Mission and objectives

UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide. UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality, and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes and services needed to ensure that the standards are effectively implemented and truly benefit women and girls worldwide. It works globally to make the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals a reality for women and girls and stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on four strategic priorities: • Women lead, participate in and benefit equally from governance systems • Women have income security, decent work and economic autonomy • All women and girls live a life free from all forms of violence • Women and girls contribute to and have greater influence in building sustainable peace and resilience, and benefit equally from the prevention of natural disasters and conflicts and humanitarian action. UN Women also coordinates and promotes the UN system’s work in advancing gender equality, and in all deliberations and agreements linked to the 2030 Agenda. The entity works to position gender equality as fundamental to the Sustainable Development Goals, and a more inclusive world.

Context

UN Women in Bangladesh supports the government to implement commitments to international normative standards on gender equality and women’s human rights. The new UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for 2022-2026 was launched in 2021 and the corresponding UN Women Bangladesh Strategy Note (2022-2026), defining UN Women’s strategic engagement in Bangladesh, has also been finalized. The country strategy focuses on strengthening the national structures and mechanisms for gender mainstreaming in policies, plans and budgets; supporting efforts to prevent and eliminate violence against women; promoting women’s access to decent and safe work; promoting policies and government investment in women’s empowerment and resilience building in the context of climate change, humanitarian crisis as well as other threats to peace and security. UN Women works with a range of stakeholders in Bangladesh including the government, civil society and women’s organisations, youth, UN agencies and donors, to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. Under the technical guidance of the Regional HR Business Partner in the RO and the daily supervision of the HR Associate in the Country Office, the Human Resource (HR) Assistant is responsible for administratively and logistically supporting the recruitment and placement, administration of benefits and entitlements of staff and local external contractors, other HR administration issues and separation of personnel.

Task Description

Under the direct supervision of the Head of HR, the HR Assistant will undertake the following tasks: 1. Administer and implement HR strategies and policies in CO in full compliance with UN Women rules, regulations, and HR policies and guidelines: • Provide general, standard information to the management and staff on HR strategies, rules and regulations; • Identify ways in which the administrative needs can be met within existing policies; interpret processes and procedures, anticipate and manage operational requirements; • Prepare written response to queries concerning HR related matters. • Assist the BCO Head of HR to manage the annual HR budget allocation 2. Provide support HR administrative and logistical services to CO and region in full compliance with UN Women rules, regulations, and HR policies and guidelines: • Process, draft, edit, proofread and finalize for approval a variety of correspondence and other communications; maintain files/records, monitor deadlines; • Provide administrative coordination in the extension of contracts, processing of national benefits and allowances, and entitlements, and renewal of UNLPs and visas; • Input and track all transactions related to positions, recruitment, benefits, earnings/deductions, retroactivities, recoveries, adjustments and separations through Quantum system; • Facilitate responses to audit findings and recommendations; • Assume overall responsibility for leave management; record management; • Process payment, and administer entitlements for international staff as delegated; validate and coordinate local payroll and related issues; • Facilitate staff separation process; • Create/update entries of E-requisition, PO Receipts, and voucher creation in Quantum system. • Process payment for consultants; • Make travel arrangements, including travel requisitions and claims 3. Facilitate and coordinate recruitment processes in full compliance with UN Women rules, regulations, and HR policies and guidelines: • Draft job descriptions and vacancy announcements; assist in reviewing and processing requests for classification; • Screen candidates and facilitate and participate in interview panels as necessary; • Prepare recruitment recommendations/supporting documentation for the Central Review Board (CRB); • Prepare position establishment, liaise with headquarters and assure that action is completed; • Provide regular recruitment status reports; • Provide advice to local recruitment in programmes/projects when necessary. • Organize induction for the newly recruited staff/personnel and collect feedback from them to update the induction process 4. Provide administrative support to staff performance management and learning and development in full compliance with UN Women rules, regulations, and HR policies and guidelines: • Monitor compliance with the performance appraisal review in the office and region and staff learning and development; • Facilitate the preparation of Office learning plan and individual learning plans in consultation with the HR Associate and Management • Quarterly monitor the mandatory learning courses completion and share report with management 5. Maintain data in relation to HR in full compliance with UN Women rules, regulations, and HR policies and guidelines: • Maintain and update internal database and files on administrative HR matters in a confidential and secure manner; • Generate a variety of standard and non-standard statistical and other reports from various databases; • Update position data in Quantum system, association of positions to chart fields (CoAs), update of CoA information and setting up vendors. 6. Facilitate knowledge building and knowledge sharing globally: • Organize training courses, workshops, information sessions, orientations and consultations for staff; • Provide a synthesis of lessons learnt and best practices in HR administration; • Liaise with HR headquarters in HR administration and staffing to disseminate information on a variety of HR matters. • Join the OMT HR group meeting with the BCO Head of HR and join discussion on gender parity issues 7. The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization. Support other operations related activities as may be needed and requested by supervisor

Competencies and values

Core Values: • Respect for Diversity; • Integrity; • Professionalism; Core Competencies: • Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues; • Accountability; • Creative Problem Solving; • Effective Communication; • Inclusive Collaboration; • Stakeholder Engagement; • Leading by Example; FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES: • Strong knowledge of HR administration, processes and policies; • Ability to administer and execute administrative processes and transactions; • Ability to handle information of a confidential nature; • Ability to provide inputs to business processes re-engineering, implementation of new systems; • Good quantitative skills; ability to produce reports; • Strong IT skills.

Living conditions and remarks

Dhaka is located in central Bangladesh along the Buriganga River. Not only is it the capital city, but it is also the largest in the country. It is the centre of political, cultural, and economic life in Bangladesh. The official language is Bengali, while English is the working language of UN Agencies. In recent decades, Dhaka has seen the modernization of services, communications, and public works. The city is attracting large foreign investments and greater volumes of commerce and trade. It is also experiencing an increasing influx of people from across the nation; this has reportedly made Dhaka one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. Good English-speaking medical, dental services, and educational centres are available for internationals. Dhaka is connected to other cities by rail, road, and by air and internationals can move easily from one city to another. Dhaka has venerable green spaces, including many gardens and parks, historical places, and nice restaurants. The weather is tropical – hot and very humid during the summer monsoon season (April-September) and drier and cooler in the winter (October-March). Historically, Bangladesh has been a safe country for internationals so far. While Dhaka is not categorized as a hardship station, the volunteer should be prepared for limitations in freedom of movement on foot, by public transport, and to certain locations. You can check full entitlements at the duty station at https://app.unv.org/calculator. The complete UN Volunteer Conditions of Service is available at https://explore.unv.org/cos.”