JOB DESCRIPTION

Deadline for Applications

October 17, 2025

Hardship Level

H (no hardship)

Family Type

Family

Family Type

Family

Residential location (if applicable)

Grade

PR4

Staff Member / Affiliate Type

Professional

Reason

Regular > Regular Assignment

Target Start Date

2025-11-01

Standard Job Description

Senior Payroll Officer

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships

The Senior Payroll Officer plays a key role in supporting the strategic delivery of payroll services to UNHCR staff worldwide, ensuring operational excellence, compliance, and continuous improvement.

The Senior Payroll Officer manages the Payroll Unit responsible for Education Grants and Rental Subsidies, and oversees the Section’s Business Intelligence functions, including data analysis, reporting, and system optimization. Acting as second-in-command, the incumbent provides technical guidance, supports risk management and internal controls, and contributes to the development of payroll policies and procedures.

The position requires close collaboration with internal stakeholders such as the Division of People Management (DPM) and the Personnel Administration Section (PAS), and external partners including the UN Pension Fund, ICSC, and other UN agencies.

The Senior Payroll Officer reports directly to the Chief of Global Payroll Section and, in the Chief’s absence, assumes full responsibility for the Section within UNHCR’s Global Shared Services (GSS).

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 UNHCR’s core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Duties

• Manage the Payroll Unit responsible for Education Grants and Rental Subsidies, ensuring accurate and timely processing of related entitlements.
• Oversee the Section’s Business Intelligence functions, including the development and maintenance of dashboards, analytics tools, and reporting frameworks to support decision-making and operational efficiency.
• Ensure compliance with UNHCR and UN Financial Rules and Regulations and monitor adherence to IPSAS standards.
• Review and approve payroll transactions, including payment vouchers, journal vouchers, and reconciliation reports, ensuring accuracy and completeness.
• Support the Chief in managing payroll-related risks, internal controls, and audit responses; contribute to the development and implementation of audit recommendations.
• Lead initiatives to improve payroll systems and processes, including business analysis and testing of new modules in Workday.
• Provide guidance and advice on payroll exceptions and complex entitlements, in consultation with the Chief of PAS and within delegated authority.
• Monitor and enforce deadlines for payroll processing, year-end activities, and statutory reporting requirements.
• Coach and mentor Payroll Officers and other staff, fostering continuous learning and professional development.
• Liaise with internal and external stakeholders to resolve payroll-related issues and ensure effective communication and coordination.
• Contribute to the development of payroll policies, procedures, and operational guidelines.
• Ensure proper documentation and audit trails for all payroll transactions and maintain the integrity of payroll data.
• Represent the Global Payroll Section in inter-agency meetings, working groups, and task forces, and assume full responsibility for the Section in the absence of the Chief, as delegated.
• Lead risk assessments and discussions with team(s) to proactively manage risks and seize opportunities impacting objectives. Ensure that risk management principles are integrated in decision-making both at strategic and operational levels. Allocate resources for planned treatments with resource requirements in Strategic Plans. Ensure that risks are managed to acceptable levels and escalate, as needed. If a Risk Owner, designate the Risk Focal Point and certify that the annual risk review is completed and ensure that the risk register is updated during the year, as needed.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Years of Experience / Degree Level

For P4/NOD – 9 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 8 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 7 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education

Business Administration Mathematics Statistics Social Science

Human Resources Management Accounting Finance or other relevant field.

Certificates and/or Licenses

HCR Learning Program

HCR Management Learning Program

(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience

Essential

Experience in global payroll management covering multi-country and multi-currency contexts. Excellent knowledge of human resources and financial rules procedures/processes including IPSAS and exposure to the provision of support services in an International Organization. High IT affinity is essential with excellent computer skills and working knowledge in MS Office applications. Extensive knowledge of UN policies and practices. In-depth knowledge of Workday HR, Compensation, Benefits and Payroll modules.

Desirable

Not specified.

Functional Skills

CO-Drafting and Documentation

FI-Application of Financial Rules, Regulations and Procedures

FI-ERP Financial Management (SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, Workday and other)

UN-UN/UNHCR Administrative Rules, Regulations and Procedures

HR-HR data and people analytics

(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

Empowering & Building Trust

Judgement & Decision Making

Leadership

Managing Performance

Managing Resource

Cross-Functional Competencies

Change Capability & Adaptability

Negotiation & Conflict Resolution

Planning & Organizing

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.

Desired Candidate Profile

The incumbent of the position must have good knowledge of the UN Staff Rules and Regulations, UNHCR Financial Rules, and have experience in managing monthly salaries and entitlements like Education Grant and Rental Subsidy. The incumbent should ideally possess more than 5 years’ experience in Global Payroll Service delivery, preferably in the UN setup.  S/he must possess excellent communication skills in English, along with strong interpersonal, leadership, team-management and decision-making skills, with the ability to train and lead a diverse team. The incumbent must possess the ability and experience in dealing with sensitive and confidential information and making judgment calls. Hands-on experience with cloud-based HR, Global Payroll Information (Workday), and Oracle ERP (Financial) Systems is highly desirable. Knowledge of IPSAS standards, compliance monitoring, and other UN official languages would be an asset.

Required languages (expected Overall ability is at least B2 level):

,

,

Desired languages

,

,

Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:

To view occupational safety and health considerations for this duty station, please visit: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel.

Nature of Position:

Global Shared Services (GSS) provides location-independent transactional services in Finance, Payroll, Human Resources, Supply, and IT, to enable operations to focus on strategic and context-specific priorities globally. The GSS located in Budapest serves as the backbone of the service, supported by satellite teams in Panama, Amman, Kuala Lumpur, Dakar, and Nairobi. The GSS also works very closely with all enabling functions, DPM, DRM, DEPS, and ITS, to ensure policies and controls are implemented and delivered in an efficient manner. The strategic direction and operating modalities of the service are governed by the GSS Advisory Board.

The Senior Payroll Officer position is part of the Payroll section of the GSS and will report to the Chief of the Global Payroll Section. The incumbent of this position will supervise, manage, and lead the Payroll Processing Unit, focusing on Education Grant and Rental Subsidy processing, as well as the Audit and Compliance functions. The incumbent will act as the Deputy to the Chief of the Section.

Living and Working Conditions:

Additional Qualifications

Skills

CO-Drafting and Documentation, FI-Application of Financial Rules, Regulations and Procedures, FI-ERP Financial Management (SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, Workday and other), HR-HR data and people analytics, UN-UN/UNHCR Administrative Rules, Regulations and Procedures

Education

Bachelor of Arts: Accounting, Bachelor of Arts: Business Administration, Bachelor of Arts: Finance, Bachelor of Arts: Human Resources Management, Bachelor of Arts: Mathematics, Bachelor of Arts: Social Science, Bachelor of Arts: Statistics

Certifications

HCR Learning Program – UNHCR, HCR Management Learning Program – UNHCR

Work Experience

Competencies

Accountability, Change capability & adaptability, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Empowering & building trust, Judgement & decision making, Leadership, Managing performance, Managing resource, Negotiation & conflict resolution, Organizational awareness, Planning & organizing, Teamwork & collaboration

UNHCR Salary Calculator

https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales

Compendium

Flash Vacancy Notice

Additional Information

Functional clearance

This position doesn”t require a functional clearance