Human Resources Officer

UNDP Afghanistan Mission Statement:

UNDP supports stabilization, state-building, governance and development priorities in Afghanistan. UNDP support, in partnership with the Government, the United Nations system, the donor community and other development stakeholders, has contributed to institutional development efforts leading to positive impact on the lives of Afghan citizens. Over the years UNDP support has spanned such milestone efforts as the adoption of the Constitution; Presidential, Parliamentary and Provincial Council elections; institutional development through capacity-building to the legislative, the judicial and executive arms of the state, and key ministries, Government agencies and commissions at the national and subnational levels. UNDP has played a key role in the management of the Law and Order Trust Fund, which supports the Government in developing and maintaining the national police force and in efforts to stabilize the internal security environment. Major demobilization, disarmament and rehabilitation and area-based livelihoods and reconstruction programmes have taken place nationwide. UNDP Programmes in Afghanistan have benefited from the very active support of donors. UNDP Afghanistan is committed to the highest standards of transparency and accountability and works in close coordination with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the UN system as a whole to maximize the impact of its development efforts on the ground.

Organizational Context :

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is committed to augmenting the capacity of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan’s (GIROA) to administer rule of law and improve security for all Afghan citizens.  As the lead rule of law institution in the country, improving the ability of the Ministry of Interior Affairs (MOIA) to fulfill its mandate remains critical to the overall stability of Afghanistan and its people.  As the UN’s primary development agency, and a longstanding development partner to GIROA’s rule of law and security sector, UNDP Afghanistan plays a leading role in facilitating reform and development of MOIA.  The MOIA & Police Development (MPD) project, principle objectives are to (1) improve MOIA’s ability to lead and manage reform, (2) ensure efficiency improvements in key police service functions and (3) improve public confidence in the police force through accountability and democratic policing standards and approaches.  These objectives are programmed under two components of the MPD project, Institutional Development and Police Professionalization.

The MPD project utilizes global expertise from within the UN system, private sector firms as well as newly established South-South Cooperation Frameworks in order to deliver highly contextual and relevant advisory support.  It works through three principle programming streams – legal/policy, institutional and individual capacity – in order to foster systemic and lasting change.  The project also works in close collaboration with strategic partners, including the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and German Police Project Team (GPPT), in order to deliver upon these common objectives.

THE POSITION:

In December 2016, MOIA endorsed a “Civilianization Roadmap”, which outlines a comprehensive strategy to improve its technical capacities in critical management and administrative functions (non-policing areas) within the MOIA.  Under this Roadmap, MOIA and its partners agreed to carry out a series of actions that will determine these technical needs, whereby technically qualified civilian staff can be recruited to support these key functions.  The effort to recruit competent civilian staff in place of existing uniformed officers is part of MOIA’s broader reform agenda, which is being technically supported by UNDP’s MPD project. 

In this regard, the MPD project seeks to recruit an HR Officer that will provide high quality and technically relevant advice and support in order to facilitate implementation of MOIA’s Civilianization Roadmap as well as other HR reform efforts.  The HR Officer will work under the overall supervision of the Chief Technical Advisor for Institutional Development.  S/he is also expected to work in close partnership and coordination with the broader UNDP team supporting civilianization at MOIA.  S/he will be expected to carry out the following key functions: 1. Coordinate, advise and support implementation of HR aspects the MOIA Civilianization Roadmap; 2. Provide technical capacity building support to relevant MOIA directorates responsible for human resource management functions; 3. Support project planning, coordination and implementation; and 4.  Strengthen UNDP’s partnership and stakeholder engagement. 

Coordinate, advise and support implementation of HR aspects the MOIA Civilianization Roadmap:

• Provide timely, high quality technical support on HR-specific components of the MOIA Civilianization Roadmap including, workforce analysis, functional reviews, organizational design, development of job descriptions, uniform-to-civilian transfers, among other areas;
• Develop concept notes, options papers, presentations and other guidance material to help facilitate stakeholder decision-making on key aspects of HR reform issues within the MOIA;
• Provide support, as may be required, to the review of HR regulations, policies and procedures;
• Work collaboratively with the broader UNDP team including the UNDP Country Office, international/national consultants as well as UNDP’s project teams to facilitate implementation of the Roadmap and other HR-specific reforms;
• Participate in and actively contribute to technical working groups;
• Provide secretariat, administrative and logistical support as may be required to ensure project activities are carried out in a timely manner.

