Human Resources Officer

D

Non Family with Residential LocationNon Family with Residential LocationDanger Pay

Yaounde, Cameroon

PR3

Professional

Reason

Regular > Regular Assignment

No

2023-01-27-08:00

February 16, 2023

Human Resources Officer

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.
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- 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.

The preferred candidate should have the required academic and on job training in Human Resources management.

S/he should be results oriented. Knowledge of HR tools, Workday, and the Resource Allocation Framework (related to HR matters) is essential.

S/he should have experience in leading a HR Unit, and in capacity development/coaching of team members. Previous experience as a focal point on performance management in a large and complex operation with the ability to establish and promote an enabling working environment is desirable.

Considering the challenging work environment, the incumbent is expected to possess strong analytical and drafting skills, a pro-active mature attitude to address complex and dynamic staffing situations arising from operational emergencies, as well as the ability to remain calm under stressful environments.

Ability to handle MEDEVAC and promote duty of care related interventions through innovative and creative solutions for both staff and senior management is an added advantage.

The incumbent must be fluent in French and able to communicate clearly and effectively in English.

French

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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:

Central African Republic is a highly complex operational context with 10 offices with a Representation in Bangui and 9 offices located in the deep field. The current dynamics in the country require additional human resources while the operation continues to face budgetary limitations, constraining it to position changes.
To be able to continue ensuring the delivery of its mandate under such challenging operational context UNHCR in CAR needs to implement appropriate people strategy, strategic HR planning and management; explore all types of staffing solutions to safeguard adequate and efficient workforce for the Operation.
The HR Officer will be responsible of the overall management of HR related activities within the country; therefore, very strong knowledge, skills, and experience in the field of HR are required. HR Certification is highly desirable. Given the complexity of the HR management in CAR Operation, this function cannot be performed through telecommuting and the incumbent should be physically based at the duty station.
In order to provide efficient and timely managerial support to the Operation which demands a high level of coordination and collaboration among all offices, Regional Bureau for WCA, HQ and other stakeholders, the candidate should have good coordination skills and in-depth understanding of UNHCR HR policies. In addition to excellent functional competencies, s/he is also expected to possess proven managerial and leadership skills, considering the high-risk nature of the country with impact on the workforce; and the complexities in managing the Human Resources, including the management of the many complex post Covid-19 HR issues.
The HR Officer will work under the direct supervision of the Senior Admin. Officer. He/she will advise on staffing and budgetary reviews, reinforce compliance with the UN/HCR staff rules and regulations and the PAMS; participate in the country UN HR network group under the OMT of the UNCT. S/he may be requested to represent UNHCR in the working groups/task forces within the UN inter-agency mechanism on coordination of salary surveys, staff safety and wellbeing related matters.
 

Living and Working Conditions:

The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa that shares a border with Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, Democratic Republic of the Congo to the south, Republic of the Congo to the southwest and Cameroon to the west. According to the Human Development Index (HDI), as of 2019 the country had the second-lowest level of human development ranked 188th out of 189 countries, and the country is also estimated to be among the unhealthiest countries. 

National infrastructure is dilapidated such as inexistant roads and no electricity in many areas where even in the capital power cuts are daily. Merchandise sold locally is for the most part imported through neighbouring Cameroun and the port of Doula with fuel and limited items travelling by barge on the Oubangui River in the wet season when the river is high enough. There are currently 5 airlines that serve Bangui airport, Air France, Kenya Airways, Asky, Air Maroc and Rwanda Air. 

CAR as adjacent areas of neighbouring countries continue to see significant security challenges. The CAR entered a further politico-security crisis following the December 2020 Presidential Elections and many Non-State Armed Groups (NSAG’s) emerged forming in an alliance against the regular forces.  While the state now controls a larger percentage of national territory this has seen NSAG’s hide in the bush for the most part and carry out small scale incursions and hit-and-run attacks on state backed forces.
 

For staff and humanitarians in general the main threat is criminality and banditry where vehicle hold-ups and house break-ins have increased as many try to survive where the already high unemployment has further been hit by the increased insecurity and COVID. Many NSAG elements also lost their income from mines after being repulsed by FACA supported by bilateral forces. It is however to be noted that vehicle hold-ups and house break-ins have not seen victims intentionally harmed when no resistance has been given so far.

Additional Qualifications

Skills

HR-Administration of Staff Contracts and Benefits, HR-Career Counselling, Coaching and Development, HR-Talent Management Systems, HR-Vacancy Management

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

Certifications

Human Resources Management - Other, Personnel Administration - Other

Annual Budget OL in Operation/Office, Number of Persons of Concern Served, Number of Workforce in Operation/Work Setting, Workforce to Supervise, Working with Persons of Concern: Asylum Seekers, Working with Persons of Concern: Internally Displaced Persons, Working with Persons of Concern: Refugees, Working with Persons of Concern: Returned IDPs, Working with Persons of Concern: Returned Refugees, Working with Persons of Concern: Stateless

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

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

Compendium

Add.2 to Bi-annual Compendium 2022 - Part B

This position doesn't require a functional clearance