Human Resources (HR) Senior Officer

UNOPS South East Asia Multi-Country Office (EAPMCO)

The South East Asia and Pacific Multi Country Office (EAPMCO) supports, develops and oversees the UNOPS portfolio of projects in South East Asia and the Pacific. EAPMCO was established in January 2023 following the merger of the Thailand Multi-Country Office, which covered 20 countries across  North East Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific, and the Cambodia Multi-Country Office, which covered 4 countries South East Asia - 3 countries in the Mekong Sub-region (Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam) and the Philippines.  EAPMCO currently covers 24 countries across North East Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific. With its head office in Bangkok, the Multi-Country Office comprises eight business units: EAPMCO Thailand, EAPMCO Indonesia,  EAPMCO Pacific Operations Cluster, EAPMCO Papua New Guinea, EAPMCO China, EAPMCO Vietnam, EAPMCO Mekong, and EAPMCO Philippines.

In 2023, the UNOPS EAPMCO implemented projects worth more than USD 75 million, in the areas of Energy Transition, Digital Transformations, Sustainable Environmental Management, Climate Change, Waste Management, Rule of Law and Access to Justice, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Post Conflict Reintegration, Emergency Relief, Post COVID19 Economic Transformations, and Health, through HR, procurement, construction, contract management, fund and program management services.  

The Multi Country Office head office in Bangkok provides strategic direction, operational support, delivery oversight and assurance of the excellence of business processes and quality standards across all of the entire Multi Country Office locations. It is also responsible for developing, delivering and managing the portfolio of engagements in the country of the MCO location itself. 

UNOPS in Papua New Guinea

The EAPMCO Papua New Guinea was established in early 2020 to support the implementation of design and construction of infrastructure, sustainable procurement, capacity development to support technical and governance excellence, programme management, and to facilitate access to funding sources in Papua New Guinea.  

As an established office since 2022, EAPMCO PNG is demonstrating significant growth and portfolio diversification potential in a short period of time. Working with an increasing number of development partners, in 2023 EAPMCO PNG is quickly being recognised as a responsive and quality partner in climate change resilient infrastructure, sustainable procurement and governance support to the Government of PNG in its service delivery obligations to the people. There are a number of projects currently in the pipeline which will expand the portfolio of existing projects for the office. 

Operational Context

Under the direct supervision of the HR Manager and the overall direction of the Head of Support Services, the Human Resources Senior Officer ensures consistent delivery of efficient and effective HR services to the Papua New Guinea Project office and other offices as delegated. S/he interprets and applies HR policies, rules, regulations, and internal procedures to the management of key HR service lines and systems to support hiring managers in the sourcing, recruitment, selection, placement, realignment, and retention of the best available talent from internal and external sources.  The incumbent provides solutions to a wide spectrum of complex HR issues, advises to international and national personnel, maintains oversight over the HR management of project personnel, and promotes a collaborative, client-oriented approach, contributing to the maintenance of high personnel morale. 

The HR Senior Officer supervises and leads the personnel of the HR Unit in PNG ( if applicable), working in close collaboration with the programmes, operations, and project teams in the PNG office, to ensure successful performance in HR management

• Contribute to HR policy development and corporate HR initiatives by assisting to generate and maintaining data on trends, risks and opportunities and sharing local HR best practices.

• Undertake projects in support of the HR initiatives for attainment of business objectives in line with the corporate HR strategy.  

• Generate strategic and operational workforce data for planning, including related statistical summaries and movements of UNOPS personnel withing the relevant business unit/s. 

• Ensure appropriate mapping of HR business processes to enable efficient and effective services and workflows.

• Communicate HR policy changes and new HR initiatives to management and personnel, providing guidance as needed.

2. Advisory Services

• Provide guidance on HR related systems and processes, including but not limited to, Recruitment, Contracts, Position Management, Benefits and Entitlements consistent with UNOPS rules and procedures.

• Provide advice to personnel on HR services such as the performance appraisal process, learning & development activities, contracts, benefits, entitlements and remuneration and career development.

