Human Resources Specialist

Mission and objectives

At the heart of UNICEF's work is the program countries. Each office works in line with UNICEF's mission as part of a specific program of cooperation with local governments. Their work is based on a five-year plan based on a situation analysis and is provided with technical assistance by the regional offices. UNICEF's work is part of other UN activities in the country.

Context

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfil 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. UNICEF’s Global Shared Services Centre (GSSC) provides services to UNICEF offices around the world in the areas of Finance, Master Data Management, Human Resources Administration, Payroll, and IT Customer Care. Our mission is to be a Centre of Excellence for the global delivery of efficient services within a culture of customer service, continuous business improvement, knowledge-sharing and innovation to support the effective achievement of UNICEF's program results worldwide. The HR Administration Section delivers high quality, responsive, timely and equitable human resources services for UNICEF offices which include onboarding, staff entitlements, benefits, recruitment and other administration support. Within People Services, Recruitment Administrative Services (RAS) delivers standardized recruitment administration support to hiring offices to ensure timely, compliant, and consistent recruitment processing and a positive candidate experience. RAS supports recruitment actions across multiple geographies, time zones, and stakeholder groups, requiring strong coordination, documentation discipline, and adherence to staff selection policy and procedures.

Task Description

Being part of Recruitment Administrative Services (RAS) team, Human Resources Specialist will provide recruitment administration and acts as a technical expert, and operational and knowledge transfer focal point for assigned portfolios with a focus on emergencies. The role ensures quality assurance, supports work planning and workload coordination, manages complex/priority recruitment cases, investigations, escalations, and contributes to performance monitoring and process improvement within the RAS service model. Main Responsibilities and Tasks A. Recruitment Administration (Complex Case Management)

• Ensure proper management of end-to-end recruitment for complex, sensitive, or priority, with a focus on emergency cases
• Ensure accurate and timely processing across stages, including (as applicable): o vacancy posting preparation and publication steps; o eligibility/longlisting support and documentation integrity; o coordination of written tests/technical assessments/interviews; o panel support (packs, scheduling, evaluation documentation); o reference check coordination and selection documentation consolidation; o ensuring a complete audit trail and case closure standards.
• Maintain up-to-date case status in recruitment systems and trackers. B. Quality Assurance, Compliance and Risk Mitigation
• Conduct quality checks on recruitment documentation before key milestones and closure (completeness, consistency, audit trail).
• Ensure cases comply with applicable Staff Selection Policy, SOPs, and internal control requirements.
• Identify compliance risks early, propose corrective action, handled escalations and exceptions appropriately and develop and case escalation matrix to capture recruitment anomalies.
• Support audit readiness by maintaining well-organized documentation and logs. C. Work Planning, Case Allocation Support & Technical Guidance
• Support the supervisor in day-to-day work planning by monitoring queues, deadlines, and dependencies.
• Review selected outputs from P-2/NOB supervisors (as assigned) to reduce rework and ensure consistent service quality.
• Contribute to onboarding/training of new team members through shadowing plans, checklists, and practical coaching.
• Transfer knowledge and share experience from country office operations. D. Stakeholder Coordination and Service Delivery Support
• Serve as an operational focal point for assigned hiring offices/portfolios (emergency portfolio), ensuring predictable coordination and clear communications.
• Liaise with PCBPs, hiring managers, panel members, and other stakeholders to resolve blockers (availability, documentation gaps, scheduling).
• Handle working-level escalations and ensure timely follow-up on stakeholder inputs required to keep cases moving. E. Performance Monitoring, Reporting and Case Hygiene
• Monitor progress against service standards (SLAs/KPIs) for assigned cases and support team-level tracking where required.
• Prepare regular updates (weekly/monthly) on case status, bottlenecks, risks, and mitigation actions.
• Promote strong “case hygiene”: accurate system updates, organized files, consistent use of templates, and standardized communications. F. Process Improvement & Knowledge Management
• Identify recurring operational challenges and propose practical improvements (templates, SOP clarifications, scheduling approaches, tracking).
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of SOPs, and standardized candidate communications.
• Capture lessons learned from exercises and campaigns and support implementation of improvements. G. Support to Large-Scale Recruitment Exercises / Surge (as applicable)
• Support planning and coordination for large-scale recruitment initiatives (e.g., ring-fenced exercises, emergency surge).
• Assist with consolidated tracking, scheduling coordination at scale, and quality assurance across multiple cases. Expected Deliverables / Outputs
• Timely completion of assigned complex recruitment cases with complete audit trails.
• Quality assurance checks completed and documented for defined milestones/case closure.
• Regular case tracking updates (status, blockers, mitigation actions).
• Coaching/support and capacity building provided to the RAS team where required.
• Contributions to SOPs/templates/knowledge products and documented process improvement suggestions.

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6) Performance Indicators (Examples)

• % of assigned cases meeting stage-level SLA targets (where tracked).
• Reduction in documentation errors/rework following QA checks.
• Backlog and aging reduced for cases within assigned portfolio.
• Stakeholder satisfaction indicators (responsiveness, clarity, coordination effectiveness).
• Accuracy and timeliness of recruitment system updates and tracker integrity. Number/quality of process improvements implemented or adopted by the team.

Competencies and values

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) 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 (8) Nurtures, leads and manages people

Living conditions and remarks

Budapest, Hungary offers a safe, welcoming, and vibrant living environment for staff at UNICEF GSSC. The city is well-connected with major European and international destinations via regular air travel. It enjoys a temperate climate with four distinct seasons. Accommodation is widely available and varies in style and cost, with modern utilities, reliable electricity, and clean water. The cost of living is moderate, and there is a wide range of food and entertainment options. High-quality healthcare, banking, and communications infrastructure are readily accessible. Working at GSSC offers a rewarding experience in a culturally rich setting, requiring adaptability and a global mindset. You can check full entitlements at the duty station at https://app.unv.org/calculator. Please note that the amounts can vary according to fluctuations of the monthly post adjustment. Monthly Living Allowance (Per month): USD 4366.36 Entry lump sum (one-time payment): USD 3500 Exit allowance (for each month served, paid on completion of contract): USD 225 Family allowance: $250 per month for one dependent. $450 per month for two or more dependents Medical and life insurance: Cigna Private Insurance Leave entitlements: Annual leave: 2.5 days accrued per calendar month Certified sick leave: UN Volunteers are entitled to up to 30 days of certified sick leave based on a 12-month cycle. This amount is reset every 12-month cycle. Uncertified sick leave: 7 days for 12 months and 4 days for shorter assignments Learning leave: 10 working days per consecutive 12 months (shorter assignments are prorated) Maternity Leave: 16 weeks Paternity Leave: 4 weeks For more information on entitlements please read the Condition of Service (https://explore.unv.org/cos).