MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS EGON ZEHNDER INTERNATIONAL (SUISSE) SA COURS DE RIVE 10 1204 GENEVA SWITZERLAND TELEPHONE +41 22 849 68 68 FAX +41 22 849 68 78 E-MAIL ezigeneva@ezi.net www.egonzehnder.com ROLE SPECIFICATION for the position of with HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME AMSTERDAM ATHENS ATLANTA BANGALORE BARCELONA BEIJING BERLIN BOGOTÁ BOSTON BRUSSELS BUDAPEST BUENOS AIRES CALGARY CHICAGO COPENHAGEN DALLAS DUBAI DUSSELDORF FRANKFURT GENEVA HAMBURG HELSINKI HONG KONG HOUSTON ISTANBUL JAKARTA JEDDAH KUALA LUMPUR LISBON LONDON LOS ANGELES LUXEMBOURG LYON MADRID MELBOURNE MEXICO CITY MIAMI MILAN MONTREAL MOSCOW MUMBAI MUNICH NEW DELHI NEW YORK OSLO PALO ALTO PARIS PRAGUE RIO DE JANEIRO ROME SAN FRANCISCO SANTIAGO This document is the sole and exclusive property of Egon Zehnder International and cannot be distributed to third parties without its consent. 2012 Egon Zehnder International. ECO/deo NY0941GE0055 30 July 2012 SÃO PAULO SEOUL SHANGHAI SINGAPORE STUTTGART SYDNEY TEL AVIV TOKYO TORONTO VIENNA WARSAW ZURICH
Head of Human Resources 2 THE ORGANIZATION The (WFP) is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. WFP is the food aid arm of the United Nations system. Food aid is one of the many instruments that can help to promote food security, which is defined as access of all people at all times to the food needed for an active and healthy life. The policies governing the use of food aid must be oriented towards the objective of eradicating hunger and poverty. The ultimate objective of food aid should be the elimination of the need for food aid. In this context, targeted interventions are needed to help to improve the lives of the poorest people - people who, either permanently or during crisis periods, are unable to produce enough food or do not have the resources to otherwise obtain the food that they and their households require for active and healthy lives. To be truly effective, food aid should be fully integrated into the development plans and priorities of recipient countries and coordinated with other forms of assistance. That is why WFP's starting point is the national policies, plans and programmes of developing countries, including their food security plans. Since no single agency has either the resources or the capacity to deal with all the problems of hunger and underdevelopment, WFP actively collaborates with other agencies, particularly with its parent bodies, the United Nations and FAO. WFP also forges effective partnerships of action with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, regional bodies and institutions, bilateral donors and NGOs in support of economic and social development. The 2008 2013 Strategic Plan lays out a framework for potential action for WFP and marks a historical shift from WFP as a food aid agency to WFP as a food assistance agency, with a more nuanced and robust set of tools to respond to critical hunger needs. Its overarching goal is to reduce dependency and to support governmental and global efforts to ensure long term solutions to the hunger challenge. Since the global context in which WFP operates is rapidly changing, leading to the rapid globalization of the hunger challenge, deploying WFP most effectively is what the Strategic Plan is all about. WFP will focus on five Strategic Objectives: save lives and protect livelihoods in emergencies; prevent acute hunger and invest in disaster preparedness and mitigation measures; restore and rebuild lives and livelihoods in post conflict, post-disaster or transition situations; reduce chronic hunger and under nutrition; strengthen the capacities of countries to reduce hunger, including through hand-over strategies and local purchase.
Head of Human Resources 3 THE NEW FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION TO STRENGHTEN WFP Upon assuming office on 5 April, the Executive Director (ED), Ms. Ertharin Cousin, announced that she was launching a process of reflection, review and analysis, which was to lead to actions that would make WFP more efficient and effective. As a first step in demonstrating her commitment to improving and safeguarding WFP, she began by undertaking a rapid organizational assessment of WFP and listening and responding to staff concerns. The assessment clearly identified the WFP core strengths: values orientation, pride, sense of ownership; strong operational focus and can-do attitude; alignment on overall strategic direction; and willingness to make changes. The assessment also found that while WFP has a clear role to provide food assistance as enunciated in the Strategic Plan (2008 2013), it does not yet have the capacity to fully implement that role in terms of people competencies and mind sets and systems, tools and processes. Drawing on the diagnosis, the new framework for action rests on four principles: Put country offices at the centre; Develop a people-oriented organization; Focus energy and resources on priorities; Provide evidence and accountability for results. Consistently with the new strategic framework, the ED decided to hire a new HR Director, who will be charged with thoroughly reviewing and overhauling WFP s management of HR. The new approach to HR management will include actions to increase the number of women at the middle and senior management levels. It will also include the development of a workforce strategy based on a detailed analysis of existing staff categories, the allocation of staff resources, and contractual conditions. To achieve results, WFP needs a strong and shared culture based on commitment, communication and accountability, with the active engagement of staff working toward continuous improvement. The new HR Director will strongly contribute to create a new culture of shared identity, responsibility and ownership.
