STAFF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

Org. Setting and ReportingThis position is located in the Language and Communication Training Unit (LCTU), Capacity Development and Operational Training Service (CDOTS), Office of Support Operations (OSO), Department of Operational Support (DOS). The Department of Operational Support (DOS) was established to provide end-to-end operational support, advisory services, staff capacity development and other solutions to operational entities across the Secretariat, including departments, offices away from headquarters, field missions and regional commissions. The Language and Communication Training Unit is responsible for the training in communications and is responsible for the staff development and language training in all six official languages of the United Nations for all Secretariat staff”. The Staff Development Officer will act as Chief of the LCTU and will report to the Chief of Service. ResponsibilitiesWithin limits of delegated authority, the Staff Development Officer will be responsible for the following duties: General • Develops and implements new human resources policies, practices and procedures to meet the evolving needs of the Organization, especially those related to language and communications learning, learning policies, staff development and operational support. • Monitors and ensures the implementation of human resources policies, practices and procedures. • Keeps abreast of developments in various areas of human resources. • Prepares reports and participates and/or leads special human resources development project, particularly on multilingualism and language and communications learning. • May plan, organize, manage, supervise and evaluate the work of the Unit. Recruitment and placement • Projects and monitors vacant posts of the unit and ensures adherence to policies and procedures in filling these posts. • Recommends guidelines on promotion and placement of staff. • Oversees preparation of vacancy announcements, reviews applications and provides short-lists to substantive offices. • Arranges and conducts interviews for selection of candidates. • Reviews recommendation on the selection of candidate. • Prepares job offers for successful candidates. • Participates in task forces and working groups identifying issues/problems, formulating policies and guidelines, and establishing new procedures. • Represents the Unit with full delegation of authority in discussions with senior government officials on recruitment and other human resources matters. Plans, organizes, develops, coordinates and administers the Language professionals examinations and other programmes and tests related to recruitment of professional, general service and other categories of staff. Staff development and career support • Oversees, identifies and analyzes staff development and career support needs and design of programmes to meet identified needs. Oversees, prepares monitoring reports on staff development and career support programmes. • Analyzes staff development and career support plans to ensure that they are consistent with the overall organizations goals, policies on staff development and career support, and the respective mandates. • Evaluates effectiveness and impact of staff development and career support programmes and recommends ways to enhance effectiveness and impact. • Provides advice on mobility and career development to staff at all levels in all categories. • Provides performance management advice to staff and management. Assists supervisors and staff with understanding and using the performance appraisal system (PAS). • Assesses training needs, identifies, designs and delivers training programmes, particularly in language and communications to staff at all levels throughout the Organization. • Formulates examination policies and develops and prepares examination questions and papers. Other duties • Advises and counsels staff in respect of rights, responsibilities, code of conduct and difficulties associated with work and entitlements. • Monitors staff mandated work and identifies/proposes appropriate programmes and remedial action, particularly related to multilingualism, language and communications learning and operational support development. • Monitors, advises and acts on disciplinary matters in accordance with established policies and procedures. Mediates conflict, grievance and harassment cases within the team. • Supervises and monitors the work of the LCTU staff in undertaking the full range of LCTU management activities. • Represents the management in classification appeal cases. • Conducts and coordinates language training surveys, including assessing the labour market at Headquarters and in the field and proposes salaries and related allowances of contractors. • Prepares classification analysis of jobs in Professional and General Service and related categories for the team. • Provides guidance to programme managers on the application of classification policies and procedures and by undertaking whole office review. • Conducts research in preparing policy papers, position papers and briefing notes on issues related to examinations and tests. Competencies• Professionalism: Knowledge of human resources policies, practices and procedures and ability to apply them in an organizational setting. Ability to manage and implement language learning programmes, as well as capacity development and training best practices, including those related to e-learning. Ability to identify issues, formulate opinions, make conclusions and recommendations. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work. • Creativity: Actively seeks to improve programmes or services; offers new and different options to solve problems or meet client needs; promotes and persuades others to consider new ideas; takes calculated risks on new and unusual ideas; thinks “outside the box”; takes an interest in new ideas and new ways of doing things; is not bound by current thinking or traditional approaches. • Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client. Managerial Competencies • Leadership: Serves as a role model that other people want to follow: empowers others to translate vision into results; is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives; establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support; anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions; drives for change and improvements; does not accept the status quo; shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing. EducationAdvanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent degree) in human resources management, business or public administration, social sciences, education or related field. A first-level university degree in combination with two years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. Job - Specific QualificationNot available. Work ExperienceA minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience in human resources management, administration or related area is required. Experience in budgeting, developing, implementing, managing and communicating on learning & development programmes is required. Experience of team management is desirable. Experience in developing e-learning, evaluation and impact assessment in learning language programmes for adults is desirable. Experience in administering student learning in Learning Management Systems (LMS) is desirable. LanguagesEnglish and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position(s) advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is desirable. AssessmentEvaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview. Special NoticeThis position is extrabudgetary funding and is temporarily available for three months. If the selected candidate is a staff member from the United Nations Secretariat, the selection will be administered as a temporary assignment. Subject to the funding source of the position, the eligibility for this temporary job opening may be limited to candidates based at the duty station. While this temporary assignment may provide the successful applicant with an opportunity to gain new work experience, the selection for this position is for a limited period and has no bearing on the future incumbency of the post. This temporary job opening may be limited to “internal candidates,” who have been recruited through a competitive examination administered according to staff rule 4.16 or staff selection process including the review of a central review body established according to staff rule 4.15. Staff members of the United Nations common system organizations who will reach the mandatory age of separation or retirement within the duration of the current temporary need period are not eligible to apply. Submitting an application or selection for the current temporary job opening does not delay or increase the mandatory age of separation. Retirees above the mandatory age of separation who wish to be considered for the current temporary job opening must indicate the reason for their last separation as \"retirement.\" Such retirees shall not be employed by the Organization, unless (a) the operational requirements of the Organization cannot be met by staff members who are qualified and available to perform the required functions; and (b) the proposed employment would not adversely affect the career development or redeployment opportunities of other staff members and represents both a cost-effective and operationally sound solution to meet the needs of the service. The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance and geographical diversity in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position. At the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the recruitment and employment of staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due regard to geographic diversity. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. The United Nations is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The United Nations recruits and employs staff regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds or disabilities. Reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities may be provided to support participation in the recruitment process when requested and indicated in the application. United Nations ConsiderationsAccording to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment. Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised. This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions. Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on “Manuals” in the “Help” tile of the inspira account-holder homepage. The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application. Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date. No FeeTHE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.