultural organizations;
  • Ability to anticipate HR requirements in terms of staffing levels and staff development in large organizations with a fast evolving agenda and many competing needs;
  • Proven ability to find innovative solutions to complex HR challenges within a framework of policies and rules which must be respected;
  • Demonstrated effectiveness in using competency-based tools and processes in recruitment and selection;
  • Ability to build trust in interactions with others, especially strong client and partner relationships to ensure desired impact and result for the client. This requires credibility, a reputation for being fair, and ability to strictly adhere to confidentiality;
  • Communicates clearly and convincingly, both orally and in writing, adapting style and content to different audience;
  • Manages projects effectively, consistently ensuring timeliness and quality of work;
  • Provides constructive coaching and feedback.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:
  • Masters degree or equivalent in social sciences, psychology, business, human resources management, or related field.
Experience:
  • At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in human resources management, with several years with an international multicultural organization;
  • Knowledge of UN HR policies and practices in recruitment, contract administration, staff development and learning, organizational design is desirable;
  • Experience in usage of computer and relevant software packages. Familiarity in the use of information technology to support recruitment and staffing and map data and analyze HR data.
 Language Requirement:
  •  Fluency in English and working knowledge of French is required.

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment

Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.