Human Resources Retainer Consultant

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.

To support timely, transparent, and high-quality recruitment processes across the East and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO), UN Women seeks to establish a recruitment retainer. Under the overall guidance of the Human Resources Business Partner, the retainer consultant will provide technical support in recruitment and selection processes, with a primary focus on screening applications, preparing longlists, supporting interview panels, and documenting interview proceedings in accordance with UN Women policies, procedures, and recruitment standards..

Roles and Responsibilities

Application Screening and Longlisting Support- Provide technical support in the screening and longlisting of candidates in compliance with UN Women policies, rules, and procedures by:

• Conducting the initial screening of applications against the minimum eligibility requirements and mandatory criteria outlined in vacancy announcements.
• Assessing eligible applications against the required qualifications, experience, competencies, and other established selection criteria.
• Preparing objective and well-documented longlisting matrices and candidate assessment summaries, ensuring consistency, accuracy, and transparency throughout the screening process.
• Ensuring due consideration of gender and geographical representation, where applicable, in line with UN Women recruitment principles.
• Submitting longlists, screening matrices, and supporting documentation to the designated HR Business Partner for review and validation.
• Maintaining complete, accurate, and confidential recruitment records related to the screening and longlisting process.

Interview and Selection Process Support-Provide technical and administrative support during the interview and selection process by:

• Preparing interview documentation, candidate packages, interview guides, evaluation forms, and other recruitment materials;
• Participating in interview panels as the designated ex-officio/note-taker, capturing accurate, comprehensive, and impartial interview notes and panel deliberations;
• Preparing interview reports by consolidating panel evaluations, interview notes, and recommendations in accordance with UN Women recruitment requirements;
• Maintaining complete and confidential records of interview proceedings and recruitment documentation;
• Performing other recruitment-related assignments as requested by the HR Business Partner to support the timely completion of recruitment processes.

Expected Outputs / Deliverables

• Applications screened and assessed within agreed timelines;
• Comprehensive and accurate longlisting matrices and candidate assessment summaries;
• Longlists prepared in accordance with the requirements of each vacancy announcement;
• Interview documentation and candidate packages prepared prior to scheduled interviews;
• Accurate, comprehensive, and impartial interview notes for all assigned interview panels;
• Interview reports submitted promptly following completion of interviews;
• Complete and well-maintained recruitment records in compliance with UN Women policies and procedures;
• Recruitment assignments completed within agreed timelines while maintaining the highest standards of professionalism, objectivity, confidentiality, and quality.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy.

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:

• Strong applied knowledge of recruitment and selection processes, HR administration, and relevant UN Women HR policies and procedures;
• Ability to independently administer recruitment processes and exercise sound judgment when screening applications and assessing candidates against established selection criteria;
• Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information with discretion, integrity, and professionalism;
• Good analytical skills with the ability to objectively assess applications, prepare candidate evaluation matrices, and produce accurate recruitment reports;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to prepare clear interview notes, summaries, and recruitment documentation.

Required Qualifications:

Education and Certification:

• Completion of secondary education required.
• Bachelor’s degree in human resources management, business administration, public administration, or a related field is desirable.

Experience:

• At least 6 years of progressively responsible work experience in human resource administration is required;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, and experience in handling web-based management systems is required;
• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable;
• Experience in UN system HR administration is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required;
• Knowledge of any other UN official language is an asset.

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.