JOB DESCRIPTION

A (least hardship)

Family

Family

GS7

General Service

Reason

Regular > Regular Assignment

2025-11-01

August 14, 2025

Senior Human Resources Associate

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The Senior Human Resources Associate 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 Associate provides support and assistance in the areas of operational support, workforce planning, assignments and talent acquisition, organizational cultural changes, HR policy implementation and duty of care in the area of responsibility (AOR). The incumbent maintains employee confidence and protects the organization and its workforce by keeping human resources information confidential.

The Senior Human Resources Associate is usually supervised by the Associate HR Officer, HR Officer or another HR or admin staff. This position can be located in a Country Operation, Multi-Country Office, Regional Bureau or Headquarters. The incumbent supervises some support staff. The supervisor provides the incumbent with regular guidance. The incumbent works quite independently on regular assignments with an oversight from the supervisor, assisting him/her in personnel administration and other HR related matters.

The incumbent may maintain a direct working relationship with a number of units within the Division of Human Resources (DHR).

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
Human Resources Operational Support:
– Implement HR operational activities to ensure timely provision of HR solutions, prioritizing according to the needs and risks. This may include:
– Administration of recruitment, assignment and separation of local staff in the AOR, in accordance with UN/UNHCR rules and procedures.
– Update of personnel records in the Office, including MSRP entries into HR module where required.
– Assisting with recruitment and other procedures related to affiliate workforce.
– Contribution to workforce planning activities.
– Provision of a HR customer service-oriented culture that values proactivity, continuous improvement, innovation and high performance.
– Enforce compliance with UNHCR’s Human Resources policies and procedures and the UN staff rules, regulations and UNHCR administrative instructions.

Assignments and Talent Acquisition:
– Coordinate the recruitment of local staff including the issuance of vacancy notices and screening of the application. Prepare submissions for the review by the Assignments Committee (AC).
– Assist in organizing outreach campaigns to attract diverse applicants.

Advice to staff and contribution to an inclusive work environment:
– Build dialog and outreach with staff; answer questions, and provide information to staff as to where to go for help or ask questions.
– Advise staff members and affiliate workforce on their rights, obligations, benefits and entitlements, and assist them in interpreting UN/UNHCR staff rules and regulations.
– Assist in provision of on-boarding, induction, re-integration into the workplace and off-boarding to colleagues.
– Be proactive in identifying issues, themes and patterns affecting the workforce’s health and welfare, including sexual harassment and abuse of authority.
– Assistance in implementation of HR initiatives that support organizational culture change such as good people management practices, and promoting gender, inclusion and diversity.

HR policies and inter-agency:
– Enforce compliance with UNHCR’s Human Resources policies and procedures and the UN staff rules, regulations and UNHCR administrative instructions.
– Participate in the ICSC survey on living conditions and classification of duty stations as well as in the UN Country Team local staff salary survey and other local inter-agency HR-related fora and initiatives.

Duty of Care
– Assist in the security and medical evacuations of UNHCR personnel. Maintain daily tracking record of staff and families to provide accurate information in case of emergency.
– Administer UNHCR medical insurance plan for locally recruited staff.

– Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility. Ensure decision making in risk based in the functional area of work. Raise risks, issues and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleague(s).
– Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Education & Professional Work Experience
Years of Experience / Degree Level
For G7 – 4 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 2 years relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher

Field(s) of Education
N / A

Certificates and/or Licenses
Business Administration, Office Management, Human Resources Management
or related field.
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Experience working in Human Resources. Knowledge of general HR policies, processes and systems.

Desirable
Experience in HR information technology systems and tools. Experience working with the United Nations. Experience working in a multi-cultural setting.

Functional Skills
*IT-Computer Literacy
HR-Talent Development and Nurturing
HR-Employee Relationship Management
SO-Learning Agility
UN-UN/UNHCR Administrative Rules, Regulations and Procedures
HR-Local mass recruitment
(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.

Given the volume of submissions from the region, the Senior HR Associate is expected to have established knowledge of the policy and procedures on Recruitment and Assignment Policy (RAP) as well as the rules and procedures of the Assignment Committee. Demonstrated experience in the role of a Secretary to RAC/LAC is an asset.

As the primary responsible person for local recruitments and/or separations, and, timely filling of national positions both at the Bureau,HQ divisions as well as Operations with limited to no local HR capacity, a thorough knowledge of UNHCR local recruitment procedures and onboarding/offboarding of staff is required.

Good knowledge of the HR System: proficiency in Workday is required to make HR data entries for the national staff at the Bureau, and support countries in the region where there are no dedicated HR staff. Additionally, the incumbent will oversee the Affiliate Workforce recruitments and compliance in the Bureau and the Region, so she/he will be expected to process requests for AWF management and employment journey. S/he will also be required to maintain accurate and timely statistics and HR data in the region. Moreover, the Senior HR Associate will also be responsible for the supervision and approval of medical reimbursements under the Medical Insurance Plan (MIP) for national staff based at the Bureau and HQ Divisions in Bangkok and those is small Operations with no local HR capacity.

Good knowledge of HR data management, reporting and analysis is required to keep Organigrams and other staffing lists updated for sharing with senior management to inform decision making.

Demonstrated skills in statistical analysis and the use of related software.

No late applications will be accepted. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Shortlisted candidates may be required to sit for a written test and/or oral interview. UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing, or any other fees).

UNHCR strongly encourages qualified female applicants for this position. UNHCR seeks to ensure that male and female employees are given equal career opportunities. UNHCR is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, and culture. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality.

UNHCR has a zero-tolerance policy against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA). SEA is unacceptable behavior and prohibited conduct for UNHCR personnel. It constitutes acts of serious misconduct and is therefore grounds for disciplinary measures, including dismissal. Any concerns or suspicions about a possible case of SEA should be reported immediately to the Inspector General’s Office (IGO) at [email protected] through the online complain form at https://www.unhcr.org/php/complaints.php or by confidential fax: +41 22 739 73 80.

,

,

,

,

Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:

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

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel

Nature of Position:

Living and Working Conditions:

 

Additional Qualifications

Skills

HR-Employee Relationship Management, HR-Local mass recruitment, HR-Talent Development and Nurturing, IT-Computer Literacy, SO-Learning Agility, UN-UN/UNHCR Administrative Rules, Regulations and Procedures

Certifications

Business Administration – Other, Human Resources Management – Other, Office Management – Other

Competencies

Accountability, Analytical thinking, Change capability & adaptability, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Managing performance, Managing resource, Organizational awareness, Planning & organizing, Teamwork & collaboration

https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales

Compendium

Additional Information

This position doesn”t require a functional clearance