Human Resources Specialist - Surge Capacity (re-advertisement)

Contract

This is a IICA-2 contract. This kind of contract is known as International Individual Contractor Agreements. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's an external contract. It usually requires 5 years of experience, depending on education. More about IICA-2 contracts.

Background Information - IPAS

Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, the UNOPS Integrated Practice Advice and Support (IPAS) serves all the regions and headquarters, primarily with advice and solutions to everyday implementation challenges. IPAS consists of a diverse team of subject matter experts in the six practice areas of HR, Administration, Legal, Finance, Procurement, Project Management and Infrastructure. IPAS has three main roles:

Support to operations in the field offices: IPAS provides timely advice and supports actively finding of solutions to everyday implementation challenges, based on policy and best practices. It also provides operational support in specific areas.

Business efficiency: IPAS recommends changes to policies, processes and operating standards based on the feedback and experience of the field offices. IPAS also ensures transparent and efficient project implementation, in line with policy and business needs.

Body of knowledge: IPAS contributes to research and coordination within the policy groups and project practitioners. It provides structured knowledge and subject matter expertise which is used across practice areas to provide coherent and tailored advice to the requesting offices.

Faced with recurring demands for such services, IPAS established the Surge Mechanism at the end of 2021 to meet the needs of UNOPS’ country offices. These needs include but are not limited to providing personnel for quick inception of new projects, supporting emergency responses, as well as covering gaps after unexpected departure of colleagues whose roles are critical to the operations of the office.

Background Information - Job-specific

As a Human Resources Specialist - Surge Capacity, you will be providing HR support to UNOPS field offices globally. You will be assigned to surge missions with the objective to support offices that require rapid HR support, e.g. at the inception of a project, or cover a gap between recruitments following the unexpected departure of an HR colleague.

Frequent travel to field offices, including to hardship locations is expected. Remote support may also happen, depending on the nature of the assignment and clients’ preferences, as well as potential limitations to travel due to external factors/global context.

As the face of IPAS in the field, you will be required to be a role model by leveraging a business partnering approach in every assignment. You will be responsible for providing implementation management and transactional support and capacity building , always with the aim of increasing quality, professionalism and creating efficiencies. Your work will focus on identifying challenges and providing innovative solutions to ensure high quality of HR services across the organisation. This also involves the use of data analytics to enable business decisions, for example by assisting field offices in the development of monitoring/planning tools for HR activities. In the performance of your functions, you will benefit from expert technical advice from IPAS HR colleagues if/when needed.

When deployed to a field assignment, your primary reporting line will be to the manager of the position you will fill. You will have secondary reporting line to the IPAS Surge Coordinator.

Please note this vacancy primarily aims to establish a pool of qualified HR professionals interested in short-term assignments in various locations (see section "Contract type, level and duration"). The person in this position will be required to travel to different locations around the world, including hardship locations. Missions abroad may last for several weeks/up to a maximum of 3 months. Availability to travel is therefore a prerequisite for this position, even though some of the missions may be conducted remotely.

Functional Responsibilities

The functions/responsibilities/key results of this job description are generic and may not always be applicable, nor be comprehensive, for all missions. The specific tasks and deliverables for each assignment may vary and will be detailed in the terms of reference developed for each assignment by the requesting office/unit. The findings will be addressed in a assignment report.

Summary of Functions:

1. The main responsibility of the HR Specialist - Surge Capacity will be to provide HR surge support to Field offices - with travel and sometimes remotely.
2. The HR Specialist will be contributing to knowledge building and knowledge sharing at field level.

1. Provides surge HR support to Field Offices, including but not limited to the following:

• Manages the local HR team, role modeling a business partnering approach and ensuring issues are addressed in a smooth and efficient manner
• Advisory support to HR processes (including support to complex recruitment exercises, restructuring exercises and other HR processes), with the objective that timely actions are taken to avoid delays in project implementation.
• Advice on priorities and HR planning with clear definition of timelines, roles and responsibilities
• Build rapport with hiring managers, ensuring their staffing needs are forecasted and recruitment planning meetings are conducted
• Advice on outreach efforts, design of outreach plans and strategies
• Make recommendations for business process improvements and efficiency gains in HR management at office level

2. Leveraging the experience gained through the exposure in different assignments, contribute to the knowledge building and knowledge sharing and business efficiency in field offices, focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Contributes to knowledge management projects
• Provide suggestions for business processes and policy improvements
• Contribute to mainstreaming the use of Data Analytics to inform HR actions
• Organize, facilitate and/or deliver training and learning initiatives for personnel on HR-related topics
• Contribute to HR knowledge networks and communities of practice by providing collaborative synthesis of lessons learnt and dissemination of best practices in human resources management
• Collect feedback, ideas, and internal knowledge about processes and best practices and utilize these productively.
• Actively interact with HR practitioners to share case studies, lessons learned and best practices.

