Role Purpose

The HR Senior Officer provides strategic and operational HR expertise to UNOPS offices worldwide through short-term surge deployments. The role supports offices experiencing critical capacity needs by delivering timely HR support and ensuring the effective implementation of UNOPS HR policies, procedures and people practices.

Depending on the nature of the assignment, the incumbent may provide advisory services, strengthen existing HR functions, or temporarily assume responsibility for HR leadership within the office. Assignments may cover a broad range of HR service lines, including workforce planning, talent acquisition, contract administration, employee relations, organizational development, learning and performance management, while responding to the specific priorities of the requesting office.

Between deployments, the HR Senior Officer contributes to strengthening the Surge Mechanism by supporting knowledge management, developing guidance and learning materials, capturing lessons learned, analysing workforce trends, and contributing to continuous improvement initiatives that enhance surge readiness and organizational capability.

This Terms of Reference is generic in nature and establishes the core responsibilities and competencies expected of the role. Given the diverse operational contexts in which surge assignments take place, the specific objectives, deliverables and scope of work for each deployment will vary and will be defined in assignment-specific Terms of Reference issued by the requesting office.

Functions / Key Results Expected

1. Policy Development and Implementation Support

• Contribute to HR policy development and corporate initiatives by providing data-driven insights on workforce trends, risks and opportunities, and by sharing country-specific best practices.
• Maintain a strong understanding of the Office’s financial and operational priorities, and, in consultation with management, lead the implementation of corporate HR strategies and initiatives.
• Design and lead HR projects and initiatives that align with corporate HR strategy and support the achievement of organizational goals.
• Collaborate with leadership to develop and implement workforce planning initiatives that promote efficient service delivery and optimized workflows; monitor workforce status and emerging trends.
• Communicate changes in HR policies and the rollout of new initiatives to both management and personnel, offering guidance and support as needed.
• Maintain, or oversee the maintenance of, HR analytics and data parameters to support informed decision-making within the Office.

2. HR Advice

• Provide strategic guidance on the application of HR policies in people management, proactively assessing and anticipating HR needs to deliver value-added, consultative support to management on personnel-related matters.
• Design, deliver and model HR services, programmes and communications that enhance the experience of prospective and current personnel, as well as UNOPS partners.
• Collaborate with corporate HR teams to advise, support and mediate on sensitive and complex issues, including grievances, potential code of conduct violations, harassment, abuse, workplace disputes, performance improvement plans, and other personnel relations matters.
• Promote line management accountability in the implementation of HR policies and effective team leadership, providing coaching and guidance to strengthen supervisory capabilities and foster constructive, two-way communication between managers and their teams.
• In collaboration with management, support continuous improvement and professional development by advising on, planning, and monitoring learning and development activities.
• Partner with leadership to advance institutional gender and diversity priorities by offering education and guidance on equity, compliance, inclusion, and diversity-related matters.

3. Talent Acquisition and Management

• Oversee the implementation of talent acquisition and management policies and processes, including job classification, recruitment, onboarding, performance management, learning and development, fee/ salary and benefits administration, and contract administration.
• Coordinate the effective administration of various contractual modalities, including loans, exchanges and secondments, ensuring smooth engagement and collaboration with relevant partners.
• Collaborate with corporate HR teams to lead personnel realignment exercises, such as job fairs, ensuring timely competency mapping, sourcing, selection, placement and transition of talent.
• Identify critical talent needs and develop comprehensive, forward-looking plans to attract, develop and retain key talent. Leverage workforce planning tools and recruitment strategies to ensure timely and inclusive hiring aligned with organizational goals.

4. Team Management

• Oversee the HR team to ensure the effective delivery of high-quality HR services and results across the assigned countries/ geographic areas of operation.

5. Knowledge Building and Sharing

• Support the organization, facilitation and delivery of training and learning sessions on HR topics.
• Participate in knowledge-sharing initiatives and Communities of Practice (CoPs), contributing insights and lessons learned from HR project implementation,
• Conduct research on HR-related topics and contribute to the drafting of reports, summaries and briefing notes.

Skills

Data Analysis, Human Resources Policies, Team Management, Human Resources Operations, Talent Acquisition

Competencies

Education Requirements

Required

Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in any discipline with 4 years of relevant experience OR

Master’s degree (or equivalent) in any discipline or related fields with 2 years of relevant experience is required

Desired

A globally or nationally recognized professional certificate in Human Resource Management (HRM) is desired.

Experience Requirements

Required

Relevant experience is work in one or more of the following areas:

• Talent acquisition and workforce planning;
• HR operations and contract administration;
• employee relations and performance management;
• organizational design and development; or
• strategic HR advisory services.

Experience providing HR advice to managers on the interpretation and application of HR policies, procedures and best practices.

Experience managing multiple HR priorities simultaneously and delivering results within tight deadlines.

Experience analysing HR data and producing reports or dashboards to support evidence-based decision-making.

Experience working in the UN system or in humanitarian response.

