HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER Kingston upon Thames, England
Job description
The position is in the Office of Administrative Services (OAS) of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and reports directly to the Director of OAS.
The Office of Administrative Services provides general administrative and management support to the Secretariat. Its functions include financial management and control, preparation of proposed budgets, assessment of contributions of member States, recruitment of staff and contractors, personnel management, procurement of goods and services, communications and information technology services, and security.
The applicant is expected to be experienced in all matters within the full range of human resources management issues of the administrative unit and to use initiative to resolve problems and identify exceptions. The applicant is also expected to adhere to applicable ISA and UN guidelines, policies and procedures while undertaking these duties.
General
- Provide advice and support the Director and staff on human resources related matters.
- Initiates and coordinates actions covering the entire span of human resources staffing activities (classification reviews, recruitment, placement, reassignment, promotion, performance management, separation, as well as mobility and career development, gender equality and staff management relations), ensuring consistency in the application of the staff rules and human resources procedures.
- Provides substantive advice with respect to conditions of service, duties and responsibilities, and privileges and entitlements, under the Staff Rules and Regulations.
- Develops and implements new human resources policies, practices, and procedures to meet the evolving needs of ISA.
- Promotes staff welfare and security, including through adequate consultations between staff and management, and the application of transparency, responsibility, accountability, due process, equity, and fairness in the management of human resources.
- Develops policies and practices for the provision of health care to staff.
- Keep abreast of developments in all areas of human resources in ISA and at the United Nations.
- Coordinates outreach activities in relation to workforce planning and critical vacancies.
- Monitors and ensures the implementation of human resources policies, practices and procedures.
- Prepare reports and participate and/or lead special human resources projects.
Recruitment and Placement
- Identify upcoming vacancies; prepare vacancy announcements, review applications and provide a short-list for recruitment
- Arrange and conduct interviews to select candidates; review recommendation on the selection of candidate by Senior Management to include gender and diverse geographic representation in selection; serve as Ex-Officio in Appointment and Promotion Bodies, examination boards (e.g. interview panel) and prepare and present cases to these bodies.
- Prepare job offers for successful candidates.
- Monitor and evaluate recruitment and placement-related activities and recommend changes or corrections related to procedures as necessary.
- Supervise and monitor the work of the Human Resources Assistant in carrying out all human resources administrative transactions, including preparation of personnel actions, maintenance of staffing tables and processing of contracts.
Administration of Entitlements and Travel
- Provide advice on interpretation and application of policies, regulations and rules; review and provide advice on exceptions to policies, regulation and rules.
- Administer and provide advice on salary and related benefits; determine and recommend benefits and entitlements for staff on the basis of contractual status.
- Review policies and procedures and recommend changes as required.
- Review and recommend level of remuneration for consultants.
- Process education grant claims.
- Supervise and monitor the implementation of ISA policies and practices on travel related entitlements applicable to staff, consultants, and Member States delegates.
- Monitors and oversees travel, leave entitlements and shipments of staff members.
Performance management
- Supports ISA in the implementation of the performance appraisal system and monitors its proper implementation of the performance management system.
- Provide performance management advice to staff and management; assist supervisors and staff with understanding and using the performance reporting system.
Staff development and career support
- Identify and analyse staff development/training and career support needs and design programmes to meet identified needs; prepare monitoring reports on staff development and career support programmes.
- Conduct training assessment needs and act as Co-ordinator of the Language Training Programme.
- Develop training plans and monitor compliance with mandatory training requirements.
- Provide advice on mobility and career development to staff, particularly young professionals and staff in the General Service and related categories.
- Design, plan, monitor and provide induction orientation programme and briefing to new staff members.
Other duties
- Advice and counsel staff in respect of rights, responsibilities, code of conduct and difficulties associated with work and entitlements.
- Provide guidance to programme managers on the application of classification policies and procedures and by undertaking whole office review.
- Conduct and co-ordinate salary surveys assessing the labour market, establish salaries and related allowances of locally recruited staff.
- Accountability: Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honours commitments; delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards; operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules; supports subordinates, provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments; takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable.
- Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others' ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.
- Judgement/Decision-making: Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly; gathers relevant information before making a decision; considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them; takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization; proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information; checks assumptions against facts; determines the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision; makes tough decisions when necessary.
- Managing Performance: Delegates the appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision- making authority; Makes sure that roles, responsibilities and reporting lines are clear to each staff member; Accurately judges the amount of time and resources needed to accomplish a task and matches task to skills; Monitors progress against milestones and deadlines; Regularly discusses performance and provides feedback and coaching to staff; Encourages risk-taking and supports creativity and initiative; Actively supports the development and career aspirations of staff; Appraises performance fairly.
• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in human resources management, organizational development, business or public administration, social sciences, education, law or related field. A relevant first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Work ExperienceA minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience in human resources management, administration, law, or related area is required.
Experience in managing a diverse work unit is required.
Experience with management of benefits and entitlement is desirable.
Experience working with the human resources module of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is desirable.
Experience in supporting an organization-wide change management programme is desirable.
• English and French are the working languages of the Authority. For the post advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.
Assessment• Qualified applicants may be evaluated through a competency-based interview and/or other assessment methods.
Special NoticeCandidates eligible for consideration must also be nationals of ISA Member States.
Consideration is given to achieving diverse gender, geographical and economic representation at the ISA, to the extent possible.
ISA reserves the right to not make any appointment to the vacancy, and/or to make an appointment at a lower level from the one advertised.
All applicants are strongly encouraged to apply on-line as soon as possible after the job opening has been posted and well before the deadline stated in the job opening. On-line applications will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided. If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. If the problem persists, please seek technical assistance through the Inspira "Need Help?" link.
According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment.
Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.
Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process.
The paramount consideration in the appointment, transfer, or promotion of staff shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. By accepting an offer of appointment, United Nations staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and assignment by him or her to any activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). In this context, all internationally recruited staff members shall be required to move periodically to discharge new functions within or across duty stations under conditions established by the Secretary-General.
Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage.
The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.
Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.
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.
