Human Resources Officer, P-2, Polio Eradication Programme, Nairobi, Kenya #129759 [temporary appointment: 364 days]

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, Health

By reaching the most underserved communities with the polio vaccine, UNICEF is realizing the rights of the most excluded children and preventing girls and boys from being paralyzed.  Within the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), UNICEF maintains a leading role in the areas of strategy development, strategic oversight, vaccine procurement, technical assistance in vaccine management, communication and social mobilization, social data, monitoring, and evaluation.  The GPEI seeks to ensure that future generations of children will be free from the threat of polio paralysis. Achieving this goal depends on ensuring rapid and effective responses to poliovirus outbreaks in polio-free countries. Polio eradication continues to be an organizational priority and is a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). The number of polio outbreaks has far exceeded global expectations in recent years. UNICEF is scaling up support to ensure countries have the resources to be prepared and respond in our areas of accountability. 

The polio Outbreak Workstream of the UNICEF Global Polio Team provides oversight, quality assurance, technical assistance, and knowledge management to country offices. It places particular emphasis on communication for social and behavior change and vaccine management within the outbreak response and preparedness context.

How can you make a difference? 

Under the guidance of the Emergency Specialist, Outbreak Response Workstream, Nairobi, and HR Specialist, Polio Eradication Programme, New York, and in active partnership with the HR in Humanitarian Action Team (DHR) and RO/CO/HQ colleagues, the incumbent will help ensure that country and regional offices facing Polio outbreaks have the appropriate human resources available to respond to these health emergencies in a timely and effective manner. This includes providing adequate HR guidance and ensuring effective and efficient sourcing, assessment, and deployment of respective human resources to positively impact the implementation of respective country preparedness and response plans supporting the different humanitarian crises. This is a roving HR position with the expectation to travel to affected countries.

Reporting Structure and Matrix Management

The HR officer will report to two supervisors in a matrix management structure. One supervisor will provide functional guidance (the Emergency Specialist, Outbreak Response Workstream, Nairobi) and the other will provide technical guidance (the HR Specialist, Polio Eradication Programme, New York). The HR officer will work in active partnership with the HR in Humanitarian Action Team (DHR) and RO/CO/HQ colleagues, ensuring alignment and coordination across different levels of the organization. The incumbent will be expected to balance the demands and requirements of both supervisors, demonstrating flexibility, adaptability, and strong communication skills.

Key tasks and responsibilities include the following:

Staffing and Talent Acquisition Outbreak Response

• Provide support to outbreak-affected countries and regions in sourcing, recruitment, and deployment of surge
• Proactively support regional and country office colleagues in affected countries in fast-track recruitment of staff members and technical experts/consultants
• Use existing talent pipelines to address HR needs and strengthen pipeline options for surge and staffing in Polio Outbreak Response in relevant areas of expertise
• Support the development of different staffing concepts/strategies based on the nature and scope of the Polio Outbreak
• Support the management of the global polio outbreak response roster, including shortlisting of candidates, interviews, reference checks, and maintaining the information in TMS.

Staffing monitoring and reporting

• Support in mapping and monitoring of human resources responding to Polio outbreaks in terms of geographic areas, volume, roles, functional areas, contract type, and level
• Support preparing staffing reports capturing these parameters for internal and external use
• Support tracking staff and third-party deployments to outbreak countries for response activities
• Support matrix management to optimize human resource deployment for effective and timely outbreak response

Strategic HR Business Partnering and guidance

• Provide guidance to colleagues in affected countries on HR in Emergencies, specifically on surge and fast-track recruitments
• In collaboration with the HR Business Partner, Polio Eradication Programme, New York, strengthen full cycle HR support to the Outbreak Response Team in Nairobi

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education: A University Degree in human resource management, business management, international relations, psychology, or another related field is required.
• Work Experience: At least two (2) years of professional experience in human resource management in an international organization and/or large corporation is required.
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.

Desirables:

• Familiarity with emergency contexts, especially related to talent acquisition, is an asset.
• Knowledge of French 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…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others 

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.

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. 

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.

The UNICEF Executive Director has reconfirmed polio eradication as a top corporate priority and declared the application of UNICEF Polio Emergency Procedures (PEPs) for all polio related activities at UNICEF Headquarters (HQs), Regional Offices (ROs), and in Endemic and Outbreak countries. Eligible UNICEF Staff Members on fixed-term, continuing or permanent contracts applying to this TA may be able to retain a lien and their fixed-term entitlements, subject to approval by their Head of Office. The conditions of the temporary assignment will vary depending on the status of their post and relocation entitlements may be limited as per the relevant policies.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.