HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER

Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is located within the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia (UNVMC) in Bogota, Colombia. The incumbent will be the head of the Recruitment team within the Human Resources Unit and will report to the Chief of Human Resources Officer (CHRO).

Responsibilities

Recruitment and Staff Selection
• Manages recruitment processes including coordinating with client offices in forecasting and identifying vacancies, preparing job openings, reviewing and screening of candidates.
• Reviews job openings in consultation with hiring managers, ensuring that the evaluation criteria and responsibilities are in line with the approved or classified documents.
• Conducts preliminary review, prepares and submits recruitment cases to Field Central Review Bodies (FCRB).
• Arranges and conducts interviews for selection of candidates.
• Reviews recommendation on the selection of candidates by client offices.
• Participates in task forces and working groups identifying issues/problems, formulating policies and guidelines, and establishing new procedures on recruitment and staff selection.
• Provides guidance to hiring managers on the use of the new recruitment and onboarding enhancement tools in Inspira.
• Processes and coordinates all onboarding actions, including offers and release requests, medical clearance, reference checks, creation of travel requests and FSS profiles, visas, check-in, etc.
• Ensures that all UN HR rules, regulations practices and procedures and UNVMC internal policies are applied and followed thoroughly across all processes, including adherence to UNVMC code of conduct and ethics, and integrates a gender-sensitive approach in all functions.
• Contributes to the recruitment process and aids in the development of recruitment strategies and plans, coordinating with client offices in forecasting and identifying vacancies, preparing job openings, reviewing and screening of candidates.

Administration of entitlements and benefits
• Advises the CHRO on the development, modification and implementation of United Nations policies and practices on entitlements.
• Receives and reviews grievances and complaints related to entitlements and benefits, assessing and evaluating merit of each case and makes recommendation for resolution.
• Reviews and recommends level of remuneration for consultants.
• Represents the office in joint bodies and working groups relating to salaries and other conditions of service.
• Participates in the process of knowledge/awareness building amongst managers and staff members with regard to the staff rules and regulations, and related guidelines in the administration of entitlements and their strict application by the HR Unit, including on implementation of delegated authority.
• Monitors and evaluates the effectiveness of related guidelines, HR rules, regulations practices and procedures, and recommends revisions where necessary.

Planning and Budget
• Participates in the mission planning process throughout the mission lifecycle for determining staffing requirements and organizational structure; also conducts analysis and provides in on emerging capacity gaps in accordance with the mission's mandate.
• Contributes to the budget development process by reviewing the drafts and providing input on the human resources requirements and organizational structure of all sections based on guidelines on budget review.
• Reflects recommendations of the staffing reviews into the staffing requirements for purpose of budget preparation.
• Reviews and monitors staffing related costs and expenditures in the ERP systems (Umoja) in line with funds allotment, ensuring that funds for staffing costs are available, and where necessary alerts the Chief Human Resources Officer to follow up with Finance and Budget Unit to deploy funds to any shortfall.
• Monitors expenditures related to staffing and ensures they are within the budgeted staffing costs, coordinating with the Finance and Budget Units at both the mission and Headquarter levels to ensure availability of funds.
• Advises hiring managers on loaning of posts between sections and movement of posts and staff between locations based on the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on Staffing table and Post Management, ensuring the integrity of the staffing table as approved in the budget without discrepancy in sections and locations.
• Reviews the documentation for submission of classification requests and contributes to the implementation of classification results.

Performance Management
• Supports the supervisor in the implementation of the performance appraisal system and monitors its compliance with the proper implementation of the performance management system, providing guidance and substantive support to mission components on standards the development of service, section, unit and individual work plans.
• Liaises with the Training Unit to organize training/orientation programmes in performance management and supervisory skills as well as work plans.
• Monitors the full compliance of Performance documents and provides input to the establishment of a Management Review Committee, Joint Monitoring Committee as well as Rebuttal Panel and acts as their facilitator and ex-officio member.
• Counsels staff and managers in cases of underperformance and facilitates the implementation of a Performance Improvement Plan to improve performance.

Staff Development
• Identifies and analyzes staff development and career support needs and designs programmes to meet identified needs.
• Prepares monitoring reports on staff development and career support programmes.
• Advises staff on career development, giving particular attention to developing and implementing career development paths for national staff members.
• Continuously assesses the skill, expertise and knowledge of human resources staff, ensuring participation of human resources staff in relevant training programmes and designing individual on-the-job and group training programmes on specific subject matters in the area of human resources management, including in the use of HR IT systems.