Head of Human Resources 4 The organizational structure of WFP is outlined below: THE POSITION The Human Resources Director leads a team of 93 staff and 5 direct reports which include the following services: Staff Relations Branch; Medical Unit; Staff Counselling Unit; Operational Services; and Policy and Career Management Service. The Human Resources Director reports to the Executive Director, Ms. Ertharin Cousin. The Director is responsible for the Human Resources function, serving as the principal adviser to the organization on the management of human talent but also oversees all operational matters. Providing vision and strategies for the creation and maintenance of a dynamic workforce, the Director plays the primary role for ensuring WFP s continuing capacity to function as the largest humanitarian agency on fighting hunger worldwide. The primary responsibility for the management of HR lies with the managers. They play the main role in recruiting, developing, retaining and supporting the staff under their supervision. They are responsible for ensuring that the performance management process is effective. The HR function in HQ, regional bureaux and the country offices supports managers in these HR roles. It also acts as the strategic advisor to the ED and Executive Management Group (EMG) and it is the business partner to the Regional Directors and Country Directors. In addition, the HR function develops HR policies, standards, tools and procedures and has roles in other areas such as workforce planning and development.
Head of Human Resources 5 Responsibilities From workforce and succession planning through to performance management, career development and learning, the Director acts as change and thought leader and visionary manager of the team of human resource professionals. Motivating and providing an empowered environment for innovation and high quality service, the Director ensures the provision of a comprehensive and integrated service which positions the organization to optimally develop and deploy its human assets. Importantly, he/she promotes a keen appreciation by management and staff of the critical importance of human resource management as central to the overall success of the organization. The Director will be responsible for: Strategy: Ensure the provision of critical business intelligence to senior management on overall workforce trends and emerging issues (e.g., in the contract proliferation and policies) to position the organization to proactively anticipate, plan and meet workforce needs as these arise; advocate and build awareness within the organization of the strategic importance of human resource management; strategically define new systems and a new culture of talent management throughout the organization, to ensure proper recruitment, retention and development of staff. Execution: Direct the delivery of comprehensive human resource management services in its key areas: Workforce and Succession Planning, Contract and Entitlements, Recruitment and Reassignment, Performance Management, Training and Career Development, Staff relations, Policy, Medical and staff well-being; influence, facilitate and lead organizational change and development using effective human resources expertise and change strategies. Team leadership: Embracing staff development including providing meaningful options addressing work/life balance, achievement of gender equity and the leveraging of diversity as a comparative advantage; empower a creative peer community of human resource specialists to excel in policy innovation and programme delivery in the service of the organization. Collaboration within the UN system and beyond: Support the evolution of a modern and dynamic international civil service through active contribution within the United Nations Common System on human resource reform with particular attention to the demands of field-based programmes and the challenges of staff mobility. Priorities The role of the Director will be key in the design and implementation of the building blocks of the New Framework for Action, i.e., in strategy, organizational development and change management projects that he/she will deploy into the Organization. The new Director is expected to substantially upgrade and improve human capital processes and systems, in all areas, with a focus on contract issues, as well as identify, retain and develop the next generation of leaders within the organization. One of the key priorities for the Director will be to also work with the executive management team to rejuvenate the organization as to help WFP renew its professional work force over the next 2-3 years.
Head of Human Resources 6 Specifically, the priorities for the role in the coming year will be: Strategy: o Define a strategic plan to change the internal culture, fostering talent management as a mind-set and a way-of-working throughout the Organization globally. o Develop an HR-led strategic orientation to improve the selection, retention, promotion and reassignment processes across the organization globally. o Further develop HR strategies to guide broader HR efforts to upgrade the organization s human capital systems and processes. In particular, define the best solutions for a knowledge management system that would connect and improve Databases and systems to coordinate at best planning and monitoring of assignments and promotions. o Introduce systematic succession planning given a vast portion of senior staff will retire in the coming years. Execution: o Define and implement new processes and tools to foster local and central accountability, effectiveness and efficiency on all HR critical processes. o Analyse and address, where possible and consistently with UN regulation, the proliferation of contracts, to rationalize them throughout the organization and to ensure transparent and fair application and communication of contract policies. o Improve the speed and quality of recruitment and develop solutions and approaches to address challenging international recruitments including for humanitarian crises. o Ensure the HR performance evaluation systems translate effectively into a culture of performance through strong leadership, performance management, and training/development. o Define and implement HR-led systems and processes for employee reassignment, promotion and retention. o Continue to deliver training support to country management to upgrade skills and improve financial and results based management and expertise. o Provide better HR support to country teams to enhance their capacity to deliver on-the-ground. Collaboration within the UN system and beyond: o Build HR capacity through collaborating with other UN agencies and maintain good relations with Staff Association representatives. CANDIDATE PROFILE Experience As a global leadership role in one of the world s leading development organizations, this role represents an exciting opportunity for a senior HR leader with at least 15 years of progressively responsible experience in HR leadership, of which a substantial part has been at the senior level in the private, public and/or international organization sectors. Given the specific challenges of the role, qualified candidates will have demonstrated professional competence and success in organizational development and change management as well as the ability to lead in a fast-changing environment.
