Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. 

The Human Resources Division serves as a strategic partner to leadership and workforce enabler, aligning talent strategies with organizational mission and priorities. Through integrated workforce planning, talent acquisition, organizational design, and people development, the Division ensures UN Women has the right people, in the right roles, at the right time to deliver on its mandate. By providing strategic advisory support to the Executive Director and driving evidence-based HR solutions, the Division strengthens organizational effectiveness and cultivates a high-performing, inclusive culture that advances gender equality worldwide.

With minimal supervision and under the broad direction of the Chief, Talent Management, Leadership Development and Org Design Branch, the HR Specialist, Workforce Strategy, Planning and Org Design leads the development and implementation of workforce strategies, underpinned by rigorous talent analytics, to support the organization in delivering the business results and impacts committed to in its Strategic Plan.

The HR Specialist, Workforce Strategy, Planning and Org Design exercises significant independent judgment in designing and directing  workforce planning initiatives  and manages strategic partnerships with colleagues in the HR Division, including the Regional HR Teams, the IT Team, the Resource Management Team and with other business units, as appropriate, to ensure successful development and implementation of UN Women’s workforce strategies and plans.

Lead establishment of comprehensive people data infrastructure 

• Conduct authoritative assessments of currently available people data from various sources/separate systems to identify and evaluate risks and opportunities for improvement, including any plans for systems improvement/consolidation in the context of the ongoing UN80 work 
• Lead the translation of workforce planning needs into system and reporting requirements
• Direct the strategic partnerships with relevant stakeholders inside and outside the organization to lead the conceptualization, design, development and implementation of appropriate HR systems solutions that enable timely, accurate and more comprehensive talent analytics to support workforce strategies and plans that will include all personnel
• Design and establish a jobs and skills architecture, including job network and job family classifications linked to skills taxonomies, to expand availability and specificity of data on UN Women’s existing capacities and how these capacities are deployed 
• Conduct comprehensive job analyses and job evaluations to ensure accurate classification of positions according to UN common system standards and ICSC guidelines, supporting internal equity and external competitiveness across all personnel categories
• Lead the development, review, and maintenance of standardized job descriptions aligned with the organization's job architecture, ensuring consistency in role definitions, accountabilities, and required competencies across functional areas
• Provide technical guidance on job classification matters to HR Business Partners, hiring managers, and senior leadership during organizational restructuring, new position creation, or reclassification requests, ensuring decisions are evidence-based and compliant with established standards
• Advise senior management on strategies to enhance availability of talent management data related to learning and development, performance, career paths/career mobility and geographical mobility of personnel.
• Lead data cleanup efforts and design and deliver training related to reporting, workforce analytics and workforce planning for both HR personnel and personnel in business units, as necessary.

Develop and implement advanced talent analytics producing actionable strategic insights 

• Design and establish a set of analytical tools and methods to advance UN Women talent analytics from merely descriptive data and statistics towards diagnostic and predictive analyses.  These analyses must provide actionable quantitative and qualitative insights into the various workforce segments, support the estimation of future needs, and lay the groundwork for action-oriented workforce planning
• Monitor and evaluate industry trends and best practices in people intelligence to drive continuous improvement of the UN Women talent analytics capabilities.

Lead development and implementation of corporate workforce strategies driving organizational performance 

• Establish and direct the practice of workforce planning at the corporate level in close collaboration with senior management, HR and RM colleagues. This practice must provide the underpinnings for decisions on staffing structures and models, and align with/ inform all relevant business planning and resource allocation processes
• Lead design and implementation of a bottom-up workforce planning process in strategic partnership with the HRBPs and the business units they serve, ensuring timely acquisition, development, and deployment of talent that feeds into the workforce strategies and plans at the corporate level
• Design and execute scenario modeling to assess staffing implications of financial and operational business changes
• Design and execute scenario modeling on different staffing structures/combinations of contract modalities to provide authoritative analysis on the people, financial and operational implications of adjusting existing staffing structures
• Develop, refine and maintain forecasting models to support proactive staffing decisions
• Monitor and evaluate industry trends and best practices in workforce planning to drive continuous improvement of UN Women workforce planning processes.

Provide authoritative technical advice on organizational design  

• Advise senior management and provide expert technical input to organizational design and restructuring initiatives from the perspective of workforce strategies/plans, workforce structures and staffing models, working in strategic partnership with the Chief and colleagues in the Talent Management Branch, the HRBP serving the business unit, the Business Transformation Adviser, and the respective business units.
• Manage job classification reviews and reclassification processes, including conducting desk audits, benchmarking analyses, and appeals, ensuring transparency and fairness while maintaining organizational integrity and budgetary considerations.

Decision-Making Authority and Consultation

• Exercises significant independent judgment in designing analytical methodologies, developing forecasting models, and executing workforce planning processes
• Makes independent decisions on technical approaches, data sources, analytical tools, and stakeholder engagement strategies within established workforce planning frameworks
• Consults the Chief, Talent Management, Leadership Development and Org Design Branch on matters involving significant policy implications, major organizational restructuring, resource allocation above delegated thresholds, or issues with potential reputational impact

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

• Ability to generate actionable insights from complex talent data.
• Deep understanding of HR systems, including diagnostic as well as predictive talent analytics paired with ability to harness AI-powered analytics.
• Good general understanding of HR functional areas and HR business processes.
• Business acumen demonstrated through the ability to link people data to talent management and deployment, organizational strategy, performance, and financial outlook.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills demonstrated through the ability to present complex findings to senior stakeholders to underpin data-driven business decisions.

Education: 

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Business Administration (MBA), Public Administration (MPA), HR, Economics or Data Science is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• A professional certification in workforce management, workforce planning or talent intelligence would be an added advantage.

Experience: 

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible work experience in Human Resources, Workforce Management, Resource Management or Corporate Strategy is required.
• Demonstrated expertise in advanced talent analytics and workforce planning is required.
• Experience in organizational design is required. 
• Proven experience leading the use of data analytics tools, such as SQL, Python, Excel, etc. and data visualizations tools, such as Tableau, Power BI, Visio, etc., is required.
• Experience in current AI tools used in data analytics is desirable.
• Experience in the use of modern web-based ERP Systems, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.
• Experience in project management is desirable.

Languages: 

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (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.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.