Human Resources Specialist (Talent management, Staffing & Recruitment)

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through FAO’s Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to More efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems, for Better production, Better nutrition, a Better environment and a Better life, leaving no one behind. The Human Resources Division is composed of 2 main clusters, (i) the Integrated Talent Management unit, which provides advice guidance on position management, recruitment, mobility, training & development, performance management, social security, HR reporting and business analytics, and (ii) the HR Strategy and Policy unit, which provides HR strategic guidance, policy and oversight. We are seeking HR Consultants for several assignments in the Human Resources Division –under the cluster (i) Integrated Talent Management unit, within the Recruitment & Staffing Team (CSHR) to work as:

1. HR Business Partners to support FAO’s hiring managers on staffing needs, recruitment and talent management. 2. HR Business Partners specifically for the FAO’s Office of Emergency and Resilience (OER), Regional, sub-regional and country offices. 3. HR Business Partners dedicated to supporting selected Offices at HQ who are experiencing a surge in their number of vacancies.

The Office of Emergencies and Resilience (OER) is responsible for ensuring FAO's efforts to support countries and partners in preparing for and effectively responding to food and agricultural threats and crises by i) increasing the numbers of people reached in Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) 3 and above and ii) increasing the numbers of people supported to move out of IPC 3 and above from a humanitarian caseload onto pathways of resilience and development. OER is responsible for coordinating the development and maintenance of corporate tools and standards to enable Decentralized Offices (DOs) to assist member countries to prepare for, and respond to, emergencies. OER ensures humanitarian policy coordination and knowledge, liaison with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee as well as with humanitarian resource partners, co-leadership with World Food Programme of the global Food Security Cluster, organizational preparedness, surge capacity and response to large-scale emergencies. OER supports food and nutrition security and sectoral/systems assessments, early warning activities related to emergency and humanitarian analysis and responses.

Reporting Lines

The HR Specialist will work under the overall guidance of the Senior HR Officer/Head of Recruitment and the Deputy Director, Human Resources Division. The HR Specialist working with OER in addition to the above, will work under the functional supervision of the Team Leader, Enabling Environment, Office of Emergencies and Resilience (OER).

Technical Focus

Talent Management: recruitment, selection, staffing, mobility, competency-based assessment(s), duty of care – with an added focus on HR policies and HR support in the humanitarian domain

Tasks and responsibilities • Plan and facilitate the effective recruitment and selection of FAO workforce; • Analyse HR requirements, information, data, statistics, and/or issues to support service delivery, new HR initiatives, and the preparation of plans, strategies, reports, procedures; • Provide specialist HR advice and expertise to designated hiring manager, internal and external clients on specific or complex cases, staff requirements, policy interpretation issues, labor relations issues and/or best practices, etc.; • Contribute to the overall planning and organization of recruitment and selection process for FAO Offices at HQ, or in Country Offices in crises contexts, especially those with Level 3 Scale-up declarations (especially Afghanistan). • Review and identify staffing needs and provides advice and guidance to hiring managers on outreach and sourcing of qualified candidates in accordance with the target on gender and geographic balance • Monitor recruitment and selection activities and prepare relevant analytical reports • Represent FAO at inter-agency meetings in the humanitarian sector; • Assist FAO Offices at HQ, in selection panels as and when required; • Produce reports on assigned work, provide data analysis and staffing reports; Specifically, for OER: • Conduct a review of existing recruitment and selection procedures for all categories of staff working in emergencies and provide recommendations on fast-track procedures (including Director and above, Professional, General Service recruitment) • Research relevant regulations, rules, policies, and practices of other UN entities to identify needs for changes in FAO’s recruitment procedures for emergency and resilience • Review organigrams, work-flows and structure of country offices with large, medium and small emergency and resilience portfolios and make recommendations for improvements, in coordination with the corporate exercise on Country Office Transformation • Undertake support missions to Level 3 country offices and those with large emergency portfolios as needed. • Draft a people strategy on emergency and resilience with a focus on enhancement of talent acquisition, staff wellbeing and rapid deployment of employees on surge support, including for national staff (Temporary duty mechanisms) • Assist the Office of Emergencies and Resilience in selection panels as and when required; • May represent FAO at inter-agency meetings in the humanitarian sector