Senior Human Resources Officer

Job description

UNHCR
Organizational Setting and Work Relationships

The Senior Human Resources Officer supports the
UNHCR’s People Strategy and contributes to the implementation of the 2018 independent Human Resources review, which resulted in the establishment of HR strategic priorities and the reconfiguration and transformation of the Division of Human Resources (DHR) from a largely transactional model into a strategic business partner for field operations and senior management.

Having the right people in the right place at the right time is at the core of enabling
UNHCR to protect and respond to persons of concern.

By attracting, retaining and developing a talented, diverse and agile workforce while nurturing a culture of excellence, respect and wellbeing for all,
UNHCR¿s Human Resources acts as a strategic partner to the organization enabling a people-centric culture.

The Senior Human Resources Officer contributes to the development of a HR customer service-oriented culture that values proactivity, continuous improvement, innovation and high performance.

By translating operational needs into workforce action and individual development needs, the Senior Human Resources Officer plays a critical role in partnering with management and the workforce.

The main areas of work of the Senior Human Resources Officer include the implementation of HR policies, staff administration, workforce planning, recruitment, and talent development with inclusion, diversity and gender as a cross-cutting issue.

S/he will also support the implementation of the staff health and counselling plans and in fostering an inclusive and respectful working environment. The incumbent maintains employee confidence and protects the organization and its workforce by keeping human resource information confidential.

The Senior Human Resources Officer is usually supervised by the Representative, Deputy or Assistant Representative responsible for HR in a Country Operation, or the most senior HR staff in a Regional Bureau. She/he supervises HR Professional and General Service staff.

The incumbent maintains a direct working relationship with a number of functions across the Division of Human Resources (DHR).

For positions in Bureaux or Country Operations, the incumbent also works closely with the Senior HR Partner, the Senior Medical Officer and Senior Staff counsellor for his/her region.

He/she also maintains contact and close cooperation with other UN agencies in the region or country and represent
UNHCR in the working groups/task forces within country/regional UN inter-agency mechanisms.All
UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description.

They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of
UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules,
UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks.

In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and
UNHCR¿s core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.Duties

Strategic workforce advice and operational support:

• Engage with management to understand priorities, and provide advice and solutions on all aspects of HR in line with delegated HR authorities.
• Sponsor HR initiatives that support organizational culture change such as good people management practices, and promoting gender, inclusion and diversity.
• Lead HR operational activities to ensure timely provision of HR solutions, prioritizing according to the needs and risks.
  Assignments and Talent Acquisition:
  • Oversee the process of recruitment, assignment and reassignment of locallyrecruited staff and affiliate workforce, ensuring compliance with
    UNHCR rules and procedures, and providing advice to managers where required.
  • Set up and run (Regional) Assignments Committee.
  • Take a proactive approach to risk management in the areas of recruitment, ensuring the issues are identified, addressed and reported and, where appropriate, escalated.Advice to managers and staff, and contribution to an inclusive work environment:
    • Build dialog and outreach with staff to provide support with their queries; and also promote dialog between staff and management to help find solutions to HR-related issues.
    • Be proactive in identifying issues, themes and patterns affecting the workforce¿s health and welfare, including sexual harassment and abuse of authority.
    • Ensure that onboarding, induction, reintegration into the workplace and offboarding support, is provided to colleagues; Induction programmes should include information on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) and Sexual Harassment, Code of Conduct as well as workforce¿s rights and obligations.
      HR policies and inter-agency:
      • Ensure compliance with
        UNHCR¿s Human Resources policies and procedures and the UN staff rules, regulations and
        UNHCR administrative instructions.
      • Participate in a network among HR staff members in the region in order to harmonize implementation of HR policies and initiatives, collect field insights to inform the development of DHR policies and activities; identify and share HR best practices, also through contacts with other UN agencies.
        Duty of Care:
        • Contribute to establishing and maintaining a medical evacuation plan with senior management, Field safety and the Senior Medical Officer.
        • Support the development and implementation of a Duty of Care strategy. Identify and assess issues related to duty of care including physical, mental health and safety of
          UNHCR¿s workforce. Promote work/life balance and flexible working arrangements with managers and staff.
          For positions in Regional Bureaux only:
          • In the absence of a Senior Talent Development Officer in the Bureau:
          • Implement a talent sourcing and development strategy for
            UNHCR workforce in the region, in line with
            UNHCR¿s needs and staff members¿ career planning.
          • Equip HR teams and Managers in the region with skills on people management and tools related to talent development, career guidance and performance management.
          • Lead risk assessments and discussions with team(s) to proactively manage risks and seize opportunities impacting objectives. Ensure that risk management principles are integrated in decisionmaking both at strategic and operational levels. Allocate resources for planned treatments with resource requirements in Strategic Plans. Ensure that risks are managed to acceptable levels and escalate, as needed. If a Risk Owner, designate the Risk Focal Point and certify that the annual risk review is completed and ensure that the risk register is updated during the year, as needed.
          • Perform other related duties as required.Minimum Qualifications

