Senior Human Resources Officer

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The Senior 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 Senior Human Resources Officer contributes to the development of a HR customer service-oriented culture that values proactivity, continuous improvement, innovation and high performance. By translating operational needs into workforce action and individual development needs, the Senior Human Resources Officer plays a critical role in partnering with management and the workforce. The main areas of work of the Senior Human Resources Officer include the implementation of HR policies, staff administration, workforce planning, recruitment, and talent development with inclusion, diversity and gender as a cross-cutting issue. S/he will also support the implementation of the staff health and counselling plans and in fostering an inclusive and respectful working environment. The incumbent maintains employee confidence and protects the organization and its workforce by keeping human resource information confidential.

The Senior Human Resources Officer is usually supervised by the Representative, Deputy or Assistant Representative responsible for HR in a Country Operation, or the most senior HR staff in a Regional Bureau. She/he supervises HR Professional and General Service staff.
The incumbent maintains a direct working relationship with a number of functions across the Division of Human Resources (DHR). For positions in Bureaux or Country Operations, the incumbent also works closely with the Senior HR Partner, the Senior Medical Officer and Senior Staff counsellor for his/her region.
He/she also maintains contact and close cooperation with other UN agencies in the region or country and represent UNHCR in the working groups/task forces within country/regional UN inter-agency mechanisms.
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
Strategic workforce advice and operational support:

Engage with management to understand priorities, and provide advice and solutions on all aspects of HR in line with delegated HR authorities.
Sponsor HR initiatives that support organizational culture change such as good people management practices, and promoting gender, inclusion and diversity.
Lead HR operational activities to ensure timely provision of HR solutions, prioritizing according to the needs and risks.
Assignments and Talent Acquisition:
Oversee the process of recruitment, assignment and reassignment of locally-recruited staff and affiliate workforce, ensuring compliance with UNHCR rules and procedures, and providing advice to managers where required.
Set up and run (Regional) Assignments Committee.
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 to provide support with their queries; and also promote dialog between staff and management to help find solutions to HR-related issues.
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:
Ensure compliance with UNHCR’s Human Resources policies and procedures and the UN staff rules, regulations and UNHCR administrative instructions.
Participate in a network among HR staff members in the region in order to harmonize implementation of HR policies and initiatives, collect field insights to inform the development of DHR policies and activities; identify and share HR best practices, also through contacts with other UN agencies.
Duty of Care:
Contribute to establishing and maintaining a medical evacuation plan with senior management, Field safety and the Senior Medical Officer.
Support the development and 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. Promote work/life balance and flexible working arrangements with managers and staff.
For positions in Regional Bureaux only:
In the absence of a Senior Talent Development Officer in the Bureau:
Implement a talent sourcing and development strategy for UNHCR workforce in the region, in line with UNHCR’s needs and staff members’ career planning.
Equip HR teams and Managers in the region with skills on people management and tools related to talent development, career guidance and performance management.
Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications
Education & Professional Work Experience
Years of Experience / Degree Level
For P4/NOD – 9 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 8 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 7 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree
Field(s) of Education
Human Resources Management; Human Resource Development; Personnel Administration;
Business Administration; or other relevant field.

(Field(s) of Education marked with an asterisk* are essential)
Certificates and/or Licenses
UNHCR HR certification
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)
Relevant Job Experience
Essential:
Experience working in Human Resources. UNHCR HR certification is a plus. Sound knowledge of general HR policies, processes and systems. Managerial experience.
Desirable:
Proven ability to identify and implement successful business related HR interventions. Experience in some of the following areas: workforce planning, organizational design, 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.
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.
How to apply:
Interested applicants should submit their application online on the UNHCR Careers Page at https://www.unhcr.org/careers.html by clicking on “Vacancies”.
Closing date for applications: 11 November 2019 (midnight Geneva time).
The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.