HR Associate

June 8, 2026

Grade

GS6

General Service

Reason

Temporary > Temporary Assignment/ Appointment

A (least hardship)

Family

2026-06-01

2026-08-15

Standard Job Description

Human Resources Associate

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships

The 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 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 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 Human Resources Associate may supervise General Service 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 entries into Workday where required.
• Assisting with recruitment and other procedures related to affiliate workforce, including Cloud ERP entries into where required.
• 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:

• Participate in the recruitment of local staff including the issuance of vacancy notices and arranging for required tests and interviews, and preparation of submissions for the review by the Assignments Committee (AC).
• Assist in organizing outreach campaigns to attract diverse applicants.
• Track and report on recruitment and assignments activities.

Advice to staff and contribution to an inclusive work environment.

• Build dialog and outreach with the workforce; 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.
• Be proactive in identifying issues, themes and patterns affecting the workforce’s health and welfare, including sexual harassment and abuse of authority.
• Assist in the provision of on-boarding, induction, re-integration into the workplace and off-boarding to colleagues.
• Assist in implementation of HR initiatives that support organizational culture change such as good people management practices, and promoting gender, inclusion and diversity.

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

Years of Experience / Degree Level

For G6 - 3 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 2 years relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher

Field(s) of Education

Not applicable.

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

UN-UN/UNHCR Administrative Rules, Regulations and Procedures;

*IT-Computer Literacy;

HR-Talent Development and Nurturing

HR-Local mass recruitment

HR-Employee Relationship Management

SO-Learning Agility;

(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.

Competency Requirements

All jobs at UNHCR require six core competencies and may also require managerial competencies and/or cross-functional competencies. The six core competencies are listed below.

Core Competencies:

Accountability

Communication

Organizational Awareness

Teamwork & Collaboration

Commitment to Continuous Learning

Client & Result Orientation

Managerial Competencies:

Managing Resources

Cross-Functional Competencies:

Analytical Thinking

Planning and Organizing

Change Capability and Adaptability

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.

The selection process entails a written test complemetary to a compentency-based Interview.
Operational Context :
As a member of the support team of the OOWCA based in Senegal National Office team, the HR Associate will provide Personnel Administration support in complement to the support provided by the Global Shared Service, data analytics and any other workforce management support to the five National Offices located in Ghana, Senegal, Togo, Benin and Cote d'Ivoire, that constitute the Other Operations in WCA (OOWCA). S/he will be expected to undertake field missions to OOWCA operations. In the very dynamic and evolving operational situation we are working in, flexibility is required from the incumbent in discharging his/her responsibilities, especially when it comes to taking upon additional tasks as may be assigned.
Desired Candidate Profile :
Workforce Data and costs analysis skills,
Excellent Familiarity with the use of Excel and HR Data Analysis
Trainings : relevant training on the above
English in addition to French will be a must for this position.
Experience in managing diverse workforce remotely is an asset.
Experience in supporting managers in dealing with staff conflicts.
Staff wellbeing and demonstrated competencies and experience in managing medical related admin support (OMT).
Team cohesion and team spirit.
Having passed experience in facilitating trainings to staff would be an asset.

This position doesn't require a functional clearance

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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

Education

Certifications

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

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