            Education & Professional Work Experience
            Years of Experience / Degree Level
            For P4/NOD – 9 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 8 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 7 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree

            Field(s) of Education
            Human Resources Management; Human Resource Development;
            Personnel Administration; Business Administration; or other relevant field.

            Relevant Job Experience
            Essential
            Experience working in Human Resources. Sound knowledge of general HR policies, processes and systems. Managerial experience.

            Desirable
            Proven ability to identify and implement successful business related HR interventions.

            Experience in some of the following areas:
            workforce planning, organizational design, recruitment, HR policy or talent development. Experience in HR information technology systems and tools. Experience in field humanitarian operations and/or emergency settings. Experience working with the United Nations. Experience working in a multi-cultural setting.

            Functional Skills
            HR-Local mass recruitment
            HR-Coordination and Oversight of Workforce Mobility
            HR-Inclusion, Diversity and Gender strategy design and implementation
            HR-HR data and people analytics
            HR-HR Business Partnering
            HR-Employee Relationship Management
            HR-Talent Development and Nurturing
            RM-Risk Management
            SO-Critical Thinking and problem solving
            SO-Learning Agility
            SO-Situational Judgement
            (Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

            Language Requirements

            For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
            For National Professional jobs:
            Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.

            For General Service jobs:
            Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.

            All
            UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties.

            This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination and abuse of power.

            As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant
            UNHCR resources when these issues arise.This is a Standard Job Description for all
            UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position.

            Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.Desired Candidate Profile

            Disable qualifications:

            This operation is looking for creative open minded HR professional with excellent knowledge of HR rules and regulations, coupled with effective communication and drafting skills, who can encourage further development of the HR team under his/her supervision, who is leading by example and is flexible and easy to adapt, whose professional contributions will support further transformation of this operation.Operational context

            Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:
            To view occupational safety and health considerations for this duty station, please visit this link:

            Nature of Position:
            Snr HR Officer, under the overall supervision of Assistant Representative (Admin) is leading HR team of
            UNHCR Lebanon.

            The team consists of young energetic colleagues located in Beirut (7 s/ms) and all one in each field offices (Zahle, Tripoli, Tyre).

            The main managerial tasks of Snr HRO are to establish system of competent, proficient, client-oriented responses and services related to HR management.

            The incumbent of this position is tasked to lead HR team and continue coaching colleagues in HR on the relevant concepts, policies, and principals together with advice and guidance towards further development of the soft and technical skills of the team, like communication and drafting, use of applications and tools not limited to WD, COMPASS, Cloud ERP.

            Since 2023 this operation undertook few rounds of internal staffing reviews to align the operational plans to the available resources, led to the change in personnel from some $50M with almost 650 individuals in 2021 to $42M with 507 staff in all categories in 2024.

            The role of Snr HR office in staffing review is a key and vital to support formulating operational internal guidance and principles on the staffing review, providing timely accurate data and HR information is supporting the process in accordance with the guidance and policies, assisting to the managers in making tough and informed decisions. Therefor any previous experience in managing the staffing review processes is a plus.

            Snr HRO ensures confidentiality, integrity, transparency, fairness, and professionalism in all HR matters and processes throughout the country, liaises and consults with relevant HQ departments as well as with MENA HR Partner on policy level clarifications and implementation.

            The Snr HR Officer is expected to take a leading role in area of staff development and capacity building of the operation personnel, regular field missions will be expected. Snr HRO is leading the support and preparations for the annual CoC sessions and the performance management.

            The Snr HRO is closely involved in addressing the issues of staff relations and grievances, conflict management, counselling, providing advice on support and complaint mechanisms, as well as ensuring that the staff welfare is attended at all levels within the operation.
            Living and Working Conditions:
            Lebanon continues to host the highest number of refugees per capita and per square kilometre in the world.

