Tiered Approach

In line with the commitment to safeguard capacity and support personnel already in the Organization, a majority of UNDP UNCDF/UNV vacancies are advertised using a tiered application process whereby:

Tier 0: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV IP staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments, whose posts will be abolished, or contracts will be terminated or not renewed during 2026.
Tier 1: Other UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments
Tier 2: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding temporary appointments (TA), personnel on regular PSA contracts, and Expert and Specialist UN Volunteers
Tier 3 or no tier indicated: All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates

Please make note of the Tier(s) indicated in the vacancy title, if any, and ensure that you satisfy the eligibility to apply.

Background

In the context of the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by member States of the United Nations (UN), UNDP has supported Member States and other stakeholders in implementing commitments – which set concrete aspirations to end hunger and disease for all people in the world; fight inequality and discrimination; promoting sustainable production and consumption systems and combating climate change.

Supporting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs in Brazil is an essential part of UNDP’s mandate, and UNDP has been working, in partnership with the Brazilian government and other partners, on social mobilization and territorialization of the SDGs to reach areas and communities where progress has been slower and assure that “no one is left behind”. The focus is on strengthening institutional capacities and social participation mechanisms to ensure the design and implementation of inclusive public policies in a friendly and profitable business environment respecting and preserving the environment.

In aligning the organizational resources behind its strategy, the Brazil Country Office (CO) functional structure comprises three main areas, the management support functions, Programme team and Operations Team. The Operations Team is composed of Human Resources (HR), Finance, Support to Projects, and the Common Back Office (CBO), which encompasses common services for the UN House, including Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Administration and Logistics, Procurement and Travel, and HR services tailored for UN entities and Protocol. All of which are responsible for quality assurance for the implementation of UNDP policies and procedures in these operational functions.

The Operations Team plays a pivotal role in enhancing the efficacy of UN operational services and UNDP Brazil. It does so by crafting a comprehensive service delivery platform aimed at providing operational solutions to all UN entities and UNDP programs and projects. Moreover, it coordinates operational services and explores their potential expansion to the UN Common Back Office.

Under the overall guidance of the UNDP Operations Manager and UN Common Back Office Manager for Brazil and direct supervision of the Human Resources Associate and the overall supervision of the Human Resources Analyst, the Human Resources Assistant (HR) generalist provides support to the HR Unit with the contract administration of personnel hired under NPSA modality, including payroll management, strategic reports, recruitment and selection process, mainly for UNDP projects and UN Agencies, and ensuring high quality, accuracy and consistency of work.

The HR Assistant generalist will support our HR department in ensuring smooth and efficient business operations. This position will have both transational and strategic responsibilities, helping to plan and administer important functions, such as recruitment & selection and administration of contracts.

The HR Assistant generalist provides support to all employees and works in line with the HR Strategy, in close collaboration with the Operations, Programme and projects’ staff in the Country Office.

The incumbent will ensure consistent service delivery with full compliance with UN/UNDP rules related to HR processes, records, regulations, policies and strategies on the National Personnel Service Agreement modality.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide support to the implementation of HR strategies related to project positions:

Ensure full compliance of HR processes and records with UN/UNDP rules, regulations, policies, and strategies;
Provide HR administrative support for the effective implementation of HR strategies and initiatives;
Support in the elaboration of new SOPs and KPIs of HR Services;
Suggests ideas for streamlining procedures to deliver optimal client service.

Provide support on Recruitment & Selection processes of project positions:

Assist with the review of TORs and R&S documentation for completeness, consistency and compliance with applicable policies and procedures;
Support the organization and follow-up of R&S processes, including recruitment timelines and process tracking;
Support the publication and follow-up of vacancy announcements, ensuring accurate and timely dissemination through appropriate recruitment channels;
Conduct initial screening of applicants against established minimum requirements and selection criteria;
Assist with the preparation and administration of technical assessments and other recruitment tools, as applicable;
Facilitate interview panels, including scheduling the preparation of documentation and interview materials, coordination with panel members, and preparation of minutes/reports;
Facilitate information sharing and follow-up with Hiring Managers and relevant stakeholders throughout the R&S process;
Maintain accurate and complete R&S records, ensuring proper filing and documentation of recruitment processes;
Ensure accurate data management in official databases;
Support the maintenance and update of recruitment metrics and tracking systems;
Assist with the maintenance and management of CO rosters and talent pools, as applicable;

Implement HR services and act as Country Office (CO) Liaison with GSSC:

Act as the primary focal point and liaison with the Global Shared Services Center (GSSC) for the end-to-end administration of project staff life-cycle transactions.
Coordinate with GSSC to ensure timely processing of hires, contract extensions, lateral transfers, salary distribution setups, benefits, and separations.
Track HR transactions related to positions, recruitment, benefits, earnings/deductions, retroactivity, recoveries, adjustments, and separations through ERP, in close coordination with GSSC as applicable.
Monitor and support the collection of mandatory onboarding/offboarding documents from personnel, serving as the local administrative bridge to submit complete packages to GSSC.
Maintain proper filing system for HR records and documents.
Extract, input, copy and file data from various sources.
Prepare routine correspondence, memoranda, and reports in accordance with CO needs and SOPs.
Provide HR administrative support for the effective implementation of HR services to the UNDP project positions and partner agencies.