Administration of Justice
• Researches and compiles the mission's responses to formal and informal requests coming from different entities under the Administration of Justice (AoJ) system.
• Contributes to the efforts and measures aimed at addressing and mitigating staff grievances with the purpose of resolving them at the lowest practical level.
• Contributes to the development of preventive activities such as training and sharing best practices and recent jurisprudence related to human resources management.

Staff and Management Relations
• Assists the supervisor in supporting a dialogue between management and international and national staff unions (Field Staff Union and National Staff Committee respectively) to discuss HR matters and related staff issues.
• Participates in meetings with staff representatives to address issues affecting staff and coordinates the quarterly meetings with the Head of Mission and Chief of Mission Support.
• Organizes, as necessary, general or specific meetings for the staff on issues such as mandate implementation, status of HR reforms and other organizational change initiatives etc.

Other:
• Under the supervision of the CHRO, the HRO contributes to the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of delegated authorities, through inter-alia, the Human Resources Management Scorecard (HRSC), Service Level Agreements, HR indicators, and the Senior Managers' Compact.
• Contributes to the development of a set of actionable and targeted change management plans, including coaching and training in order to implement these responsibilities and reports on possible gaps and risks and recommends corrective action.
• Assists with the development of a communication strategy with a dedicated intranet page on HR issues and regular formal and informal meetings.
• Conducts research on precedents, policy rulings and procedures.
• Maintains human resources information systems, including constant update and generation of information and reports for use by management.
• Advises and counsels staff in respect of rights, responsibilities, code of conduct and difficulties associated with work and entitlements.
• Assists in preparing policy papers, position papers and briefing notes on issues related to human resources management.
• Performs other duties as required.

Competencies

Professionalism: Extensive training in the Organization’s human resources management practices, policies and procedures, especially related to post management; skills in databases, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and other Human Resources Systems. Ability to identify issues, formulate opinions, make conclusions and recommendations. Shows pride in work and in achievements. Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter. Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results. Is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns. Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

Accountability: Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honours commitments. Delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards. Operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules. Supports subordinates, provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments. Takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable.

Client orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view. Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect. Identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions. Monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems. Keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects. Meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Judgement/decision making: Identifies the key issues in a complex situation and comes to the heart of the problem quickly. Gathers relevant information before making a decision. Considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them. Takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization. Proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information. Checks assumptions against facts. Determines that the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision. Makes tough decisions when necessary.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent is required.

Job - Specific Qualification

A technical or vocational certificate and/or training in human resources management, business
or public administration, social sciences, education or related field is required.

Work Experience

At least ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience in human resources
management, administration or related area is required. The minimum year of qualifying
experience can be reduced to five (5) years for candidates who possess a first level university degree.

Working experience in recruitment, staff selection and onboarding processes in complex, volatile and conflict or post-conflict settings is required.

At least two (2) years' experience managing and supervising staff is desirable.

Experience in analyzing and drafting HR policies or process guidance is desirable.

Experience working with an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system (such as SAP) and
Peoplesoft (such as Inspira) in the area of human resources management is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English is required; and knowledge of Spanish is desirable.

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.

Special Notice

This post is funded for an initial period of one year and may be subject to extension.

The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance and geographical diversity in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.

Candidates interested to work for the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia may wish to check out our Realistic Job Preview videos to get an idea of the living and working conditions in different duty stations in Colombia.:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-8SCkVjg-e3073SwTDG1VQf1oLTWfUQ4

The United Nations is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The United Nations recruits and employs staff regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds or disabilities. Reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities may be provided to support participation in the
recruitment process when requested and indicated in the application.

For this position, applicants from the following Member States, which are unrepresented or underrepresented in the UN Secretariat as of 28 February 2021, are strongly encouraged to apply: Afghanistan, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahrain, Belize, Brunei, Darussalam, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, China, Comoros, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic
of Korea, Djibouti, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Japan, Kiribati, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Monaco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Norway, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Republic of Korea,
Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Sao Tome, and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Suriname, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Vanuatu, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

United Nations Considerations

According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment.

Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.

The paramount consideration in the appointment, transfer, or promotion of staff shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. By accepting an offer of appointment, United Nations staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and assignment by him or her to any activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). In this context, all internationally recruited staff members shall be required to move periodically to discharge new functions within or across duty stations under conditions established by the Secretary-General.

Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage.

The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.

Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.