Login with Netlify Identity

HR During Grant Implementation

UNDP recruitment and selection procedures

The Recruitment and Selection Framework Policy is intended to provide UNDP Country Offices (COs) and headquarters hiring units with the principles governing recruitment and selection and specific guidance for filling vacant posts at the local and international levels in accordance with the United Nations Charter, the Staff Regulations and the Staff Rules.

UNDP staff recruitment and selection are guided by the following five principles:

Competition: Selection follows a visible and fair competitive process for all vacancies, regardless of post, contractual modality or hiring unit, except when such a competitive process is not considered practicable.

Objectivity: Screening is conducted with professional rigour, with candidates measured against clearly articulated criteria, job skills and competencies, and corporate priorities.

Transparency: The recruitment and selection criteria and all phases of recruitment processes are transparent to staff and candidates to the fullest extent possible.

Diversity: UNDP’s workforce reflects diversity and strives to include equal numbers of men and women, staff members representing as wide a geographic distribution as possible and individuals from under-represented groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities.

Accountability: Hiring managers are held accountable both for their selection proposals and the manner in which they have followed the processes leading up to them.

Each recruitment and selection process should include the basic steps:

  • An approved, budgeted and classified post
  • An up-to-date job description describing the key functions, competencies, impact and requirements of the post, responsibilities, academic qualifications, work experience and language requirements
  • A recruitment strategy
  • A vacancy announcement uploaded on to the UNDP job website
  • A competitive job-specific assessment of skills, demonstrated competencies, relevant qualifications and performance of candidates in relation to the predefined requirement for the post
  • A technical assessment against the key functions, competencies, impact and requirements of the post
  • A competency-based interview for which the panel comprises a minimum of three panellists, one of which is from outside the Hiring Unit

The recruitment and selection process varies when Fast Track Procedures (FTP) are formally triggered. As most Fast Track measures have been mainstreamed into relevant policies and streamlined into the required processes, this should enable COs to work quickly to implement crisis response programming. Mainstreaming of the Fast Track measures has allowed CO to avail certain flexibilities in policies and procedures. However, some provisions were delegated to the Regional Bureau level and, therefore, the COs will still need to seek approval for these. The Fast Track provisions can be found in the Standard Operating Procedure for Immediate Crisis Response in the UNDP Programme and Operations Policies and Procedures (POPP) for more information.

The UNDP Global Fund Partnership and Health Systems Team (GFPHST) has developed a Project Management Unit (PMU) recruitment tracking template as a tool to monitor the progress of the PMU recruitment process.

UNDP Global Fund Partnership and Health Systems Team engagement in PMU recruitment

With a view to strengthen the capacity of UNDP COs to manage Global Fund programmes, the Organizational Performance Group (OPG) has made recommendations requiring that the UNDP GFPHST is directly involved in the recruitment process for the following UNDP/Global Fund PMU staff positions:

When planning a recruitment for any of these positions, kindly contact the respective Programme Advisor in the UNDP GFPHSTwho is covering your country, copying the Deputy Manager of UNDP GFPHST.

UNDP GFPHST is also available to support with the recruitment of other PMU positions, as required.

Dynamic needs

The human resources required for successful grant implementation may change over time. A review of human resource needs should therefore be conducted on a regular basis, and at least annually. The CO should undertake a critical review of its capacity to manage the grant in light of any changes in programme activities, to determine the Global Fund PMU’s competencies, size and structure.

For periods during the grant life cycle when there is increased demand (e.g. preparation of Progress Updates/Disbursement Requests), the PMU can be supplemented by consultants and/or staff on detailed assignments. Depending on the timeframe, the recruitment of short-term (three months) UN Volunteers may also be considered to augment capacities. The UNDP GFPHST roster of qualified experts can be utilized to identify and quickly deploy the required expertise. If you require any additional support, please contact UNDP GFPHST.

Performance management & development (PMD)

Striving for excellence in the work we do and strengthening performance of staff is key for UNDP. The PMD process aims to build a strong high-performance culture where individual staff members, managers and teams take responsibility for the achievement of UNDP’s vision and attainment of its results in the most effective and efficient way. The PMD policy applies to all staff members holding Permanent (PA), Fixed term (FTA) and Temporary Appointments (TA). The relevant guidance is available on the Performance Management and Development (PMD) site.

For regular PSA holders, a full- service evaluation report must be completed, using the online PMD platform for any service period exceeding six months worked during that evaluation year.

For short-term PSAs, or for periods of service of less than six months, only section I of the IPSA Performance Evaluation form or An NPSA Service Evaluation is to be completed and should be documented as a note to file.

Mandatory and Core trainings

UNDP has several mandatory learning programmes which aim at reinforcing organizational values. The mandatory courses provide compliance-learning and covers key issues related to UNDP values, standards, prohibited behaviours, key policies, rules and regulations, safety and security of individuals and the reputation of the Organization. They include security, fraud and corruption awareness, prevention of harassment and sexual exploitation and abuse of local population, ethics and integrity. All UNDP personnel holding (incl. interns, PSAs and UN Volunteers) are required to complete all Mandatory Courses within one month of their entry on duty.

Core courses cover issues related to the development policy/programme and operations management areas, and other important aspects of UNDP’s work. The core courses include environmental sustainability, human rights, gender equality, UNDP’s legal framework and disability inclusion . Core courses must be completed by all personnel with an initial contract of more than 6 months, within 90 days of joining UNDP.

Audience specific core courses

Two more courses are also part of the core courses category and are designed for specific audiences:

  • UNDP Foundations – to be completed by all personnel joining or re-joining UNDP, during their onboarding journey, within 90 days. Existing personnel are also encouraged to complete this course.
  • UNDP Risk Management – to be completed by Resident Representatives, Deputy Resident Representatives, Operations Managers, Programme Managers and Risk Focal Points – within 90 days of their assignment in the relevant role.

The courses should take 1 to 4 hours each to complete and are available on UNDP’s Talent Development Hub.

UNDP staff resources

A wealth of information on all human resources-related topics is available on the Global Shared Services Unit – Human Resources (GSSU–HR) platform, which is accessible here.

[1]OPG decision 2010.06.09-1.5

[2]OPG decision 2010.06.09-1.5

[3]OPG decision 2015.03.26-1

Loading resources