Regional People (HR) Director, the Africa at Heifer International

Job Category: Human Resources

Role Summary

• Reporting to the Area Senior Vice President, with a dotted reporting line to the Chief People Officer, the Regional People Director (RPD) is a key member of Heifer’s Global HR Team as well as the Africa Leadership Team.
• Within such a role, the RPD will participate in the development and lead the implementation of talent management, business planning, compensation and benefits, performance development, compliance, and employee engagement initiatives that promote an optimum employee experience and enable HI design and deliver high-quality Signature Programs in collaboration with Heifer’s partnering communities within the Africa region.

Major Responsibilities

• Partner with Global HR Team to develop and implement a Global Human Capital Strategy and contextualize it into an annual work plan that is relevant to the Region’s/Area strategy.
• Collaborate with Heifer International leadership within the region to build HI brand as an employer and develop staffing plans to attract and hire high-quality people needed for successful implementation of existing and future Signature Programs within the region.
• Partner with the Global Talent Development function to provide individual-based development experience and introduce trainings that promote HI’s culture, supplement skill needs, promote compliance, enhance team morale, and improve organizational performance in support of 2030 goal.
• Provide leadership, support, and follow up to country program HR teams, and supervisors in understanding and implementing HI policies and practices related to performance, discipline, safeguarding, positive employee relations, and related topics.
• Provide regional context and representation to global processes, policies, practices with implications for the field teams.
• Communicate, train, and guide implementation of new or changes to global processes, policies, and practices.
• Communicate and coordinate HR Global information needs, requests, and annual requirements.
• Collaborate with Global HR Team and Risk Management Division in reviewing claims, performing self-audits across the region, and addressing areas of development.
• Work with Global Compensation and Benefits Director to develop, constantly benchmark, and implement the organization’s compensation and benefits systems within the region to achieve Heifer’s Total Rewards philosophy in support of the organization’s strategic goals.
• Manage international staff (expatriate and Tirth Country Nationals TCNs) recruitment, onboarding, compensation administration including allowances, and internal mobility and relocations in line with HI policies.
• Promote a culture of respect that celebrates diversity, equity, and meet the organization’s duty of care towards its people. Proactively assess and address culture and work environment concerns.
• Achieve Operational Excellence within the HR function by guiding and supporting field teams to deliver high-quality HR operations across Heifer’s field offices and projects.
• Hold oneself accountable for achieving Regional HR goals and provide support to field/project HR teams to achieve their objectives.
• Proactively assess and clarify/develop systems, processes, policies necessary for field teams to reach scale and impact at the program and project level, within the regional or country context
• Lead, develop, and support cross-national knowledge sharing, and ensuring capacity building of staff within the region, actively participate in region-wide HR community network.
• Develop minimum standards and supervise the implementation of staff recruitment, onboarding, promotion, and/or termination of contracts in the region and supervise its implementation.
• Support proposal design process through development and/or review of organizational structure, profiles, etc.
• Support the development and/or review of job descriptions to clearly identify responsibilities and find the best talent.

Minimum Requirements

• BA / B.Sc Degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or another related field. A Master’s degree is a major plus.
• Continued HR education, recognized HR Certifications are major pluses
• A minimum of 10 years of non-profit and for-profit experience in HR Management is required with at least (3) three years of HR leadership within the region and with reputable organizations.
• Successful management/ leadership experience.
• Thorough understanding of the Region’s labor markets and culture.
• Experience in high-growth and large projects staffing and employment life-cycle management.
• Must possess a high level of integrity and credibility. Be comfortable operating managing and building teams within a matrix structure.
• Self-motivated individual that will continuously look for opportunities to improve processes.
• Collaborative, team-oriented mindset with strong verbal and written communication skills. English language fluency is required.
• Self-motivated, agile, and detail-oriented leader with exceptional organizational, interpersonal, and conflict resolution skills. 

The Successful Candidate:

• To succeed in this role, you will have a track record in supporting and driving constant change within INGO project-based, matrix structure.
• You will have a proven HR leader delivering operational excellence within the region with similar or larger INGOs and have the passion to implement global and regional strategic plans within your function and for the success of the other functions within the region.
• You will have a passion for developing people and have the independence to promote equity, inclusion, and coach leadership on managing sensitive people challenges.
• You are able to hold yourself accountable and build the capacity and motivate highly effective HR teams that are geographically scattered.