Regional People & Culture Director - West Africa at International Rescue Committee (IRC)

The Regional People & Culture Director (RPCD) will lead a highly effective, strategic People & Culture team to ensure the West Africa Region has the culture and talent needed to deliver on global program goals and effectively serve our clients. This individual is a key member of both the West Africa regional leadership team and the P&C leadership team for the Crisis Response, Recovery, and Development Department (CRRD), and serves as strategic leader, advisor, and coach with a particular focus on ensuring a safe and welcoming culture for all people, organizational performance, and efficiency and effectiveness of people-related operations. The West Africa region operates in eight countries with more than 1,900+ employees and an additional 3,500+ contingent staff. 

Major Responsibilities 

• Provide strategic leadership and direction to People & Culture function across West Africa region; responsible for ensuring high quality delivery of P&C programs and operations to drive achievement of IRC’s goals. 
• Work closely with P&C and program leadership teams to transform region's approach to culture, talent, and the overall employee experience. 
• Reinforce and model a culture that prioritises providing all employees with a safe, respectful, and supportive workplace, one that fosters empathy, inclusiveness, and a sense of belonging; where each individual feels valued and protected from any harm, and able to deliver their very best work in support of our clients. 
• Ensure that key progress, barriers and enablers for commitments related to Gender Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (GEDI), Safeguarding (SG) and Duty of Care (DoC) are part of regular regional leadership dialogue and action 
• Ensure best practices and legal compliance for critical enabling operations e.g. recruitment, employee relations, compensation & benefits, and data reporting & analysis are in place and work holistically with other functions. 
• Partner with HQ Learning & Development Unit to deliver and lead strategic L&D programs, such as Succession Planning and Talent Dialogues. Serve as a strategic partner by understanding regional learning needs and providing advice and counsel regarding adapting programs for the regional contexts 
• Partner with the HQ Organizational Development team to enhance organizational health of the region and country programs including but not limited to implementing optimal P&C structures 
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement and measurement of impact in the region, supported by people analytics and data driven decision making by regional and country leadership 
• Support the development and achievement of the Country Program P&C priorities and foster two-way links with the global P&C strategy 
• Manage highly sensitive employee relations, wellbeing, and other complex matters 
• Lead, empower and mentor team, including communicating clear expectations, co-creating performance objectives, providing regular and timely constructive performance feedback, and supporting their overall well-being and professional aspirations. 
• Travel to regional locations as and when needed to provide in-person leadership, support, technical trainings and/or management of special projects 

Key Working Relationships 

• Position Reports to: Dual reporting line to RVP West Africa region and Senior P&C Director, CRRD 
• Direct Reports: 8 Country P&C Leads, Regional Duty of Care Advisor, Regional GEDI Director, Regional Safeguarding Advisor, Regional Coordinator. Note that all direct reports have dual reporting lines to technical or geographic leadership. 

Key Internal Relationships: 

• CRRD P&C Leadership Team 
• Regional Leadership Team, Country Directors, CRRD colleagues across multiple roles 
• Global leaders in the areas of GEDI, Safeguarding and DOC (dual solid reporting lines) 
• Global P&C team across all the HQ functional teams and at the regional and country level 
• Key External Relationships: INGO counterparts; legal counsel; P&C associations and networks 

Desired Experience and Skills 

• Fifteen+ years of progressive professional P&C-related experience, preferably in the humanitarian sector, with a minimum of 5 years at a regional level where extensive demands, complexity, and delivery were core to the role
• Experience supporting groups of 1,000+ employees at multiple organizational levels, cultures and locations within a regional or global environment 
• A consistent role model for the IRC culture we seek to provide for all colleagues: respectful, encouraging, empathetic, and inclusive; Genuine commitment to fostering equity, inclusion and belonging in the workplace, with experience in establishing a supportive environment for under-represented groups and accelerating their professional development 
• Broad knowledge and experience across the spectrum of People & Culture proficiencies e.g. organisational change, GEDI, SG, talent management, employee experience, workforce planning, employee relations, etc 
• A strong understanding of social justice issues and power dynamics, and experience in effecting organizational change that is innovative and does not cause harm, particularly around feminism, anti-racism, and inclusivity 
• Excellent management and leadership skills including coaching, mentoring, and performance management 
• Ability to work, manage, and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment; outstanding business acumen, critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making skills required
• Superb inter-personal, written and verbal communication skills with ability to collaborate across countries, cultures, and departments 
• Fluency in English and French
• Ability to travel globally up to 25% of the time, occasionally on short notice