Human Resources Associate

D

Non Family with Residential LocationNon Family with Residential LocationDanger Pay

Budapest Hungary

GS6

General Service

Reason

Regular > Regular Assignment

June 18 2025

Human Resources Associate

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships

The Human Resources Associate supports the UNHCRs 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 UNHCRs 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 UNHCRs 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 UNHCRs 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 workforces 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 incumbent of the position should have solid and extensive knowledge in human resources administration with proven hands-on experience in supporting the full employee lifecycle. This includes recruitment onboarding performance management and offboarding in accordance with UNHCRs HR administrative instructions and policies. Additionally experience with HR software and tools such as Workday Cloud ERP and Oracle along with familiarity in administering the Medical Insurance Plan (MIP) while having advanced skills in MS Office especially Excel for analyzing HR data tracking HR metrics and generating reports is highly required.

Given the complex and dynamic structure of the operation the incumbent must demonstrate excellent organizational and multitasking abilities to manage competing priorities and deadlines efficiently while maintaining a high level of accuracy in employee records and ensuring compliance with policies and regulations.

Moreover the incumbent should possess exceptional communication skills with the ability to handle sensitive issues with confidentiality and diplomacy as well as demonstrate capacity to work effectively within a diverse team fostering an inclusive and collaborative work environment.

The selection process may include a written test and candidates may be required to undergo a written assessment.

Ukrainian

English

Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:

To view occupational safety and health considerations for this duty station please visit this link: of Position:

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has been present in Ukraine since 1994 and substantially increased its presence and response after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The geographical presence within Ukraine has significatively expanded to deliver the emergency response. The country office is located in the capital Kyiv and sub- and field offices are currently located in Dnipro Kyiv Lviv Odesa and Kharkiv.

The war in Ukraine has caused death and suffering on a dramatic scale. In 2025 more than 12.7 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance and protection according to the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan. Some 3.7 million people are internally displaced while around 6.8 million refugees from Ukraine are recorded across Europe and beyond. Some 75000 people including some of the most vulnerable notable older people and people with disabilities live in collective sites spread across the country. Ukraine also hosts asylum-seekers and refugees and is home to thousands of people who are stateless or at risk of statelessness.

The massive destruction of civilian infrastructure with the energy sector being particularly targeted has made life extremely challenging for millions of people who have lost their homes and livelihoods and has severely disrupted access to electricity water heating as well as critical services including healthcare education and social protection services. Humanitarian access continues to be hampered particularly in frontline areas as well as to areas under temporary occupation of the Russian Federation. Civilians remain exposed to serious risks to their physical security and integrity particularly in eastern and southern regions of Ukraine. The risk of GBV including sexual violence continues to prevail alongside family separations loss of housing and properties as well as identity and civil documentation. Populations displaced or otherwise affected by the war live in situations of deprivation following the loss or damage of their housing loss of income and often become dependent on an overstretched social protection system.

The Government of Ukraine maintains a strong lead role in responding to the needs of its population and UNHCR supports the Government and its central and local institutions to provide protection shelter/housing cash and in-kind assistance to displaced and other people impacted by the war. Currently UNHCR has MOUs with five-line ministries the First Ladys foundation as well as the Office of the Ombudsman 19 regional state administrations and agreements with 14 partners to deliver assistance and support the localization of the response.

Under the leadership of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator UNHCR operates as part of the Inter-agency humanitarian response working in close coordination with local authorities and humanitarian partners. UNHCR is leading three clusters - Protection Shelter and NFIs and CCCM. The strategic orientation of UNHCRs response is to reach people particularly those with specific vulnerabilities who remain in frontline and heavily affected areas with immediate relief while supporting displaced people and those who have remained in their homes or returned with protection advice housing support livelihoods advice and cash assistance to enable their recovery and attainment of durable solutions.

Protection needs to be truly at the center of this response as the highest critical needs of the population caused by the international armed conflict are in the area of protection. Since Ukraine is a highly sophisticated country with a strong government leadership and well-established administrative social protection and digital systems it is essential to design and deliver UNHCRs protection programs in a way which simultaneously addresses immediate needs and supports the further development of sustainable and inclusive national protection systems.

