Human Resources Assistant (GS-6), Asunción, Paraguay #508631

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

General Service Staff are recruited locally. Candidates must be citizen/resident of Paraguay or in possession of an existing work permit to be considered eligible for this post. Candidates are personally responsible for any travel and accommodation arrangements.

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

For every child, a champion

Under the supervision and guidance of the Human Resources or Operations Officer/Specialist/Manager, the Human Resources Assistant provides administrative, procedural, technical and operational support and assistance to the efficient implementation of the HR business partnering approach, covering a broad range of Human Resources functions for all categories of staff in his/her office, ensuring accurate and timely delivery, whilst promoting a client-based, quality and results orientated approach to the unit and ensuring compliance with UNICEF HR rules and regulations. 

How can you make a difference?

The efficiency and efficacy of the support and assistance provided by the Human Resources Assistant supports the HR business partnering approach and the strengthening of the offices’ capacity in attracting, retaining and motivating staff of the highest caliber within his/her office, which in turn strengthens UNICEF’s capacity in helping the most vulnerable women and children in a particular country programme.

We are looking for a dynamic and innovative Human Resources Assistant to support UNICEF’s Paraguay programmes in the following areas:

• Support in organization design and job classification
• Support in recruitment and placement
• Assistance and guidance in requesting entitlements and benefits, and provide orientation briefings to newly arrived staff
• Serve as attendance focal point
• Support in Staff Performance Management and career development
• Support in learning and development
• Support in Change Management

Support in organization design and job classification

• Participates in the review of GS/NO/IP positions specific JDs, ensuring effective application of ICSC methodology.
• Drafts and edits job descriptions to be submitted for classification for review by supervisor.
• Follows up and liaises with HQ and RO over status of requests to ensure timely completion.
• Compiles and analyses information and statistics related to posts and staff for reports on staffing trends.
• Prepares documents to be submitted for classification to RO and NYHQ, ensuring completeness of documentation
• Monitors life-cycle of all job classification requests to facilitate recruitment and organization planning.

Support in recruitment and placement including Consultants 

• In coordination with the HRBP, plan recruitment processes, monitor implementation and update chronogram of activities as required.
• In consultation with the supervisor, carry out the recruitment process of international / national professional officers, general services, and temporary staff according to UN/UNICEF rules, regulations, procedures and policies and within the Key Performance Indicators.
• Review compliance of job descriptions with UNICEF standards, arrange internal and/or external advertisement (s) in consultation with supervisors.
• Ensure timely and efficient screening of applications for minimum eligibility, taking into account qualifications, competencies, and post requirements.
• Analyze, research, verify, and compile data which facilitates preparation of workforce planning reports for supervisor to review against benchmarks i.e. Gender and geographical balance and other recruitment related key performance indicators.
• Liaises with candidates in the various stages of the recruitment process.
• Prepares regret letters.
• Records and maintains recruitment files, ensuring all necessary documentation has been prepared.
• Monitors life-cycle of recruitment process to update supervisor as necessary.

• Ensure KPIs are respected and monitored on a regular basis.

Assistance and guidance on requesting entitlements and benefits and provide orientation briefing to newly arrived staff. 

• Assists international and local staff, to prepare documentation related to entitlements in accordance with UN/UNICEF rules and regulations (e.g. education grant, dependency allowances, and language allowances) and, exceptionally, submit them to the corresponding GSSC area.
• In consultation with supervisor, analyze, research, verify, and compile data and information on cases that do not conform to UN or UNICEF’s HR Rules & Regulations, to support consistent and equitable application of decisions and implementation of agreed upon action.
• Ensures appropriate and timely actions for renewals of contracts, promotions, within grade increments, etc.
• In consultation with supervisor, analyze, research and verify information for the purpose of responding to staff queries on areas related to benefits and entitlements, identify trends and propose improvements to processes, practices, and/or policy.
• Liaises with the GSSC to follow up on requests (Onboarding, Maintenance, Offboarding) as needed.
• Certifies travel entitlements on initial appointment, reassignment and repatriation.

Serve as attendance focal point

• Maintains and updates a system which monitors the attendance of staff.
• Supports supervisor in promoting and overseeing flexible working arrangements in the office.
• Recording of overtime and compensatory time.

Support in Staff Performance Management and career development

• Monitors completion of Performance evaluations at the Country Office
• Supports supervisor in promoting a culture of candid, positive and timely feedback in the office.
• Reviews and analyses information regarding career development and supports supervisor in identifying career development challenges and opportunities.

Support in learning and development

• Supports in the planning and implementation of the office learning & development plan
• In consultation with supervisor, researches and analyses data and information to help identify training needs within his/her country office for the development of learning plans and other targeted training interventions. Facilitates the reporting on achievement/impact of training via use of agreed indicators of success
• Assists team in organizing and conducting courses, workshops and events by participating in exercises which aim to build capacity of stakeholders.
• Assists teams in organizing and conducting courses, workshops and events by preparing and organizing distribution of materials for participants, ensuring availability of training venues and required equipment and supplies, while providing logistical and secretarial support at workshops and events as necessary.

Support in Change Management

• Supports in the implementation of change management activities, such as implementation of new system and policies, PBR processes, etc.

• Within the Operations Section, can fill in for other positions when needed; i.e. administrative assistant

Competencies of Successful Candidate

Core Values:

• Commitment
• Diversity and inclusion
• Integrity

Core competencies

• Communication (II)
• Working with people (II)
• Drive for results (II)

Functional Competencies

• Analyzing (II)
• Applying technical expertise (II)
• Planning and organizing (II)
• Following Instructions and Procedures (II)

Qualifications of Successful Candidate:

• Education: Completion of secondary education, supplemented by technical or university courses in the field of Human Resources.
  University degree, particularly in Human Resources/Administration, will be an asset
• Experience: A minimum of 6 years of progressively responsible work experience in human resources is required. Exposure to multi-cultural or international environment will be considered as an asset
• Language: Fluency in Spanish and English required.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organization.