            As of 28 February 2023, there are 820,160 refugees and asylum seekers registered with
            UNHCR in Lebanon, including 808,088 Syrian refugees and 12,072 refugees and asylum seekers of other nationalities. The Government of Lebanon estimates that there are 1.5 million displaced Syrians living in Lebanon.

            Refugees live across nearly all municipalities in Lebanon in both within urban and rural areas, as well as in informal tented settlements.

            Since 2021, the Vulnerability Assessment for Syrian Refugees (VASyR) indicates that 9 out of 10 Syrian refugees are living in extreme poverty, even with assistance, up from 55% in 2019.

            UNHCR co-leads with UNDP and the Government of Lebanon the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP), a joint, multi-year plan between the Government of Lebanon and 126 international and national partners developed to assist more than 3.2 million crisis-affected people living in Lebanon and including displaced Syrians, Palestinian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese host communities. The LCRP appeal for 2023 is $3.34 billion.

            Compounding the refugee situation are the unprecedented economic and financial crises that Lebanon is facing, which have contributed to a substantial deterioration of the socio-economic situation since 2019 and affected everyone, including refugees and Lebanese people.

            Lebanon is currently amid an unprecedented combination of an economic and financial crisis, extensive unemployment, political instability, and a negative rhetoric against Syrian refugees. On 31 October 2022 Lebanon officially entered an institutional vacuum in both the Presidency and Premiership.

            This have created a heightened tension environment that might evolve into politically motivated protests, intermittent skirmishes, and terrorist attacks in the coming period if the impasse continues to be prolonged.

            Subsequently, the current notable increase in crime rate, banks break-ins, prison break and smuggling of individuals by sea, are likely to continue at the light of the large proliferation of weapons, but also the limited capacity of security authorities given the financial crises. UN staff remain indirectly affected by crime.

            Deterioration of the basis support services are affecting the overall living conditions across the country. Major challenge is the provision of reliable electricity supply across the country.

            Many of the residential buildings had installed generator-based back-up systems, however due to diesel shortages and increased fuel prices, electricity cuts are noticeable, between 6 to 20 hours a day. The cost of reliable electrify supply increased significantly and can be up to USD1,000 per month. The shortage in medical supplies, availability of medical specialists also needs to be considered during the application process.

            Due to collapse in the banking sector, many international staff are not using local banks for their finances and relying more on international bank accounts to make transfers or relying on transfers though financial service companies.

            UNHCR in Lebanon has over 500 staff across offices in Beirut and Zahle (classified by ICSC in July 2023 as ‘B’ family duty stations), as well in Tripoli, Qobayat, and Tyre (classified as category ‘C’ family duty stations).

            The timely issuing of the entry visas and residence permits has proven to be a challenge for
            UNHCR Lebanon, which may delay the staff member’s assignment process, including their dependents.

            Even though personnel can visit Lebanon using the UNLP and will receive a 6-month visa upon arrival, but such visas cannot be converted into residency permit to regularize the stay of international staff in Lebanon.

            It is imperative that staff arriving from abroad to take up assignment in Lebanon has to secure an official visa to be approved by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other government entities (if needed). The process of obtaining approvals on official visas varies with the type of visa granted. In normal situation it takes between 15 and 30 working days (depending on the type of visa).

            As for Residency permit process for international staff members and their dependents, it can only be initiated after securing the official visa and entering Lebanon using it.Additional Qualifications

            Education

            Bachelor of Arts (BA

            ):
            Administration, Bachelor of Arts (BA

            ):
            Human Resources Management, Bachelor of Arts (BA

            ):
            Law

            Work Experience

            Annual Budget OL in Operation/Office, Number of Persons of Concern Served, Number of Workforce in Operation/Work Setting, Workforce to Supervise, Working with Persons of Concern: Asylum Seekers, Working with Persons of Concern: Others of Concern, Working with Persons of Concern: Refugees, Working with Persons of Concern: Stateless

            Competencies

            Accountability, Analytical thinking, Change capability & adaptability, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Empowering & building trust, Judgement & decision making, Leadership, Managing performance, Managing resource, Organizational awareness, Planning & organizing, Strategic planning & visions, Teamwork & collaboration

            UNHCR Salary Calculator

            Compendium

            Bi-annual Compendium 2023 Part B – October 2023

            Functional clearance

            This position doesn’t require a functional clearance

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                Sector:
                Nonprofit/Community/Social Services/International Cooperation

                Role:
                Other

                Working hours (%

                ): 80-100%

                Job type:
                Staff (Permanent and Fixed Term)