Workforce Planning Specialist CST, (11 Months) Johannesburg, South Africa

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WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles.

Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis, and we are committed to promoting diversity and gender balance.

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to end global hunger. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no** child goes to bed hungry** and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

In emergencies, WFP gets food to where it is needed, saving the lives of victims of war, civil conflict and natural disasters. After an emergency, WFP uses food to help communities rebuild their shattered lives. Present in nearly 80 countries, the organization has the global footprint, deep field presence and local knowledge and relationships necessary to provide access to nutritious food and contribute to the lasting solutions, especially in many of the world’s most remote and fragile areas. We manage an operating budget of approximately $5.9 billion each year, distributing 12.6 billion rations to those most in need. We reach an average of 80 million people with food assistance in around 80 countries each year. The World Food Programme office in Johannesburg is a Regional Office coordinating and supporting the delivery of humanitarian assistance and providing technical support to 12 Southern Africa countries including, Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Republic of Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

JOB PURPOSE

We are currently establishing a Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) practice within the HR Division. SWP enables WFP to purposefully plan for, manage and prepare its future workforce to respond effectively to the increasing demands of the organisation within a globally complex environment. You will be part of a dynamic team, helping connect our strategy with our operational needs in terms of people, skills and capabilities required to deliver on our important mandate.

ROLE:

This is a Regional role to support the design, delivery and monitoring of workforce plans and structural reviews at Country Office level within a specified region. This role works in close collaboration with internal and external stakeholders, from WFP’s management, to functional subject matter experts, HR colleagues and external experts.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Priorities can often change in a fast-paced environment like WFP, so this role includes, but is not limited to, the following accountabilities:

1. Act as Regional Subject Matter Expert on Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) and Organizational Alignment Reviews (OA), conducting SWP and/or OA exercises for the Country Offices within the specified region based on established procedures, incorporating the results of functional and global workforce plans.
2. Through desktop reviews and stakeholder meetings, assess the strategic direction of Country Offices as well as possible future scenarios and derive insights into the implications of these on the workforce using a strategic workforce planning software.
3. Identify and analyze 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 Country Offices 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.
6. Analyze Country Office 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 SWP and structure alignment progress, to request action and to build engagement.
9. Monitor the implementation of Country Office workforce plans through the management of project plans, conduct lessons-learned exercises and contribute to the refining of workforce planning practices across WFP.
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. Establish regional best practices, benchmarks and knowledge repositories on Strategic Workforce Planning and organizational structures, sharing them proactively with the counterparts in Headquarters and other regions.
12. Other, as required.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

Experience: Minimum 6 years of experience in HR management, of which at least 3 in Strategic Workforce Planning, Organizational Design or HR consulting with excellent analytical, communication and project management skills, At least 3 years of international experience either working abroad or in an international environment, as part of a multicultural team.

Technical Knowledge & Skills:

• Strong track record on organizational design and change management
• Strong analytical, critical thinking, planning and problem-solving skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Ability to handle ambiguity and change, as well as balance multiple priorities
• Customer orientation
• Excellent written/verbal communication skills
• Ability to build effective relationships across and outside the organization, at all levels
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word and Powerpoint
• High level of organization to compile and derive insights from data, working with multiple sources and coping with rapidly changing information
• Knowledge of workforce planning tools and data analytics/visualisation/ reporting technology is desirable

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

• A University Degree in Human Resource Management, Social Sciences, Psychology or Behavioral Sciences, Organization Development, Administration, Industrial Relations, Psychology or other relevant field and related work experience.
• A professional certification in Diversity and Inclusion would be an asset.

Experience:

• Minimum 6 years of experience in HR management, of which at least 3 in Strategic Workforce Planning, Organizational Design or HR consulting with excellent analytical, communication and project management skills, At least 3 years of international experience either working abroad or in an international environment, as part of a multicultural team.

Language:

• Excellent knowledge of English. French or Portuguese level C are considered as a plus

Ability to travel:

• This assignment is based in Johannesburg, South Africa with possible travels within the Southern Africa region to support 12 Country Offices (Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Republic of Congo, Zambia, and Zimbabwe).

WHY WORK WITH US?

This is an opportunity for an exciting and challenging position in a multi-cultural and interdisciplinary team, based in a unique location, on a topic with high relevance. In addition, we offer:

• Meaningful and impactful careers: Our day-to-day work makes a difference in the lives of the people we serve
• Continuous learning and training: We provide learning tools for our staff to continually develop their careers
• Multicultural and stimulating work environment: We encourage gender and cultural diversity to make our teams stronger

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

This Vacancy Announcement will close on Friday**, 4 November 2022 at 11:59pm Johannesburg time**

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Female applicants and qualified applicants from developing countries are especially encouraged to apply

WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.