Supports effective communication and administration assistance for varied and inter-related services, including project operations support, focusing on achievement of the following results:

Maintenance of the filing system ensuring safekeeping of confidential materials. Use of automated filing system;
Support the information flow in the office and dissemination of corporate and interoffice communication to personnel as required;
Support the facilitation information sharing with Management Support and Programme and Operations Teams;
Support the follow up of deadlines, established commitments, actions taken and coordination of collection and submission of the reports to the HR Analyst;
Draft routine correspondence, interoffice circulars, general briefing notes, documents, reports, minutes of meetings and translations when required;
Support the administration of meetings, appointments and briefings within the HR Unit
Assist and carry administrative tasks related to HR Unit.

Supports knowledge building and knowledge sharing in the CO focusing on achievement of the following results:

Support the organization and delivery of training sessions for Operations and project staff on HR-related matters and other relevant topics;
Contribute to knowledge sharing through HR-related guidance, knowledge networks and communities of practice.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Institutional Arrangement

Under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the Human Resources Associate, the Human Resources Assistant contributes to the HR Services, ensuring high quality of work, ensuring high quality on the delivery of the services needs.

Competencies

Core competencies

Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline

Think Innovatively: LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements

Learn Continuously: LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback

Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible

Act with Determination: LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident

Engage and Partner: LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships

Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

Business Management | Communication: Communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience
Abilit to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels

Business Development | Integration within the UN: Ability to identity, and integrate capacity and assets of the UN system, and engage in joint work; knowledge of the UN System and ability to apply this knowledge to strategic and/or practical situations.

Business Development | Knowledge Generation: Ability to research information and to turn it into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need. Ability to apply existing concepts to new situations, and to develop new concepts to generate workable solutions and new approaches. Knowledge of relevant concepts, conceptual models, and theories that can be useful in addressing new situations.

Business Management | Customer Satisfaction/Client Management: Ability to respond timely and appropriately with a sense of urgency, provide consistent solutions, and deliver timely and quality results and/or solutions to fulfil and understand the real customers' needs. Provide inputs to the development of customer service strategy. Look for ways to add value beyond clients' immediate requests. Ability to anticipate client's upcoming needs and concerns

HR - Compensation/remuneration | Payroll management: Knowledge of and ability to apply mechanisms and tools to collect payroll data, process payroll, and manage payroll reports.

HR - People strategy and planning | People analytics: Ability to generate and align people data with business intelligence data to inform strategic decision-making; knowledge of databases, their architecture, integration and landscape; ability to create and use data models; knowledge of visualization techniques.
Gathering and using data and information to provide insights into people issues and guide decision-making.

HR - Recruitment | Assessment and selection: Knowledge and ability to apply various candidate
assessment and selection methodologies, tools and platforms; ability to effectively align them with specific recruitment needs

Minimum Qualifications of the Successful NPSA

Min. Education requirements

Secondary education is required.
A University degree (bachelor´s degree) in Business Administration, Psychology, Human Resources or related areas of humanities, Communications, Social Sciences or an equivalent field will be given due consideration, but it is not a requirement.

Min. years of relevant work experience

Minimum 4 years (with secondary education) or 1 year (with Bachelor´s degree) of relevant experience in Human Resources, preferably covering areas such as recruitment and selection, personnel administration, contract administration, payroll, benefits and entitlement management, among others.

Required skills

Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, Power Point, etc.).

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section

Experience in Recruitment & Selection processes;
Experience with personnel contract management and HR transactions;
Experience in preparing reports, developing indicators, and monitoring administrative processes.
Experience in maintaining and organizing personnel records and HR documentation.
Experience in using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, particularly HR-related modules.
Experience working with multiple stakeholders, including Hiring Managers, project teams, operations teams and/or shared service centres.

Required Language(s)

Fluency in Portuguese is required.
Working knowledge in English is desirable.

Professional Certificates

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination.

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles.

Right to select multiple candidates

UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

Use of AI by candidates

Applicants are invited to read UNDP’s guidance for candidates on using AI responsibly in UNDP recruitment and selection

Scam alert

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Human Resources Assistant (1 vaga) (Home based) [Open to internal and external applicants]