Outcome SSD_O_4

Empowered people

In 2024, UN Women South Sudan upheld its commitment to being an employer of choice by recruiting and retaining a diverse and high-performing workforce through competitive and rigorous processes. The Country Office onboarded 4 Fixed-Term Appointment (FTA) staff members, 12 personnel on service contracts and several short-term consultants. Due diligence was consistently applied to ensure that all hires, including directly contracted consultants, met the expected standards of quality and deliverables. All new personnel have been inducted, including training on Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA). This initiative has significantly enhanced staff understanding of PSEA, resulting in no reported cases of SEA in 2024 The workforce demonstrates gender diversity, with a composition of approximately 52.3% male and 47.7% female staff. The office maintained a low staff turnover rate, reflecting a strong retention of experienced personnel. However, challenges persist in staff retention due to the use of less attractive contractual modalities, such as Special Service Agreements (SSAs) and Service Contracts (SCs). In response, the Country Office, in consultation with the Regional Office HR Business Partner (RO HRBP) and HQ HR, has prioritized the transition to the new National Personnel Services Agreement (NPSA) and International Personnel Services Agreement (IPSA) contract modalities. These updated contracts, offering enhanced benefits, are scheduled for roll-out in early 2025, with UNDP HR assuring full support for the process.

Empowered people

In 2025, UN Women demonstrated strong organizational performance and accountability. The Office fully met UNDSS accountability standards (QCPR 1.4.28) across CO, RO, and HQ, and completed 100% of annual performance management and development reviews on time, in line with corporate deadlines. Staff engagement in mandatory trainings was high, with 98% compliance, surpassing the 75% target. Progress was made in promoting Standards of Conduct, with a PSEA focal point in place until September and ongoing efforts to ensure continued internal sensitization and training. Additionally, inter-regional and HQ-field knowledge exchange and learning activities benefited 15 personnel, supporting technical capacity-building, donor engagement, and cross-office collaboration. Overall, UN Women’s 2025 performance reflects strong achievement of accountability and learning objectives, with continued attention to sustaining PSEA support.

Empowered people

The country office recruits its national and international workforce based on competitive competition to ensure highly performing staff are recruited. In some occasions, short-term consultants were recruited on a direct contracting but due diligence was followed to ensure the consultant was of high quality and his/her credentials were matching with the expected deliveries.