Human Resources Officer, P3, Damascus At UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships

The 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 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 Human Resources Officer plays a critical role. The main areas of work of the 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 Human Resources Officer is usually supervised by Head of Office, or Senior HR Officer 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.
– Support HR initiatives that support organizational culture change such as good people management practices, and promoting gender, inclusion and diversity.
– Plan and implement HR operational activities to ensure timely provision of HR solutions, prioritizing according to the needs and risks.
Assignments and Talent Acquisition:
– Manage 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.
– Conduct outreach campaigns to attract diverse applicants. Ensure proper consideration is given to all applicants without discrimination.
– 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 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:
– Enforce 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 development and sourcing 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 P3/NOC – 6 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 5 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 4 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
Not specified

Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Experience working in Human Resources. UNHCR HR certification is a plus. Sound knowledge of general HR policies, processes and systems.
Desirable
Proven ability to identify and implement successful business related HR interventions. Experience in some 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-Coordination and Oversight of Workforce Mobility
HR-HR data and people analytics
HR-Employee Relationship Management
SO-Critical Thinking and problem solving
SO-Situational Judgement
SO-Learning Agility
HR-HR Business Partnering
HR-Inclusion, Diversity and Gender strategy design and implementation
RM-Risk Management
(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

-Experience in supervision of large HR team at Country Office level
-Knowledge of Arabic language would be an advantage

Required languages (expected Overall ability is at least B2 level):

,

Desired languages

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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 is expected to have a strong grip of HR rules and regulations, with the ability to interpret the rules and properly advise staff on different entitlements and applications. The HR Officer will also be heavily involved in recruitment and vacancy-management. The uncertainty and complexity of the operational requirements continue to drive extensive staffing reviews. Thus, timely staffing submissions in line with the Resource Allocation Framework Policy is critical to the smooth delivery of the operation, be it under regular staffing and/or affiliate workforce. The HR Officer will provide support and guidance and oversee all staffing activities at the Country Office in Damascus as well as all the Sub/Field Offices in Syria. The incumbent of this position should possess strong technical HR knowledge, should be very familiar with MSRP, COMPASS applications. Experience in emergency operations is a plus. S/he should have advanced skills in planning and coordinating the work of the staff in the HR unit of the office. Great understanding and experience in applying the policy on Recruitment and Assignment of Locally Recruited Staff (RALS) is mandatory for this position. the incumbent must have a proven record of relevant experience in human resources management in large-scale emergency operations, in addition to possessing sound technical knowledge and experience in recruitment, benefits management and MIP claims processing. Great sense of initiative and leadership as well as teambuilding skills are required for this position. A Proven record of good inter-personal skills and team spirit is paramount to the nature of the culture and staff of UNHCR Syria. The incumbent of this position needs to demonstrate his/her ability to be creative in a very challenging situation and be result/action oriented. S/he should be able to work effectively with people from all backgrounds and be comfortable in working with a large workforce. In addition, political sensitivity, effective resource management skills, performance orientation, pro activeness and maturity are crucial for effective management of the workforce and ensuring the best results in the operation.

Living and Working Conditions:

Syria operation is currently the biggest UNHCR operation and is expected to continue to grow. It has two major areas of responsibilities: response to Iraq refugees and emergency assistance for IDPs. The major challenging factor of the operation is the very unstable security situation all over the country that requires flexible administration and immediate support and assistance for all staff in the operation. The incumbent of this position will be directly supervising the Human Resources Management unit in Country Office Damascus. S/he will provide human resources policy oversight and functional guidance to ensure consistent application of the relevant policies, rules and regulations in the Syrian operation. S/he will provide human resources support to all offices throughout the Operation, including in the five field locations: Aleppo, Homs, Qamishli, Sweida, Tartous and Deir-Ezor. With such broad responsibilities for human resources management, The present security situation in Syria creates pressures at work and in daily life, as priorities are frequently upended for other urgent ad hoc tasks. The incumbent should be prepared to work under such conditions and be able to manage stressful situations. Damascus Syria is a non-family duty station with a four-week R&R cycle and the security situation remains volatile. All UN staff based in Damascus are all accommodated in the Four Seasons Hotel Damascus as per UNDSS recommendation.

Additional Qualifications

Skills

Education

BA: Business Administration (Required), BA: Human Resource Development (Required), BA: Human Resources Management (Required), BA: Personnel Administration (Required)

Certifications

Work Experience

Annual Budget OL in Operation/Office, Number of Workforce in Operation/Work Setting, Workforce to Supervise

Competencies

Accountability, Analytical thinking, Change capability & adaptability, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Empowering & building trust, Judgement & decision making, Managing performance, Managing resource, Organizational awareness, Planning & organizing, Teamwork & collaboration

UNHCR Salary Calculator

https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales

Compendium

March 2023 Compendium – Part B

Additional Information

Functional clearance

This position doesn’t require a functional clearance