Only candidates who are not nationals of the country of assignment are eligible to apply to this position
Hardship LevelA (least hardship)
Family TypeFamily
Residential location (if applicable)
GradePR2
Staff Member / Affiliate TypeProfessional
* Staff members will not normally serve in International Professional positions in the country of their nationality. In addition, in case of a first appointment upon recruitment, the assignment must be outside the staff memberโs country of nationality.
In practical terms this means that you are not eligible to apply for International Professional vacancies advertised in the country where you are national of.
ReasonRegular > Regular Assignment
Remote work acceptedNo
Target Start Date2023-11-07
Job Posting End DateNovember 28, 2023
Standard Job Description
Associate Human Resources Officer
Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The Associate Human Resources Officer supports the UNHCR's People Strategy and contributes to the implementation of the 2018 independent Human Resources review, which resulted in the establishment of HR strategic priorities and the reconfiguration and transformation of the Division of Human Resources (DHR) from a largely transactional model into a strategic business partner for field operations and senior management. Having the right people in the right place at the right time is at the core of enabling UNHCR to protect and respond to persons of concern. By attracting, retaining and developing a talented, diverse and agile workforce while nurturing a culture of excellence, respect and wellbeing for all, UNHCR's Human Resources acts as a strategic partner to the organization, enabling a people-centric culture.
The Associate Human Resources Officer provides support and assistance in the areas of operational support, workforce planning, assignments and talent acquisition, organizational cultural changes, HR policy implementation and duty of care. The incumbent maintains employee confidence and protects the organization and its workforce by keeping human resources information confidential.
The Associate Human Resources Officer is usually supervised by the HR Officer or Senior HR Officer or Head of Office in a Country Operation, or the most senior HR staff in a Regional Bureau. She/he usually supervises HR General Service staff.
The incumbent maintains a direct working relationship with a number of units within the Division of Human Resources (DHR). The incumbent also works closely with the Senior HR Partner, the Senior Medical Officer and the Senior Staff counsellor for his/her region.
All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR's core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.
Duties
Workforce Operational Support:
- Assist in implementation of HR initiatives that support organizational culture change such as good people management practices, and promoting gender, inclusion and diversity.
- Implement HR operational activities to ensure timely provision of HR solutions, prioritizing according to the needs and risks.
- Contribute to the development of a HR customer service-oriented culture that values proactivity, continuous improvement, innovation and high performance.
- Provide support, guidance and trainings to HR staff.
Assignments and Talent Acquisition:
- Coordinate the process of recruitment, assignment and reassignment of locally-recruited staff and affiliate workforce, also assisting with set up and running of (Regional) Assignments Committee where relevant.
- Assist in organizing outreach campaigns to attract diverse applicants. Ensure proper consideration is given to all applicants without distinction on the grounds of race, color, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.
- Analyse, track and report on recruitment and assignments trends for management, including efforts to reach gender parity.
- Take a proactive approach to risk management in the areas of recruitment, ensuring the issues are identified, addressed and reported and, where appropriate, escalated.
Advice to managers and staff, and contribution to an inclusive work environment:
- Build dialog and outreach with staff; answer questions, and provide information to staff as to where to go for help or ask questions.
- Be proactive in identifying issues, themes and patterns affecting the workforce's health and welfare, including sexual harassment and abuse of authority.
- Ensure that on-boarding, induction, re-integration into the workplace and off-boarding support, is provided to colleagues. Induction programmes should include information on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) and Sexual Harassment, Code of Conduct as well as workforce's rights and obligations.
HR policies and inter-agency:
- Enforce compliance with UNHCR's Human Resources policies and procedures and the UN staff rules, regulations and UNHCR administrative instructions.
- Participate in the ICSC survey on living conditions and classification of duty stations as well as in the UN Country Team local staff salary survey and other local inter-agency HR-related fora and initiatives.
Duty of Care:
- Contribute to establishing and maintaining a medical evacuation plan with senior management, Field safety and the Senior Medical Officer.
- Assist in the security and medical evacuations of UNHCR personnel.
- Support the implementation of a Duty of Care strategy. Identify and assess issues related to duty of care including physical, mental health and safety of UNHCR's workforce, promoting workforce balance.
For positions in Regional Bureaux only:
In the absence of a Senior Talent Development Officer in the Bureau:
- Contribute to the implementation of a talent development strategy for UNHCR workforce in the region, in line with UNHCR's needs and staff members' career planning.
- Contribute to the implementation of a talent sourcing and acquisition plan to identify talent mainly among but not limited to national staff and affiliate workforce in the region.
- Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility. Ensure decision making in risk based in the functional area of work. Raise risks, issues and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleague(s).
- Perform other related duties as required.
Minimum Qualifications
Education & Professional Work Experience
Years of Experience / Degree Level
For P2/NOB - 3 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 2 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 1 year relevant experience with Doctorate degree
Field(s) of Education
Human Resources Management; Human Resources Development; Personnel Administration;
Business Administration; or other relevant field.
Certificates and/or Licenses
Not specified.
Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Experience working in Human Resources. Knowledge of general HR policies, processes and systems.
