Senior Specialist, Human Resources (Employee Experience)

Background About SEforALL 

Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) is an international organization working with leaders in government, the private sector and civil society to drive further, faster action toward achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7), which calls for universal access to sustainable energy by 2030, and the Paris Agreement, which calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to limit climate warming to well below 2° Celsius (and striving for 1.5° Celsius).   

Achieving these goals will require a radical rethink of the way we produce, distribute and consume energy. SEforALL is at the heart of this foundational shift to ensure no one is left behind. Drawing on data and evidence, we identify a critical path to success in achieving SDG7.    

The 8th UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the Sustainable Energy for All initiative in 20121. Now an independent organization, we maintain close links with the UN, including through a relationship agreement, partnerships with UN agencies and with SEforALL's CEO acting as the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative (SRSG) for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy. These roles include advising the UN Secretary General and his staff on issues relating to sustainable energy and the implementation of SDG7 and supporting the coordination of sustainable energy issues in the United Nations system.    

The ambitions of SDG7 are extraordinary. Aiming to achieve them in the context of the Paris Agreement on climate change involves transformation at a scale never undertaken before. Swift action must be taken by leaders in governments, private sector companies, institutions, financiers, development banks, unions, communities, entrepreneurs and civil society. As we enter the final decade to achieve SDG7, SEforALL has strategically chosen to strengthen global agenda-setting while expanding its activities to an engagement model that prioritizes data-driven decision-making, partnerships with high-impact countries and implementation on the ground. SEforALL's current three-year business plan outlines “results offers” that scope out our planned interventions and demonstrate to our funding partners the impact of their support. 
 

Objectives of Assignment 

The main objectives of the Human Resources Programme are:  

• Strategic Initiatives - design, develop and implement strategic HR initiatives and essential HR programmes.   

• Client Services – offer strategic HR partnership, program implementation, support and solutions to staff and leadership teams globally.  

• Talent and Incentives – designs best practice HR solutions in onboarding, staff planning, career and mobility management, performance/talent management, and staff and leadership development.  

• Attracting and inspiring talent to build capacity, skills and the knowledge pool.  

• Employment Framework – design and implement HR programs in HR strategy, policies and procedures, administration, diversity and inclusion, compensation and benefits and other areas.  

As part of the HR programme within the employee experience team and working closely with the rest of the HR team, the role will focus on enhancing the work environment and implementing activities that support SEforALL employees in having a great experience at work. We aim to improve engagement, productivity, job satisfaction and ultimately increase the retention of our great talent. The teams will design approaches to assess, drive and improve employee engagement across the organization; design and implement initiatives to support staff wellbeing; ensure smooth administration, payroll and leave management; drive and support efforts to create a culture that reflects SEforALL values.  

Objectives of the role 

The key objectives of the role include the following:  

• Lead, support and manage the Employee Experience team.  

• Develop, promote and implement a range of actions which aim to provide SEforALL staff with a great employee experience from onboarding to offboarding, in line with SEforALL’s Employee Value Proposition, thus contributing to retaining productive and talented staff and reducing turnover.  

• Collaborating with the other HR team members, develop and enhance SEforALL’s people policies and procedures.  

• Drive and support efforts to create a culture that reflects SEforALL values while valuing feedback and encouraging people voice.  

• Ensure constant collaboration, alignment and communication within the HR Programme.  

• Quality assurance  

Duties and Accountabilities  

The main duties and responsibilities of the role include, but are not limited to:  

• Day to day management of the Employee Experience team, including coordinating tasks and aligning them with strategic priorities to achieve the team’s goals and carrying out supervisory activities for direct reports.  

• In close collaboration with the Director of HR and the Human Resources Business Partner, lead the ongoing improvement of the SEforALL Staff Handbook and HR policies; Support the creation of new policies as needed, as well as the streamlining and consolidation of HR processes and procedures.  

• Lead activities that contribute to creating a culture that values feedback and encourages employee voice, including establishing a SEforALL Staff Forum to ensure effective communication between Staff, HR and the Executive Management Committee.  

• Lead activities that ensure HR activities meet the quality assurance our donors and funders expect.  

• Develop, promote and implement diversity and inclusion strategies to empower people to respect and appreciate differences.  

• Coordinate reporting and analytics related to staff engagement and retention, such as people data collation, analytics, and data insights; Manage employee monitoring and reporting through HR dashboards.   

• Lead the enhancement of SEforALL culture, including the coordination of workshops and brainstorming sessions, facilitating discussions and surveys and developing action plans.  

• Design, develop and implement SEforALL’s duty of care proposition.  

• Further enhance the onboarding processes of new employees to enable them to quickly become functioning members of their programme teams and the organization, as well as offboarding processes during employee’s departure such as exit interviews and related analytics.  

• Contribute to compiling and sharing data related to HR aspects of donor monitoring reports in conjunction with MEL and other programme teams.  

• Implement information technology solutions, including system administration.  