Provide technical capacity building support to relevant MOIA directorates responsible for human resource management functions:

• Identify and anlayse capacity gaps within MOIA’s human resource management system and develop actionable plans to enhance institutional capacity;
• Design, organize and administer regular trainings, workshops and other capacity building measures to improve knowledge, awareness and application of best practices in HR management;
• Provide on-the-job training support and coaching as may be required;
• Support in identifying and codifying measures to improve MOIA staff retention and career development opportunities or other schemes;
• Liaise with and work in strong partnership with the MPD’s ICT/ERP team as well as UNDP Support to Payroll Management (SPM) project in order to coordinate HR system-related improvements and enhancements;
• Support in identifying measures to streamline the HR cycle including options to re-engineer, automate and digitize processes. 

Support project planning, coordination and implementation

• Together with project counterparts, work with the CTA and MPD/ID team to identify new areas of support and facilitate implementation of new initiatives;
• Work closely with the UNDP Project M&E Specialist to ensure that Monitoring and Evaluation data for Project component are delivered in a timely manner and in an appropriate format;
• Support in the development of concept notes, briefing notes, minutes, presentations and other programming communication products as may be required;
• Oversee the contribution to weekly, bi-monthly, quarterly, mid-year, annual and any other reporting;
• Support translation of key documents, meetings and workshops as and when required
• Ensure compliance of operation with UNDP rules and regulations; and
• Provide administrative and logistical support as required to ensure effective implementation of project activities are the Regional/sub-national level.

Strengthen UNDP’s partnership and stakeholder engagement

• Liaise with and closely coordinate UNDP’s support on civilianization/HR reform with key MOIA, GIROA and international stakeholders;
• Identify and foster, where applicable, institutional partnerships with other line ministries, UN agencies, NGOs, CSOs and other external stakeholders;
• Cross-fertilize lessons learned and good practices from other Afghan ministry HR reform efforts;
• Ensure project stakeholders are kept up to date of the project’s progress through the (sub) technical groups and other multi-stakeholder platforms; and
• Regularly contribute to the development of timely communication and outreach material as may be required.

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates high standards of integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religious, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:

• Fully proficient computer skills and use of relevant software and other applications, for example, word processing, spreadsheets, internet, PowerPoint and database packages,
• A team player and self-starter able to inspire and influence action;
• Mature judgment combined with a proactive, resourceful and energetic approach to problem solving. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills; and strong organizational and time management skills;
• Capacity to work under pressure and to meet strict deadlines;
• Demonstrated behavior of professional and personal ethics, transparency and openness;
• Willingness to undertake regular field visits and interact with different stakeholders, especially with primary stakeholders.

Education:

• Master or Bachelor degree in business or public administration, HR, public policy, development, law or a related discipline.

Experience:

• A minimum of 2 years with Master or 4 years with a Bachelors Degree of progressively responsible professional working experience in the area of human resource management and capacity building.
• Demonstrated experience working with public sector institutions on HR issues, preferably within the scope of HR reform, is required. 
• Previous experiencing in project planning, monitoring and offering solution-oriented guidance is a must.  
• experience in
• Intermediate to advanced use of MS Office including PowerPoint and Word.
• Ability to coordinate different stakeholders in a complex work environment.

Language Requirements:

• Excellent English communication skills (particularly writing) as well as Dari and Pashto languages skills (speaking and writing).

Important applicant information

All posts in the SC categories are subject to local recruitment.

Applicant information about UNDP rosters

Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

Workforce diversity

UNDP is committed to achieving diversity within its workforce, and encourages all qualified applicants, irrespective of gender, nationality, disabilities, sexual orientation, culture, religious and ethnic backgrounds to apply. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.

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