Competencies

Develops and implements sustainable business strategies, thinks long term and externally in order to positively shape the organization. Anticipates and perceives the impact and implications of future decisions and activities on other parts of the organization. Treats all individuals with respect; responds sensitively to differences and encourages others to do the same. Upholds organizational and ethical norms. Maintains high standards of trustworthiness. Role model for diversity and inclusion.

Acts as a positive role model contributing to the team spirit. Collaborates and supports the development of others. For people managers only: Acts as positive leadership role model, motivates, directs and inspires others to succeed, utilizing appropriate leadership styles. Demonstrates understanding of the impact of own role on all partners and always puts the end beneficiary first. Builds and maintains strong external relationships and is a competent partner for others (if relevant to the role). Efficiently establishes an appropriate course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a goal. Actions lead to total task accomplishment through concern for quality in all areas. Sees opportunities and takes the initiative to act on them. Understands that responsible use of resources maximizes our impact on our beneficiaries. Open to change and flexible in a fast paced environment. Effectively adapts own approach to suit changing circumstances or requirements. Reflects on experiences and modifies own behavior. Performance is consistent, even under pressure. Always pursues continuous improvements. Evaluates data and courses of action to reach logical, pragmatic decisions. Takes an unbiased, rational approach with calculated risks. Applies innovation and creativity to problem-solving. Expresses ideas or facts in a clear, concise and open manner. Communication indicates a consideration for the feelings and needs of others. Actively listens and proactively shares knowledge. Handles conflict effectively, by overcoming differences of opinion and finding common ground.

Education/Experience/Language requirements

Education

An advanced university degree (e.g. Masters) in Human Resources Management, International Relations, Psychology, Business Administration, Social/Behavioral Sciences or related field is required.

A first-level university degree (e.g. Bachelor) with an additional 2 years of experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced degree.

Experience

• A minimum of 5 years of experience in an international environment, in an HR advisory role is required.
• Within these 5 years:

a) a minimum of one year of experience managing HR operations is required.

b) a minimum of one year of experience working with HR datasets is required.

• Prior experience managing a restructuring exercise will be a distinct advantage.
• Prior experience in a UN Agency will be a strong asset, given the nature of the surge capacity role.
• Prior experience working in a developing country would be a strong asset.

Languages

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of French or Spanish would be a distinct asset.

Contract type, level and duration

General

Contract type: International Contractor Agreement Contract level: IICA2/LICA10/ICS10 Contract duration: Several possible short-term full-time / part-time opportunities (see below), subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.

Modality

There are two contract options to consider in this vacancy announcement:

1. Full-time open-ended (no end date) contract, with Copenhagen as duty station (or home-based).
2. Short-term / part-time opportunities on home-based retainer contracts or similar.

For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link:

https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx

More information:

• The functions/responsibilities/key results of this job description are generic and may not always be applicable, nor be comprehensive, for all missions/assignments under this job title. The specific tasks and deliverables for each assignment may vary and will be detailed in the terms of reference developed for each assignment by the requesting office/unit.
• Under this contract type, the assignments will vary in scope and duration - ranging from short term assignments of a few hours at a time to longer blocks of time (e.g. several weeks or months full time, and up to a year).
• Work may also vary with regards to the time zone / location. Whilst some assignments can be delivered working from home, some may require international travel.
• Whilst the successful incumbent can be based in different time-zones, they should be able and willing to ensure a degree of time overlap with the team they are working with.
• A retainer ICA does not accord any exclusivity to the Individual Contractor with respect to the Services listed in the job description. UNOPS shall have no limitation on its right to obtain Services of the same kind from any other source at any time.
• A retainer Individual Contractor Agreement (ICA) is issued for a period of time during which the services of the individual contractor may be required intermittently.
• A retainer ICA will specify a unit price (e.g. amount per day actually worked). For budgetary purposes, a monetary limit will be specified at the time the ICA is awarded and issued.
• UNOPS shall have no obligation to obtain any minimum quantity of Services from the Individual Contractor during the duration of the retainer ICA.
• Payment will be made only after completion of work (if any) or reaching agreed milestones.
• As a UNOPS ICA retainer, you are required to complete at least two (2) online courses upon signature of your contract and prior to commencing any retainer assignment related to Ethics and Integrity, the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse. If you go on an official mission, you are required to complete an online course related to security awareness. These courses are available for free on UNOPS learning platform and shall be completed within the first three months following the contract signature, at no cost for UNOPS. UNOPS reserves the right to request a refresher of the mandatory courses is taken or newly promulgated mandatory courses are completed at no cost for UNOPS.

Additional Considerations

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time.
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• UNOPS embraces diversity and it is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, or disability.
• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.