HR Officer - Talent Acquisition (NOA) - Damascus - VA011-2026

Contract Type: Fixed Term

Grade: NOA

Unit: Human Resources
Duration: 12 months
Duty Station: Damascus, Syria

This position is open to Syrian nationals only.

BACKGROUND OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

As Syria navigates a new chapter marked by historic opportunities and enduring challenges, the scale of humanitarian needs remains overwhelming. Today, more than 70 percent of Syria’s population continues to depend on some form of humanitarian assistance. Over half of the population is grappling with food insecurity, with nearly 3 million people facing severe food insecurity.  Around 7 million people remain displaced internally, while more than 4 million are refugees in neighbouring countries. Since December 2024, hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced Syrians have begun returning to their areas of origin. Many more plan to return and will require vital support as they reintegrate.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the largest humanitarian agency operating in Syria since 1964 and is uniquely positioned to support Syrian communities in their recovery through its expansive reach and scale. WFP’s interventions prioritize emergency relief and resilience-building efforts focused on the most severely food insecure populations. Additionally, WFP is a key actor in the country’s social protection sector also plays a vital role in strengthening Syria’s social safety-net systems.

Operating under its 2022-2026 Interim Country Strategic Plan (iCSP), WFP addresses the growing food and nutrition needs livelihood, resilience and early recovery, and reviving food systems, in close collaboration with the Syrian government, humanitarian and development stakeholders.

JOB PURPOSE:

The HR Officer will be leading the Talent Acquisition team and reporting to the Head of HR; the incumbent will contribute to successful people operations for WFP’s Syria Country Office. The ideal candidate has a deep passion for talent acquisition, staying abreast of industry evolution, always looking to introduce new methods and ideas for identifying and engaging top talent; and successfully enlists support from the business for talent attraction, networking and employer branding engagement initiatives and a strong knowledge of the various aspect of talent management.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Contribute towards the development of country specific plans and processes, and deliver HR operational activities or projects, following standard processes and ensuring alignment with wider WFP policies.
• Shape and enhance processes to ensure effective and streamlined talent acquisition strategies putting forward simplifications to contribute to process efficiencies and improvements with the aim of ensuring timely returns.
• Manage the HR talent acquisition team, acting as a mentor and guiding more junior staff.
• Responsible for full cycle recruitments for national positions ensuring transparency, consistency and adherence to HR framework and policies.
• Research availability of diverse talent pools focusing on gender, disability inclusion, to ensure diversity across the operation.
• Engage and partner with managers to understand their specific functional staffing needs and implement solutions to meet these needs, following standard processes and ensuring alignment with wider WFP policies.
• Articulate WFP’s employee value proposition to enhance visibility and reputation in key sourcing channels by carrying out impactful and targeted employer branding activities.
• Build partnerships, develop and maintain strong relationships that include outreach to schools, institutions of higher learning, target diversity organizations, professional associations and other recruiting sources to ensure sourcing produces a strong talent pipeline.
• Contribute to preparation of a regular, accurate reports (i.e, a dynamic dashboard) on talent acquisition activities that enable informed decision-making and consistent information for stakeholders.
• Act as a point of contact for all recruitment related matters for both hiring managers and staff.
• Contribute to staff capability building, working with managers to understand individual skills and business requirements, and organizing/delivering development solutions which equip people with the skills and knowledge required to meet current and future challenges.
• Coordinate internal and external communications with stakeholders and applicants to ensure transparency of processes and act as a focal point for recruitment related queries.
• Other duties as required.

DESIRED EXPERIENCE FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE:

• Has provided direction and instruction to more junior staff members within area of expertise
• Has gained extensive experience providing administrative and systems support across multiple activities in employment life cycle including: recruitment, interviews, training support, and performance management within a country office environment.
• Has had exposure to supervisory responsibilities in previous experiences.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education: ​

• Advanced university degree in Human Resource Management, Public or Business Administration, Industrial Psychology or other relevant field, or First University degree with two additional years of related work experience.

Experience:

• At least one (1) year of postgraduate professional experience in Human Resources with strong experience in recruitment/selection and talent acquisition and with an interest in international humanitarian development.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Experience in sourcing and recruiting hard-to-fill profiles.
• Demonstrated success developing and deploying creative, effective candidate pipeline development methodologies and effective outreach strategies.
• Ability to leverage social media to connect with diverse community to do Employer Branding and recruitment market.
• Knowledge of the Syrian employment Market.
• Knowledge of Talent Acquisition best practices – latest trends (Sourcing, EVP, Selection methodologies, Onboarding, Retention, etc).
• Customer Orientation at any times and very proficient communication skills (verbal – written).
• Experience working as part of a multicultural and diverse team.
• Ability to transfer knowledge, best practices to colleagues in a context-relevant and credible way.
• Strong analytical – reporting skills to compile, maintain, analyze and prepare strong people reports to draw some (initial) conclusions and help key stakeholders make some informed decisions.
• Curiosity to learn, challenge the status quo and positive drive.
• Experience in partnering with senior management and managers is desirable.
• Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Knowledgeable of online recruitment platforms and recruitment systems.

Languages:

• Fluency in spoken and written English and Arabic.