Desirable
Experience in one or more of the following areas: HR Administration, workforce planning, recruitment, HR policy or talent development. Experience in HR information technology systems and tools. Experience in field humanitarian operations and/or emergency settings. Experience working with the United Nations. Experience working in a multi-cultural setting.
Functional Skills
HR-Local mass recruitment
HR-Talent Development and Nurturing
HR-HR data and people analytics
HR-Employee Relationship Management
SO-Learning Agility
HR-HR Business Partnering
MG-Client Relationship Management
HR-Inclusion, Diversity and Gender strategy design and implementation
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)
Language Requirements
For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.
For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.
All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination and abuse of power.
As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.
This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.
Desired Candidate Profile The candidate will work in a challenging and complex regional environment, therefore high level of organizational awareness as well as excellent organizational and coordination skills are required. Drafting skills and excellent command of both in English and French languages are very important considering that RBSAโs AOR covers Anglophone as well as Francophone operations. The candidate is expected to work independently, be very client oriented, able to find solutions for individual cases, be open minded and innovative. Ability to handle HR matters with tact, diplomacy, respect for confidentiality is a basic requirement. Demonstrated ability to set priorities and to adjust to constantly changing operational needs are required. S/he is expected to possess high level of computer literacy including being highly conversant with Workday, OHI and COMPASS. The candidate should be a team player, goal oriented, able to coordinate work to meet agreed priorities and deadlines. As the candidate will fill a strategic position in a Bureau environment, s/he is expected to have a clear understanding of the HR transformation process in UNHCR and how it impacts and translates into his/her daily duties. Knowledge in the management of AWF personnel is an added value, as well as good capacity building skills/training experience. Prior documented experience in annual operations program reviews, staffing and budget reviews is equally important. Good people management skills and the ability to create and maintain an enabling work environment are important.
Required languages (expected Overall ability is at least B2 level):
,
,
Desired languagesFrench
,
,
Operational context
Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:
To view occupational safety and health considerations for this duty station, please visit this link:
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel
Nature of Position:
The incumbent of this position is located in the Regional Bureau for Southern Africa reporting to the HR Officer and providing support to the Snr HR Partner in the development of different HR strategic initiatives. S/he acts as focal point for MIP related matters and MEDEVACs in the region. S/he will coordinate the personal administration matters for locally recruited staff in the Regional Bureau. S/he will be involved in regional workforce planning, in the annual operations program review, therefore prior experience in these activities is highly important. S/he will also be involved in the oversight of vacancy management processes in the region and vacancy management of national and international positions in the RB. S/he will also work closely with the RAC of RBSA, as (alternate) ex-officio of the RAC. S/he will support the HR Officer to oversee HR related activities in the region (Angola, Malawi, DRC, ROC, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe) and support managers whenever needed. S/he will be dealing with a variety of different operational settings, from emergencies to stable operations, therefore the nature of HR services and advice provided to the countries will have to be tailored to their needs. French language knowledge is highly desirable.
Living and Working Conditions:
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province in South Africa. It is one of the country's two capital cities serving as the executive (administrative) and de facto national capital. The other is Cape Town, the legislative capital. The Central Business District (CBD) of Pretoria has been the traditional centre of government and commerce, although today many corporate offices, small businesses, shops, and government departments are situated in the sprawling suburbs of the city rather than the CBD or in Johannesburg. The city has a population of approximately 1,985,997 as well as large number of foreign nationals.
Pretoria has over the years had very diverse cultural influences and this is reflected in the architectural styles that can be found in the city. The main languages spoken in Pretoria are Pedi, Afrikaans, Tswana, Tsonga, Zulu and English. Ndebele and Sotho are also widely spoken. The living class in Pretoria can be classified as middle to high income earners. The living conditions in South Africa are generally very good. Housing and basic commodities are readily available. The country has an abundance of health providers of all sectors. The country's infrastructure and communication facilities are of international standard and are amongst the best in the African continent. However, in the last couple of years, the electricity generation has been facing challenges and there are scheduled power cuts on a regular basis.
Depending on schooling needs some staff opt to live in Johannesburg (approx. 40 min one way from Pretoria). Crime continues to be of concern and has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and power cuts. Burglaries (house break-ins) and carjacking are common and those involved are often armed. ATM fraud is also rampant as well as financial related cyber-crime. Even though the position is based in Pretoria, the incumbent is expected to travel on missions to remote locations in the field, where the quality of life and working conditions would be challenged alongside with security concerns.
Additional Qualifications
Skills
EducationBachelor of Arts (BA): Business Administration, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Human Resource Development, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Human Resources Management, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Personnel Administration
Certifications
Work ExperienceNumber of Workforce in Operation/Work Setting, Workforce to Supervise
CompetenciesAccountability, Analytical thinking, Change capability & adaptability, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Empowering & building trust, Managing performance, Managing resource, Organizational awareness, Planning & organizing, Teamwork & collaboration
UNHCR Salary Calculator
https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales
Compendium Add. 1 to Bi-annual Compendium 2023 - Part B
Additional Information
Functional clearanceThis position doesn't require a functional clearance