With the EU having voted to confirm Ukraines accession to the EU at the end of 2023 Ukraine will also embark on a series of substantial and long-term reforms in numerous sectors including justice and home affairs which presents an opportunity to contribute to strengthened and more inclusive protection asylum and statelessness reduction systems. Working closely with government authorities local community representatives and partners from the embassies UN civil society and international financial institutions amongst others is thus key to ensuring that UNHCRs response is closely aligned with and complementary of national and local strategies and recovery plans.

As the war continues new urgent humanitarian needs are created every day alongside protracted ones and peoples and communities efforts to recover and rebuild their lives in war-torn communities. Among the IDPs and refugees from Ukraine the majority express a hope and desire to return to their homes as soon as the security situation allows. The protection needs of the population thus need to be analyzed and addressed both from a humanitarian as well as from an early recovery and durable solutions perspective with UNHCR playing a leading role in this work.

The Human Resources Associate position is based in Kyiv Ukraine reporting directly to the Associate HR Officer. This role is central to the efficient functioning of the Human Resources unit providing comprehensive support across the full employee lifecycle for all staff within the operation.

Given the complex and dynamic operational environment in Ukraine including the specific contexts of Dnipro and Kharkiv the incumbent plays a critical role in ensuring the seamless administration of HR processes. This involves managing recruitment onboarding performance and offboarding activities all while strictly adhering to UNHCRs HR administrative instructions and policies.

The position demands strong organizational skills meticulous attention to detail in employee record management and a proactive approach to supporting a diverse workforce. The HR Associate contributes directly to fostering a compliant efficient and supportive HR environment which is essential for the continuity and success of the UNHCR operation in the region.

Living and Working Conditions:

The international armed conflict in Ukraine is ongoing and the Russian Federation Armed Forces temporarily occupy parts of Donetsk Luhansk Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. The frontline is the primary area of kinetic military operations particularly in the eastern and southeastern regions and north of Kharkiv. Cruise missiles ballistic missiles aero-ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been targeting vital civilian and military sites including airports since the start of the invasion. As a result commercial air travel is suspended and vehicles and trains are the only modes of transportation. Since 2023 there has been an increase in attacks targeting civilian infrastructure throughout the country.

Whilst the UN has not been targeted directly the threat of collateral damage continues to remain in place with cases of UNHCR IPs reporting collateral damages and several humanitarian workers recorded as been killed and injured since the start of the full-scale invasion. The UN Security Management System (UNSMS) applies a comprehensive Security Risk Management (SRM) process to identify security threats and evaluate risk levels. The security risk levels are regularly reviewed. Currently the most significant threats and hazards are associated with the international armed conflict with current risk levels ranging from high to Very High or Unacceptable in areas with ongoing hostilities.

This has resulted in a decrease of humanitarian space making it difficult and sometimes impossible to access people in need in frontline areas. When assessing risk levels the security personnel and the UNHCR Representative as part of the countrys Security Management Team adhere to the SRM process as defined by the UNSMS. In general the projected risk level in all three SRM areas where the UN/HCR operates is High.

Therefore applicants for positions in Ukraine should be prepared to work in a highly dynamic security environment where unexpected events occur frequently. Air raids are common and staff may be required to work from bunkers or underground car parks metro stations and other locations for extended periods. Power and water outages are to be expected and will make life more challenging during the winter months. Depending on the evolution of the war disruptions to public services such as shops banks and restaurants may occur. Curfews are in place throughout the country and mission travel must be authorized by the Representative or designated managers subject to the completion of mandatory BSAFE SSAFE and IFAK training and security clearance procedures. Private trips within the country are prohibited for international staff.

The Field Security Unit works closely with UNDSS and other interlocutors of the UNSMS to ensure that program activities can be implemented within the acceptable level of risk by following the required measures and procedures set up and approved by the Designated Official. Due to the countrys evolving operational and security environment UNHCR needs to maintain strong security contingency preparedness supporting its mandate of providing protection and assistance to people in need.

Additional Qualifications

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

Work Experience

Competencies

Accountability Change capability & adaptability Client & results orientation Commitment to continuous learning Communication Managing resource Organizational awareness Teamwork & collaboration

UNHCR Salary Calculator

Additional Information

This position doesnt require a functional clearance