Desired

• Experience working in multicultural and geographically dispersed teams.
• Experience supporting HR functions in development, humanitarian, fragile or emergency contexts.
• Experience leading or supporting organizational change, restructuring, workforce planning or business transformation initiatives.
• Experience developing HR dashboards, workforce analytics, KPIs or management reporting using tools such as Google Looker Studio, Power BI, Tableau, Excel, or similar business intelligence platforms.
• Experience using generative AI solutions (e.g. Microsoft Copilot, Gemini or similar technologies) to improve HR processes, develop knowledge products, analyse information, automate routine tasks or support operational decision-making.
• Experience designing or improving HR processes through automation, workflow optimization or digital transformation initiatives.

• Contribute to HR policy development and corporate initiatives by providing data-driven insights on workforce trends, risks and opportunities, and by sharing country-specific best practices.
• Maintain a strong understanding of the Office’s financial and operational priorities, and, in consultation with management, lead the implementation of corporate HR strategies and initiatives.
• Design and lead HR projects and initiatives that align with corporate HR strategy and support the achievement of organizational goals.
• Collaborate with leadership to develop and implement workforce planning initiatives that promote efficient service delivery and optimized workflows; monitor workforce status and emerging trends.
• Communicate changes in HR policies and the rollout of new initiatives to both management and personnel, offering guidance and support as needed.
• Maintain, or oversee the maintenance of, HR analytics and data parameters to support informed decision-making within the Office.
• Provide strategic guidance on the application of HR policies in people management, proactively assessing and anticipating HR needs to deliver value-added, consultative support to management on personnel-related matters.
• Design, deliver and model HR services, programmes and communications that enhance the experience of prospective and current personnel, as well as UNOPS partners.
• Collaborate with corporate HR teams to advise, support and mediate on sensitive and complex issues, including grievances, potential code of conduct violations, harassment, abuse, workplace disputes, performance improvement plans, and other personnel relations matters.
• Promote line management accountability in the implementation of HR policies and effective team leadership, providing coaching and guidance to strengthen supervisory capabilities and foster constructive, two-way communication between managers and their teams.
• In collaboration with management, support continuous improvement and professional development by advising on, planning, and monitoring learning and development activities.
• Partner with leadership to advance institutional gender and diversity priorities by offering education and guidance on equity, compliance, inclusion, and diversity-related matters.
• Oversee the implementation of talent acquisition and management policies and processes, including job classification, recruitment, onboarding, performance management, learning and development, fee/ salary and benefits administration, and contract administration.
• Coordinate the effective administration of various contractual modalities, including loans, exchanges and secondments, ensuring smooth engagement and collaboration with relevant partners.
• Collaborate with corporate HR teams to lead personnel realignment exercises, such as job fairs, ensuring timely competency mapping, sourcing, selection, placement and transition of talent.
• Identify critical talent needs and develop comprehensive, forward-looking plans to attract, develop and retain key talent. Leverage workforce planning tools and recruitment strategies to ensure timely and inclusive hiring aligned with organizational goals.
• Oversee the HR team to ensure the effective delivery of high-quality HR services and results across the assigned countries/ geographic areas of operation.
• Support the organization, facilitation and delivery of training and learning sessions on HR topics.
• Participate in knowledge-sharing initiatives and Communities of Practice (CoPs), contributing insights and lessons learned from HR project implementation,
• Conduct research on HR-related topics and contribute to the drafting of reports, summaries and briefing notes.

• Data Analysis
• Human Resources Policies
• Team Management
• Human Resources Operations
• Talent Acquisition

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in any discipline with 4 years of relevant experience OR Master’s degree (or equivalent) in any discipline or related fields with 2 years of relevant experience is required
• A globally or nationally recognized professional certificate in Human Resource Management (HRM) is desired.
• Relevant experience is work in one or more of the following areas: Talent acquisition and workforce planning; HR operations and contract administration; employee relations and performance management; organizational design and development; or strategic HR advisory services.
• Experience providing HR advice to managers on the interpretation and application of HR policies, procedures and best practices.
• Experience managing multiple HR priorities simultaneously and delivering results within tight deadlines.
• Experience analysing HR data and producing reports or dashboards to support evidence-based decision-making.
• Experience working in the UN system or in humanitarian response.
• Experience working in multicultural and geographically dispersed teams.
• Experience supporting HR functions in development, humanitarian, fragile or emergency contexts.
• Experience leading or supporting organizational change, restructuring, workforce planning or business transformation initiatives.
• Experience developing HR dashboards, workforce analytics, KPIs or management reporting using tools such as Google Looker Studio, Power BI, Tableau, Excel, or similar business intelligence platforms.
• Experience using generative AI solutions (e.g. Microsoft Copilot, Gemini or similar technologies) to improve HR processes, develop knowledge products, analyse information, automate routine tasks or support operational decision-making.
• Experience designing or improving HR processes through automation, workflow optimization or digital transformation initiatives.