Consultant - Workforce Planning

Result of Service Creation and implementation of detailed Commission-wide workforce planning exercise. Institutionalization of workforce planning as an annual and ongoing practice across the Commission.

Work Location Remote

Expected duration 4 months with possibility of further extension.

Duties and Responsibilities Background

Economic Commission of Africa is to deliver ideas and actions for an empowered and transformed Africa, informed by the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063.

The mission is guided by ECA's five new strategic direction which are:

-Advancing ECA's position as a premier knowledge institution that builds on its unique position and privilege to bring global solutions to the continent's problems and take local solution to the continent; - Developing macroeconomic and structural policy options to accelerate economic diversification and job creation; - Designing and implementing innovative financing models for infrastructure, and for human, physical and social assets for a transforming Africa; - Contributing solutions to regional and transboundary challenges, with a focus on peace security and social inclusion as an important development nexus; - Advocating Africa's position at the global level and developing regional responses as a contribution to global governance issues.

The Division of Administration is responsible for providing effective, efficient and systematic management of the Commission's human and financial resources, including the administration of staff benefits, recruitment and staff learning and development.

The Human Resources Management Section which is under the umbrella of the Division of Administration provides strategic advice to ECA on all aspects of human resources planning and talent management, policy implementation and monitoring in order to ensure that HR strategy is aligned with the Commission's strategy and is responsive to evolving changes in mandate, operational priorities and budgetary imperatives.

Objectives The purpose of engaging this consultant is to support and augment ECA-HR's capacity to create and implement a comprehensive workforce planning strategy that is responsive to the current and anticipated workforce needs of the Commission.

Duties and Responsibilities of the local Consultant Under the overall guidance of the Chief Human Resources Officer and direct supervision of the Chief of the Talent Management Unit and the Recruitment Services Group Lead, the Consultant is being recruited to provide expertise on workforce planning and related topics. Responsibilities include:

1. Act as subject matter expert on workforce planning (WFP) conducting WFP exercises for ECA's divisions, offices, and units based on established procedures, liaising with the Human Resources Services Division (HRSD) in HQ to ensure best practices in WFP are implemented. 2. Through desktop reviews and stakeholder meetings, assess the strategic direction of the Commission and it's divisions as well as possible future scenarios and derive insights into the implications of these. 3. Identify and analyse the current workforce and its relevant characteristics, including current skills of the workforce through skills gap analyses, talent reviews and/or functional talent assessments. 4. Assess future demand for talent based on strategic direction, and future supply of internal talent through data analysis. Project supply versus demand models for the Divisions, Offices, and Units and identify gaps. 5. Work with HR colleagues and management to develop a strategy to close gaps by identifying appropriate workforce and/or talent management solutions to bridge the gaps over short, medium, and long-term including costs, timeframes, and benefits, all while keeping in mind institutional imperatives including gender parity, geographic distribution, regional diversification, consideration of downsized staff, and others. 6. Analyze current organizational set-ups, structures, workforce composition and design organizational structures based on the workforce planning results. 7. Provide guidance and advice on formulating detailed implementation plans to ensure that the gaps between the current and future structures and workforce can be smoothly bridged. 8. Prepare appropriate communications materials to keep all stakeholders informed of WFP to request action and to build engagement. 9. Monitor the implementation of workforce plans through the management of project plans, conduct lessons-learned exercises and contribute to the refining of workforce planning practices across the Commission. 10. Coordinate and streamline the collection, interpretation and validation of workforce data and its analysis ensuring that quality standards and data privacy compliance are maintained. 11. Ensure that WFP aligns with recommendations of HR and WFP Taskforce Report. 12. Other duties related to the above responsibilities, as required

Qualifications/special skills Academic Qualifications: Masters degree in business or public administration, human resources, management, or a related field. A bachelor's degree with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted. Additional studies and/or certifications in human resources or related fields are desirable. Experience: A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience work experience in human resources management, specific to workforce planning, is required. Language: English and French are the working language of the United Nations Secretariat. For this consultancy, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of French is an advantage.

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.