HR Senior Assistant

Background Information

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners' peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement, and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors, and United Nations organizations.  With over 6,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical, and management knowledge they need, where they need it.  By implementing around 1,000 projects for our partners at any given time, UNOPS makes significant contributions to results on the ground, often in the most challenging environments.

UNOPS Nepal Context:

Since 2015, UNOPS has engaged closely with the Government of Nepal and several development partners in development efforts of the Government of Nepal including the modernization of the Nepal Police, the post-earthquake assessment of damaged buildings, and enrollment of beneficiaries into housing grant schemes. UNOPS has helped to improve policing services. It has supported homeowners engaged in the reconstruction process, retrofitting damaged houses, and reconstruction of disability-friendly schools. It has also delivered essential equipment to support COVID-19 response efforts.

The functional objective of UNOPS Nepal is to deliver its projects efficiently and effectively in alignment with government priorities following UNOPS rules and regulations. This is to drive forward the outcomes sought by the clients and funding partners and contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while ensuring gender, diversity, and inclusion are mainstreamed in all its work for the people of Nepal.

Project Information:

FCDO’s Security and Justice Programme (SJP) is a five-year programme (2023-27) with an anticipated budget of up to GBP 35 million. The programme will continue the recently completed Integrated Programme for Strengthening Security and Justice (IPSSJ)’s dual focus on tackling criminal violence, in particular gender-based violence (GBV), and supporting respective Government entities, including Nepal Police, to strengthen their services.

Building on the ongoing Launch of the SJP (Inception Phase), the multi-year SJP will support more representative, accountable, and responsive policing and also help tackle gender-based violence in Nepal. The programme will contribute to the following result areas:

1.     Security and justice providers have improved their capacity to serve the public and manage relationships with communities, leading to increased public safety with increased trust from people in the state. 

2.     Security and justice institutions at Provincial and Palika levels have effective, accountable, inclusive, and sustainable systems in line with the federal constitutional mandates to improve their skills and better manage their resources to meet people’s security and justice needs. 

3.     Decreased prevalence of GBV led by increased access to services for those who seek them.

The 2015 constitution of Nepal, envisages the devolution of policing in Nepal into 7 provincial Police Services and a Federal Police Organization (Nepal Police) in the federal sphere. How they combine to provide policing services in Nepal remains a work in progress. It will be highly complex in terms of changes in legislation, policy, administration, and organizational culture, even while standards of coordination and delivery must be maintained across the whole country. The changes will require new ways of working under SJP and create new needs to which UNOPS will seek maximum impact in its project period in at least three target provinces.

In relation to this, UNOPS, as a potential implementing partner for the FCDO, is planning to recruit a Community Policing Partnership and GBV Specialist (Lead for Workstream 3) for the policing component of the SJP programme.The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners' peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world.  UNOPS supports partners to build a better future by providing services that increase the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of peace building, humanitarian and development projects.  Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors and United Nations organizations. 

Under the direct supervision of the Senior Administration/Operations Manager and the overall direction of the Head of Support Services as well as the technical guidance of IPAS HR, the HR Senior Assistant is responsible for providing technical  and administrative support to the timely processing, recording, completion, monitoring, and maintaining of transactions and processes covering the  array of Human Resources Management service lines in accordance with UNOPS’ HR rules, regulations and policies for optimal employee and talent management.  S/he may serve as the first contact for internal and external clients in resolving questions on routine and standard processes and procedures and the provision of guidance and information related to HR initiatives and services to a wide range of UNOPS clients. 

1. Support to policy development and implementation 

2. Advisory Services

3. Talent Acquisition and Administration

4. Team Management

5. Knowledge Building and Knowledge Sharing

• Completion of Secondary education is required. First University Degree in Human Resources Management, Business Administration, Public Administration, or equivalent disciplines is desirable.

• Minimum of five years of relevant experience in an international and/or national organization in providing HR advisory, recruitment, and/or HR-generalist services.
• Some experience in UN system organizations is desirable
• Proficiency in computers and office software packages (MS Office) and experience in handling of web-based management systems is required.
• Experience in the use of Google Suite applications is desirable
• Experience in use of HR information systems, Enterprise systems including OneUNOPS is desirable.

• Fluency in writing, reading, and speaking Nepali and English is required.

Contract type: Local Individual Contractor Agreement Support
Contract level: LICA Support - 5
Contract duration: Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance

• 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.