Chief, Talent Engagement and Partnerships (P5), Fixed Term, DHR, Istanbul #122460

The Chief, Talent Engagement and Partnerships is accountable for planning, implementation, management, and oversight of the Talent Engagement & Partnerships team in the Division of Human Resources (DHR). As the technical expert on talent engagement & partnerships, the incumbent provides technical advisory services and leadership related to staff selection and mobility matters, ensuring fair, transparent, and timely processes of talent placements.
In collaboration with Policy, Employee Relations, Compensation & Social Benefits (PERCS) team, the incumbent is the technical lead on the Staff Selection Policy as well as the Mobility strategy driving the rotation exercise jointly with the functional talent managers.

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, inspiration!

Under the general supervision of the Deputy Director, Talent Management, the incumbent is accountable for planning, implementation, management, and oversight of the Talent Engagement & Partnerships team in the Division of Human Resources (DHR). As the technical expert on talent engagement & partnerships, the incumbent provides technical advisory services and leadership related to staff selection and mobility matters, ensuring fair, transparent, and timely processes of talent placements.

In collaboration with Policy, Employee Relations, Compensation & Social Benefits (PERCS) team, the incumbent is the technical lead on the Staff Selection Policy as well as the Mobility strategy driving the rotation exercise jointly with the functional talent managers.

The incumbent also develops the organization’s Outreach Strategy and ensures that the organization’ s effort in outreach is aligned with its needs – fostering partnerships with appropriate institutions and networks to facilitate sourcing of diverse talent to meet organizational priorities, as well as developing new approaches to protecting UNICEF’s brand, as an employer of choice. The incumbent also ensures that the organization is equipped with adequate tools to ensure effective and efficient staffing processes.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

How can you make a difference? 

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

Strategic Talent Engagement and Partnerships

• Within the context of UNICEF’s priorities, aligns the organization’s HR strategy in planning, managing, and implementing staff selection processes, ensuring UNICEF uses best practices to identify, source and attract potential candidates in a timely manner.
• Contributes to the establishment of corporate standards, tools, and other products to drive mobility strategy, which is informed by career aspirations and life cycles as well as organizational needs ensuring quality, consistency, transparency, and fairness of the relevant processes.
• Engages in strategic HR workforce planning and outreach for pro-active talent management/sourcing, design and implement strategic talent initiatives.
• Collaborates with Policy, Employee Relations, Compensation & Social Benefits (PERCS) team to develop, as well as enhance relevant policies as needed, aligned to the operational contexts. Recommends policy changes, to ensure that Staff Selection and Mobility processes are aligned to evolving corporate priorities.
• Engages in strategic partnering with clients internal and external to UNICEF to network on trends and best practices in the United Nations system and public/private sectors; builds and enhances the capacity of partners/ clients.
• Aligns the talent programme with the overall Outreach Strategy to bring diverse talents in the workforce through strategic partnerships.  This includes the JPO and Secondment programme, Fellowship and Internship programme, UNV programme and all other strategic partnerships with public and private sectors.
• Working closely with the Deputy Directors and Associate Director of Division of Human Resources (DHR), Regional Chiefs of HR, Section Chiefs in DHR and others, prepare and finalize an Integrated Talent Management Strategy for UNICEF.
• Manages the provision of technical and substantive inputs on UNICEF audit observations and other corporate management exercises related to staffing and recruitment. Responds to internal and external audits, surveys and requests related to staff selection and mobility policies.

Management, Coordination and Representation

• Provides leadership in people management through recruitment, performance, and career management of staff in the team;
• Ensures staff directly supervised meet their developmental needs.
• Engages in effective resource management by providing strategic and data inputs into HR position papers, task forces, etc.
• Identifies, manages, and supports avenues for collaboration with other UN organizations and teams within the Division, with a view to harmonization of policies and practices that are related to Talent Engagement and Partnerships.
• Participates and represents UNICEF in UN Inter-Agency fora on issues related to talent outreach and engagement.
• Represent the team in divisional and inter divisional meetings, providing Talent Engagement related advisory services;
• Represents the division/organization, as appropriate, in human resources management issues before inter-governmental bodies, individuals/ groups, governmental/ nongovernmental organizations, UN agencies, and external partners.

Minimum requirements:

• Education: An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in human resource management, business management, international relations, psychology, or another related field is required.
• Work Experience: At least ten (10) years of increasingly responsible professional experience in human resource management in an international organization and/or large corporation is required, specifically in an advisory capacity with an emphasis on mobility, streamlining of staffing processes, proven experience with “decentralized/delegated recruitment authority” implementation, and demonstrated experience with creative sourcing of talent is essential.
• Good knowledge of HR technologies supporting staffing processes and providing HR metrics, capable of detecting new trends and relevance of new technologies.
• Skills:
• Capacity to anticipate and resolve conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions and demonstrate the courage to take unpopular stands.
• Ability to develop clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies, identify priority activities and assignments, adjust priorities as required.
• Demonstrated ability and experience advising and influencing executives, providing insights that lead to key decision-making within the business.
• Capacity to adapt policies, approaches, and models to meet emerging needs.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively in a diverse organization tailoring language, tone, style, and format to match audience.
• Ability to empathize with client managers, supervisors and staff while advocating for consistent and equitable applications of promulgated HR regulations and rules.
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English language is required.

Desirables:

• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency.
• Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (2)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
• Works Collaboratively with others (2)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of measures to include a more diverse workforce, such as paid parental leave, time off for breastfeeding purposes, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per 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.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.