Human Resources Expert (National Consultant)

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Background

The National Parliament of Timor-Leste is approaching a new phase of development. While significant capacity challenges remain, basic institutional foundations are largely in place, allowing Parliament to exercise its legislative and oversight functions as outlined in the Constitution. This marks a significant achievement in a relatively short time, especially in a post-conflict setting with no previous parliamentary tradition and a crippling shortage of skilled personnel. Historically, the National Parliament is a successor to the Constituent Assembly that was elected on 30 August 2001, two years after the people of Timor-Leste voted in favor of independence under an UN-supervised Referendum. The Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution of Timor-Leste and transformed itself into the National Parliament on 22 March 2002. According to the Constitution, which entered into force on 20 May 2002, Parliament is the organ of sovereignty that “represents all Timorese citizens and is vested with legislative, oversight and political decision-making powers.” The Constitution further vests Parliament with exclusive legislative competencies in a number of areas, such as socioeconomic policies, electoral legislation, and fiscal policy. In practice, this means that Parliament has considerable powers: it seats governments appoints key office holders such as the Ombudsman (Provedor), plays an important role in overseeing the management of the Petroleum Fund, and bears ultimate responsibility for good governance and for promoting a culture of accountability. Parliament is composed of 65 Members who represent eight political parties. Despite considerable progress, important institutional challenges remain. The level of professional skills and human resources, in particular, requires considerable improvement. Parliamentary operations in major areas – legislation, oversight, communications, and public outreach – need to be strengthened. Strengthening the oversight power and the relationships of Parliament with other institutions and Parliament´s institutional management. UNDP has played a vital role in providing technical assistance to Parliament throughout its different stages of development, and the proposed Project (2020-2023) comes at a critical juncture for the consolidation of the institutional processes established during the past years, as Parliament is undergoing a critical transition from a phase of institution-building (i.e., putting basic institutional building blocks and processes in place) to a new phase of consolidation and development. While providing direct technical assistance where needed, it will focus on addressing some of the challenges identified during the previous project cycles, notably by expanding and integrating existing capacity development initiatives into a comprehensive and systematic strategy that emphasizes capacity transfer to Timorese counterparts.

 

The Human Resources Expert will work under the Chief Technical Advisor’s direct supervision and in close collaboration with the Secretary-General, Parliament Human Resources Department, and the Office of the President of Parliament and consultation with other project staff and UNDP Timor-Leste management.

 

The Human Resources Expert is expected to develop transparent Human Resources practices and support Parliament in implementing HR strategies effectively and efficiently to capacitate Parliament to identify reliable and appropriate staff.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Develop and implement a comprehensive human resources upgrading strategy for the National Parliament of Timor-Leste:

  • Draft a comprehensive Human Resources baseline study/needs assessment that includes a strategy and road map for upgrading the human resources in the National Parliament, identifying training needs and recommending organizational structure, delineating functions to determine their appropriateness, and the respective number of staff.
  • Review the current organizational divisions and delineate functions to determine their appropriateness and the appropriate number of personnel.
  • Create, review, and revise, as necessary, all job descriptions and profiles and salary/remuneration scales within established guidelines and the approved budget.
  • Where necessary, discuss with the senior management of the National Parliament proposals for the next and subsequent 3 to 5 budgets in relation to forward projection staffing and other resource plans.
  • Preparation of human resource policies and staff regulations/rules reflecting the unique working conditions within the parliamentary environment, including but not limited to:
  • Recruitment and selection;
  • Merit-based performance standards (including proposals for upwards assessment schemes);
  • Duties that might more appropriately be performed on a contractual basis;
  • Benefits/entitlements;
  • Career planning and succession planning;
  • Training.

2. Facilitation of capacity building and knowledge/information sharing :

  • Conduct a functional review and baseline assessment of the current skill levels and capacity in all organizational units, with an emphasis on determining training requirements in skills such as:
  • Strategic planning
  • Budgeting, financial management, and accounting
  • Human resource planning and management
  • Supervision of personnel and team-building
  • Office management and administration
  • Research and analysis
  • Computer/information technology
  • Information management (including library archiving/acquisition/control)
  • Inventory control, procurement, asset control, and equipment maintenance
  • Technical skills required to adequately support MPs and legislative bodies
  • Languages

 

  • Prepare short and medium-term training plans for staff including:
  • An orientation plan for new staff (including briefing materials);
  • Plans for internships, staff exchanges, professional development opportunities;
  • Plans for 5 annual workshops on managerial/administrative and parliamentary-specific matters;
  • Identification of training providers from Timor-Leste, and internationally.

 

  • Support the National Parliament Training Center in:
    • Draft Standard Operational Procedures for the National Parliament Training Center;
    • Draft training curricula for continuous training for all Parliament units and staff;
    • Under the coordination of the HR Department support drafting an annual training calendar for all parliament staff.

 

3. Devise and implement methods to improve communication within the Secretariat of the National Parliament:

  • Establish working relationships between the Secretariat’s operational planning and deputies’ service needs by organizing and conducting:
  • Regular needs surveys,
  • Management working groups,
  • Focus groups, and
  • Other methods and tools are as necessary and appropriate.

4. Develop and implement a training curriculum for Parliament Human Resources division that comprises, at least, the following subjects:

  • Introduction to the National Parliament staff system;
  • Staff development strategies;
  • Management of  National Parliament staff

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

  • Promotes UN’s Values and ethical standards (tolerance, integrity, respect, result orientation, impartiality)
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and sensitivity and adaptability
  • Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards (human rights, peace, understanding between people and nations, tolerance, integrity, respect, result orientation, UNDP core ethics, impartiality.

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge Management and Learning

  • Promotes knowledge management and a learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example, excellent knowledge of capacity building theory and the application of the methodology, good understanding of capacity assessment methodologies, excellent ability to identify significant capacity-building opportunities, ability to get capacity building, excellent ability to demonstrate national capacities building (mastery of the tools and their application);
  • Excellent communication skills (written and oral) in Tetum, Portuguese, and English;
  • Display an understanding of the relevant contemporary ICT tools and continuously act towards personal capacity building;
  • Established track record of delivering strong analytical products with policy relevance;
  • In-depth practical knowledge of inter-disciplinary development issues.

Required Skills and Experience

Required Skills and Experience:

 

Education:

  • University degree in human resources management, organizational development, or related field.

Experience:

  • Minimum of eight years working experience in a human resources function or other relevant activities that demonstrate a deep understanding of the nature of public service/parliamentary human resources matters.
  • Previous work experience in assessing HR public institutions and civil servants in Timor-Leste is an asset;
  • Ability to do research and survey;
  • Strong interpersonal skills; results-driven, ability to work under pressure and to meet strict deadlines;
  • Ability to deal with politically sensitive and complex issues;
  • Strong communication and team-building skills.

 

Personal Competencies:

  • Commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision, and values;
  • Sensitivity to cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, and age differences;
  • Highest standards of integrity, discretion, and loyalty.

 

Language Requirements:

  • Excellent spoken, report writing, and presentation skills in Tetum, Portuguese and English languages.

 

Interested applicants are mandatory to apply online through https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?job_id=96693. Supporting documents/filled templates to be submitted along with the applications are following, and those templates can be download from https://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=74957.

  • UN P11 Form
  • Individual Contract Offerors Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability
  • Individual Contract Reference Check (at least from two referees)
  • CV

Any request for clarification must be sent in writing to [email protected] 
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