UN Women: HR Specialist – HR Policy, Organizational Design and Performance Management

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

The Human Resource Division is responsible for the timely, accurate, equitable, effective and efficient delivery of all human resources management services, i.e. strategic staff planning, recruitment, staff administration, organizational and design and learning/career development, for the continuous development and improvement in human resource operations, policies, and methods to align with UN Women evolving business needs, and for providing advisory support to the Executive Director in the formulation and implementation of UN Women's overall mission, strategy and plans of actions.

Under the supervision of the Human Resources Director, the HR Specialist – HR Policy, Organisational Design and Performance Management is responsible for the development and/or revision of human resources policies and procedures, coordination and leading work on organizational design, as well as management of the performance management framework.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide HR policy advice and manage the implementation of HR policies, procedures and guidance to ensure they are in line with UN Women’s goal and objectives and UN Rules and Regulations:

• Develop, revise and implement human resources policies, practices and procedures to meet the evolving needs of the Organization.
• Collaborate with HR functional leads and other colleagues, as necessary, in the development of HR policies, procedures and guidance.
• Monitor and ensure the implementation of human resources policies, practices and procedures.
• Provide policy guidance to all HR teams at headquarters and in the regional and country offices.
• Represent UN Women in Interagency fora related to HR policy matters.
• Prepare HR policy papers, briefing notes, talking points and background papers as needed.

Lead organizational design and job evaluation:

• Oversee and lead the evaluation and classification of jobs and provide technical support to position establishment and reclassification requests.
• Provide training to HR Business partners and other HR team members on job evaluations.
• Lead and coordinate functional analysis support for UN Women offices globally (on demand).
• Provide advice on workforce planning and succession planning in close coordination with HR Business Partners.
• Provide technical guidance on writing job descriptions, performing quality assurance, and maintain UN Women’s job dictionary with standard job profiles.
• Lead HR organisation design support in change management initiatives impacting office typologies and functions.
• Represent HR Division, as necessary, in UN Women meetings related to Strategic Notes, PACs, biannual workplans to ensure the quality of organizational structures and job descriptions, as well as the inclusion of Organizational Effectiveness and Efficiency indicators related to Empowered People.

Manage and oversee the development, revision and implementation of UN Women’s individual performance management framework:

• Develop and manage modern integrated corporate approach to individual performance management and advancement, aligned with UN Women’s Talent Management Approach.
• Oversee the implementation of UN Women’s online performance management and review system, including addressing any technical issues as necessary; provide functional support to supervisors and personnel in understanding and using the performance management system.
• Provide performance management advice to personnel and management, including on under-performance cases and rebuttals.
• Provide policy guidance on performance management to all HR teams at headquarters and in the regional and country offices.
• Oversee the delivery of training and coaching for supervisors and supervisees on the performance management system.
• Monitor the performance planning and compliance through regular reporting and oversight.  
• Represent the HR team in inter-agency fora and working groups related to Performance Management.

Manage and coordinate UN Women HR projects in relation to workforce engagement:

• Initiate the design and oversee the implementation of global workforce surveys and follow up actions.
• Oversee and coordinate global communication  on HR activities, in collaboration with the HR team, including dissemination of internal HR messages through relevant platforms.
• Oversee and manage the content of the HR intranet pages in collaboration with other HR team members.
• Lead or coordinate special initiatives on engagement, including UN Women’s global recognitions programme.
• Coordinate the alignment of initiatives related to creating an inclusive workplace.

Support to reporting and planning in the areas of HR Policy, Organization Design and Performance Management:

• Develop technical and substantive input for Annual reports, Bi-Annual workplans and new HR development proposals.
• Provide regular updates on HR Policy, organizational design and performance progress.
• Provide content for quarterly business reviews, audits, donor reports etc. as needed.

Perform any other duties as assigned by supervisor.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Quality of HR Policies and HR policy advice given to HR colleagues and managers.
• Timely review and updates to HR policy, procedures, and guidance documents (PPG).
• UN Women is well-represented in interagency HR fora.
• Timely and quality advice on functional reviews job evaluation, job classification and HR components in Strategic Notes, programme documents, etc.
• Corporate performance management framework is implemented according to agreed timelines, on scope, on budget and revisions are made on the latest Strategic Notes, Programme Documents and Bi-Annual Workplans.
• Timely and quality implementation of HR projects in line with Bi-Annual workplan.
• Regular dissemination of HR updates and reports as required.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: http://chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/viewer.html?pdfurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.unwomen.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2FHeadquarters%2FAttachments%2FSections%2FAbout%2520Us%2FEmployment%2FUN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf&clen=550174&chunk=true

Functional Competencies:

• Advanced knowledge and expertise in Human Resource Management, and proven knowledge of modern HR policy concepts and approaches. 
• Advanced knowledge and expertise on Organizational Design and Performance Management.
• Strong, demonstrated analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to take initiative and translate knowledge, ideas and strategies into concrete action and results.
• Strong understanding of project management and results-based management.
• Demonstrated negotiating, cultural sensitivity and diplomatic skills. 
• Ability to lead and contribute in cross-functional and diverse teams.
• Ability to take a hands-on approach to implement projects.
• Strong interpersonal, communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to write and present ideas, concepts and policy positions.
• Ability to handle confidential information.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Human Resources, Business Administration, Psychology, Organisational Development, Public Administration or other relevant social sciences.

• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• Minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible experience in human resource management, organizational design and development, change management, programme management and/or related area.
• Experience in HR performance management.
• Experience in job evaluation and functional analysis.
• Experience working in a multicultural environment at the global level.
• Experience working in the field is an asset.
• Experience in the UN system or similar international organization would be preferred.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of another UN official working language is an asset.

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc. Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)