• In collaboration with IPAS HR, assist to provide guidance as needed on sensitive matters including grievances, potential violations in code of conduct, harassment, abuse, workplace disputes, performance improvement plans, complex employee relations matters, etc.

•  Encourage line management responsibility for implementation of HR policies and effective team management, providing guidance and coaching as needed. Foster the relationship between supervisors and personnel encouraging dialogue and two-way constructive feedback.

• Collaborate with leadership to support institutional gender and diversity initiatives, providing education and advice on issues related to equity, compliance, inclusion, and diversity.

3. Talent Acquisition and Administration

• Implement talent acquisition activities in line with UNOPS policies and processes covering Recruitment, Onboarding, Position Management, Job Classification, Performance Management, Learning and Development, Change Management, Salary and Benefit administration, Contract Administration, Succession Planning and Out-processing.

• In collaboration with IPAS HR, oversee administration of entitlements for all personnel and the efficient administration of contractual modalities, loans, exchanges, and secondments in the region. Inform and advise UNOPS and project personnel, consultants, partners on their conditions of service and entitlements according to their contract modality, expediting actions to facilitate their efficient, timely, and client-focused onboarding.

• Oversee the provision of personnel reporting within the office, ensuring that systems and data are updated and in place.

• Lead recruitment processes ensuring best practices are used for effective and efficient talent acquisition in line with UNOPS policy.  Utilize and maintain recruitment plans, tools and policy guidance to efficiently and effectively recruit and retain a diverse workforce to meet the needs of the business objectives. Maintain personnel rosters.

• Provide support in realignment exercises, including job fairs, to ensure timely competency elaboration, sourcing, selection, placement of required talent and transitions as well as due process. 

• In collaboration with HQ, identify key talent areas and provide coherent, well-developed plans for obtaining, developing, and managing critical talent.  Develop, utilize and recruitment plans, tools and policy guidance to efficiently and effectively recruit and retain a diverse workforce to meet the needs of the business objectives. 

• Liaise with UNOPS’ HR related units such as SSC on all personnel administration matters.

• Implement organizational changes and realignment exercises affecting personnel in UNOPS in accordance with UNOPS policy, ensuring personneling actions are taken in an efficient manner.

• Partner with business units to take a lead role in engagement and work enrichment initiatives and development of annual training plans in collaboration with PCG.  

4. Team Management (as applicable)

• Facilitate the engagement and provision of high quality results and services of the team supervised through effective work planning, performance management, coaching, and promotion of learning and development.

• Provide oversight, ensuring compliance by team members with existing policies and best practices.

5. Knowledge building and knowledge sharing

• Organize, facilitate and/or deliver training and learning initiatives for personnel on HR-related topics.

• Contribute to HR knowledge networks and communities of practice by providing collaborative synthesis of lessons learnt and dissemination of best practices in human resources management.

• Collect feedback, ideas, and internal knowledge about processes and best practices and utilize productively. 

• Maintain HR analytic parameters and data.

Education: 

• Advanced University degree (Master’s or equivalent), preferably in Human Resources Management, Business Administration, Social or Behavioral Sciences, or related fields, is required.

• First University degree (Bachelor’s or equivalent) in or related fields combined with two (2) additional years of relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of the education requirements outlined above.

Experience: 

• A minimum of two (2) years of experience in professional-level recruitment and/or HR generalist services in an international, public, or corporate organization in combination with a relevant university degree is required.

• Some experience in UN system organizations preferably in a developing country is desirable.

• Proficiency in the usage of computers and Google Suite as well as web-based management systems is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Full working knowledge of the English language is required.

• Contract type: Local ICA
• Contract level: ICS 9 / LICA 9
• Contract duration: Ongoing ICA – ‘Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.’
• Duty station: Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (Port Moresby is a hardship duty station)

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.

• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.

• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures,  languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 

• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.

• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process.  If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

Terms and Conditions 

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 

• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. For more information on a retainer contract here.

• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.

• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.