• Responsible for managing the end-to-end recruitment cycle for allocated positions.   

• Facilitate knowledge building and knowledge sharing in own work area to bring about awareness and understanding, as well as utilize SEforALL systems and processes to share the knowledge. e.g. Salesforce.  

• Undertake other tasks and duties as may be required.  

 
Specific Competencies for the Role 

• Master’s Degree - Advanced university degree in human resources management, business or public administration, law or related field.  

• Minimum of 5 - 8 years progressively responsible experience in human resources or a related area; of which at least four to five years were in a position with accountability for specific processes and had significant exposure to and responsibility for direct interaction with staff.  

• Thorough knowledge of human resources principles, management, practices, procedures, and operations in an international organization.  

• Proven ability to be a collaborative supervisor and creative problem solver.  

• Prior experience and in depth knowledge in at least three of the following areas: (i) HR Policy development; (ii) Employee Engagement and Retention; (iii) Employee Relations; (iv) Staff Wellbeing; (v) Strategic HR planning and management; (vi) Employment Law; (vii) HR data analytics.  

• Experience in staff consultation and designing interventions.  

• Knowledge of best practices in international human resources management in the private sector, international organizations or NGOs, and/or the UN Common System an advantage.   

• Knowledge of Austrian law is desirable ; knowledge of EU and/or US employment law will be considered an asset.  

• Strong presentation and communication skills  

• An excellent oral and written command of English.  Fluency in another UN language will be considered an asset.  

• Strong numerical and analytical skills with a good understanding of HR Analytics and the ability to present results supporting decision-making.  

• Good judgment, discretion and tact in handling sensitive issues and materials.  

• Proactive approach to managing workflow, with keen ability to multi-task and respond quickly and flexibly to a wide range of issues. 

 
General Competencies for the Role 

• Innovation and Adaptability: Has expert skills and commitment to search for and produce innovative and creative approaches to activities. Is flexible to evolving circumstances, as well as helps others in doing so. 

• Resilience and Emotional Intelligence: Has expert knowledge in the concepts of resilience and emotional intelligence. Is able to remain calm in challenging situations, to cope with setbacks, is responsive to the emotions of others and maintains a high level of performance. 

• Analytical and Strategic Thinking: Has an expert level of analytical and strategic thinking skills. Gathers and processes demanding information, develops innovative solutions and contributes by representing topics/approaches in internal and cross-functional working groups/teams.  

• Collaboration and Partnership: Demonstrates expert initiative and abilities to collaborate and form partnerships in own area of responsibility, across teams and externally. Builds and maintains effective relationships at all levels inside and outside the organisation. Displays team-oriented attitude contributing to creating a positive team spirit. 

• Lead and Empower: Demonstrates initiative and role model behaviour in leading and empowering others. Takes responsibility for own work activities and personal actions and carries out the commitments agreed upon. May supervise volunteers and other junior staff members under their responsibility. 

• Political and diplomatic understanding: Has an expert level of political and diplomatic understanding. 

• Communicating information: Has expert skills in communicating information and uses the skills effectively in own scope of work and in others’ work. 

• Research and Analytics: Has expert skills in research and analytics. Promotes the use of data within the team and to contribute to wider decision making 

• Project Management: Has expert skills in project management. Plans and organises their own work using project management tools in support of achieving the team’s objectives. Sometimes manages own projects and programmes. 

• Client Orientation / Striving for Excellence: Has expert skills in client orientation and achieving excellency in work delivery. Ensures long-term relationships internally and externally through developing suitable services.  

 
Our Values - please refer to our core values as defined here: https://www.seforall.org/who-we-are/staff/our-values. 

Salary information: SEforALL has adopted its own salary scales corresponding to the SEforALL grading system. The minimum yearly salary for this position is EUR 64,432. The actual salary offer will be determined within the scale depending on the successful candidate’s qualification and experience, and applying the principle of internal equity. In addition to the base salary, SEforALL staff receive a benefits package that includes contribution to pension, contribution to health insurance & homeworking allowance. 

Additional Considerations 

• SEforALL offers exciting high-impact assignments, a collegial and creative work environment, and the opportunity for committed professionals to thrive and grow within flat hierarchies and in the pursuit of an inspiring mission. 

• SEforALL provides competitive compensation packages at its locations in Vienna, Washington DC and New York City, and flexibility and result orientated modern workplace arrangements. 

• Qualified female candidates and candidates from developing countries are strongly encouraged to apply. 

• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 

• SEforALL reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a level below the advertised level of the post. 

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Your data will not be passed on to third parties outside SEforALL. We will only use your data to the extent necessary for the purposes of selecting personnel in accordance with the applicable data protection regulations. We will only disclose your personal information if we are required to do so by a court´s or administrative authority´s decision. In such a case, we will inform you as soon as possible of such an order so that you can take legal action against it if necessary. Please email to careers@seforall.org if you require updates to your information in accordance with Art. 5 lit. d of the GDPR