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.

The global workforce of UN Women is around 600 staff in 80 countries spread out in HQ in New York, Regional Offices, Multi-Country Offices and Country Offices. The majority of the HR team is situated in HQ and work in close collaboration with both UN Women and UNDP HR practitioners located in the field.

Within the framework of the UN Common System and UN Staff Regulations and Rules, the Human Resources Management Section directs and supports the delivery of responsive and quality human resource management services, ensuring integration and synergy in the development of a comprehensive human resources management framework. It leads and facilitates organizational change and development and advises the organization on strategies to attract, retain, develop and motivate human talent across the range of specialized occupations critical to the delivery of the organization’s mandate through the following sub-areas:
  • HR Planning and Policy
  • Organizational Design and Change Management
  • Recruitment and Staffing
  • Learning and Talent Management
  • Performance Management
  • Workforce Management
Under the supervision of the Director – Management and Administration, the Director of the Human Resources Management Section (HRM) is responsible for directing and managing the Human Resources (HR) function, including the development and implementation of the overall corporate human resources strategy, and ensuring its alignment with the vision and goals of the Organization.

He/she provides leadership and strategic direction on HR issues and ensures best-practice delivery of human resources services. Specifically,  he/she will lead and manage a HR team responsible for strategy and service delivery in the specialized areas of HR Planning, Organizational Design and Job Classification, Policy Development and Interpretation, Recruitment, Talent Management and Staff Development, Contracts and Entitlements and Staff Wellness.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of key functions:
  • Strategy and policy conceptualization and development within UN HR framework.
  • Planning and forecasting HR needs and anticipating new issues.
  • Oversight and management of all HRM functions from organizational design to staff well being. Effective delivery of integrated HR services within the organization
  • Lead and manage the HR team for high quality outputs and results in support of UN
  • Promote and facilitate change management within UN Women.
  • Knowledge Management and UN System Partnership on HRM.

The Director of Human Resources Management carries out the following key functions:

  • Within the UN HR framework ensure the articulation of HR strategies, policies, procedures and systems linked to the strategic objectives of the UN Women. Lead and guide the adaption of existing UN policies or the development and implementation of new HR strategies, policies, and programs to address emerging organizational needs and initiatives including work-life balance, achievement of diversity targets, rewards and recognition, field conditions of service and fair compensation and benefits.
  • Work closely with senior management and line managers to ensure that organizational change in support of strategic realignment programs are properly designed, planned and implemented. Serve as a strategic partner to management by providing direction and guidance on human resource and organizational development matters, including the promotion of innovative HR solutions to achieve strategic goals.
  • Promote synergies and linkages across UN Women and with external stakeholders to drive organizational change through creative HR planning, development, and management. Support and encourage staff engagement towards change and reform, and engage and empower line managers to embrace change.
  • Plan and oversee the Section’s work in all areas of HRM to ensure effective delivery of HR Section Annual Work Plan. Lead the Section with professional competence, effectiveness, efficiency and innovation. Monitor and evaluate the Section’s performance and the implementation of all HR staff work plans. Foster teamwork and collaboration between staff in the Section.
  • Ensure the delivery of quality HR support services to all staff in UN Women by developing a collaborative partnership with managers and individual staff members.
  • Ensure consistent transparent application of HR strategies, policies and practices in headquarters and field. Leverage technology to ensure the effective delivery of human resource services.
  • Promote a dynamic high performance culture among all staff based on UN Women values and competencies, and develop methods to enhance staff engagement.
  • Promote effective communication and facilitate open and transparent Staff /Management consultative processes. Negotiate and seek consensus on HR matters; hold regular consultations with elected staff representatives; and, chair / participate in joint advisory bodies and committees. 
  • Represent the Organization in external meetings and negotiations on HR policy questions and promote the Organization's HR strategies and policies within the UN inter-agency system. Develop and share knowledge of emerging and best practices in the HR field, global HR topics and trends and UN common system HR initiatives. 

Impact:

  • The work of the incumbent will impact substantially on the proper sourcing, deployment, empowerment, and development of the most critical resource within UN Women, namely the human resource. Failure to carry out this job effectively would have significant effect on the ability of UN Women to deliver its mandate. Failure in the post would result in substantial negative impact globally on UN Women’s image and credibility among all stakeholders, especially donors.

Competencies

CORE VALUES / GUIDING PRINCIPLES: 

  • Integrity: Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.
  • Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity: Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity. 
Core Competencies:
 
Ethics and Values:
  • Promoting Ethics and Integrity / Creating Organizational Precedents
Leadership
  • Focuses on impact and results for the client
  • Takes initiative and calculated risks
  • Leads team creatively and effectively and resolve conflicts
  • Display positive and constructive attitude
Managing Relationships:
  • Builds strong clients and partner relationships
  • Communicates clearly and convincingly, both written and oral
 
Developing and Empowering People / Coaching and Mentoring:
  • Building staff competence, creating an environment of creativity and innovation
Working in Teams:
  • Building and promoting effective teams
Conflict Management / Negotiating and Resolving Disagreements:
  • Leveraging conflict in the interests of the organization & setting standards
Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning:
  • Sharing knowledge across the organization and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning
Functional Competencies:
  • Proven ability in conceptualizing and developing HR strategies and policies to meet the needs of medium to large decentralized multicultural organizations, preferably working in the development sector.
  • Solid knowledge and experience in effective human resources management, including application of best practices in recruitment, strategic staffing, change management, succession planning, performance management and learning.
  • Demonstrated effectiveness in using competency-based tools and processes in the core HR functions of recruitment and selection, performance management, staff development and career management.
  • Demonstrated experience leading/facilitating change management process.

Required Skills and Experience


Education:
  • Advanced university degree in Human Resources, Business or Public Administration or Management, law, social sciences or a related field

Experience:

  • At least 15 years progressively responsible experience in human resources management including considerable experience at a senior level in the public or private sector or in an international organization.
  • Demonstrated professional competence in organizational development and change in management and ability to lead in a fast changing environment.
  • Knowledge of the conditions of service of the UN Common System or of international organizations will be considered an asset.

Language Requirements:

  • Excellent oral and written command of English, Knowledge of another UN working language highly desirable.

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.