Head of Human Resources 7 Candidates should bring an excellent reputation in HR with in-depth knowledge of best practices. Competencies The position requires a high energy, proactive, engaged and persuasive individual who is capable of functioning as a constructive business partner and value-added contributor to the WFP senior management team. It is therefore important that the Director has the leadership, communication and interpersonal skills and style needed to work effectively with stakeholders at all levels of the organization, providing a forward-looking, proactive approach to the HR function. Strategic Orientation (Strategic Alignment of HR, Analytical & Strategic Thinking, Fostering Innovation & Empowerment): o Develops and instils a compelling vision for human resources as a strategic partner; inspires others to achieve the vision. o Understands and articulates the medium-term priorities for the organization, able to promote better understanding of its strategic agenda with global partners and build consensus on major initiatives. o Frames the right strategic questions to enable top leadership to gauge risks and translate recommendations into concrete action. Results Orientation (Results Orientation/Commitment to Excellence, Appropriate & Transparent Decision-Making): o Ensures and leads the Executive Management Group and senior managers in the operationalizing of the HR vision and strategy in their respective divisions and organizational units. o Always delivers against targets on time and with accuracy, and exploits opportunities to exceed goals even under adverse circumstances. Collaboration & Influencing (Commitment to the Organization & its Mandate, Working in Teams, Communicating Information & Ideas, Self-Management/Emotional Intelligence): o Motivates others to work with them and their team; is able to generate commitment in the organization; establishes credibility and organizational value for the function; gains cooperation from others through understanding of and sensitivity to the political and organizational culture. o Ensures that HR issues are taken into account in strategic issues and decision-making; gains commitment for HR strategies by demonstrating impact on organizational results. o Applies systemic thinking, balances conflicting demands; remains accessible to various stakeholders and shows a willingness to become directly and personally involved; maintains internal and external networks (partners, colleagues, interest groups). Team Leadership & Organizational Development (Performance Management, Developing People/Coaching & Mentoring, Knowledge Sharing & Continuous Learning): o Empowers the team to perform, to identify and solve problems, providing necessary support; holds the team accountable for meeting collective goals; resolves conflicts constructively. o Systematically works to build team capability; sets specific goals for individuals in order to build capability of the organization; seeks to understand systematic retention challenges and addresses them.
Head of Human Resources 8 o Creates and instills a vision, a set of values, and creates a supportive, enabling environment in which the vision and strategic direction can be achieved. o Champions the process of WFP becoming a learning/knowledge sharing organization. Change Leadership (Promoting Organizational Change & Development/Impact and Influence): o Articulates a vision for change and champions the transformation process. o Advocates change, engaging others by explaining their role in it, and ideally mobilizes others within the organization to initiate change. o Influences the Executive Committee and other senior colleagues to adopt organization-wide change strategies, as developed in the human resources strategy and to address issues requiring change. Integrity & Values (Integrity, Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing Diversity): o Creates organizational precedents and acts as a role model, setting an example for the highest standard of integrity for all staff through his/her personal behaviour. o Ensures an organizational environment that respects diversity, gender equality and cultural sensitivity and fosters openness to diverse perspectives. Education and Languages Advanced university degree in social sciences, such as law or business or public administration or management with specialized knowledge in Human Resource Management, desirable. Excellent knowledge of English required; knowledge of other UN official languages, preferably French and/or Spanish, highly desirable. Motivation WFP is the world largest humanitarian agency, fighting hunger worldwide. For its plans to become reality, it seeks to find exceptional people who are best in class in their area and who share the organization s passion and commitment to work together and to make a difference to the lives of others, fostering the shared culture of caring. COMPENSATION WFP offers an attractive compensation and expatriate benefits package. The D2 level salary range is USD102,981 to USD123,033 per year. Please visit the following website for details on the United Nations common system of salaries. On top of the above mentioned salary a post adjustment increment is to be added and the level of this varies according to location and can increase or decrease over time. For this role in Rome, the current variable rate is of 53.6% of the above salary package. For more details on the salaries and benefits please use the link below for more information. http://icsc.un.org/resources/pdfs/sal/sabeng12.pdf For more information about WFP go to http://www.wfp.org.
Head of Human Resources 9 CONTRACT The initial contract duration for all professional level categories at WFP is 2 years of which the 1 st year is probationary. LOCATION WFP headquarters in Rome. APPLICATION PROCESS To be considered for this position an application will need to be submitted through WFP s career website. Only applications received through WFPs career site will be considered. The deadline for applications is September 16 th 2012. CONTACTS Erik Slingerland Egon Zehnder International SA Cours de Rive 10 1204 Geneva Tel. +41 22 849 68 70 erik.slingerland@ezi.net Emanuela Cancogni Egon Zehnder International Via Santa Margherita, 7 20121 Milan Tel. +39 02 86962243 Emanuela.cancogni@ezi.net