The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world’s largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you’re a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.
The Regional People and Culture Business Partner will support the implementation of People and Culture (P&C) strategies and initiatives aligned with the overall business strategy. This role will bridge the gap between P&C Regional Leadership and business core operations, ensuring that P&C practices and operations across all P&C pillars within each region directly support the organization’s growth and success and are aligned with business objectives. The position holder will serve as the go-to person for country P&C leads and other regional functions on daily people and culture-related issues and operational matters, providing guidance and support to ensure the effective management of people and culture within the region. In addition to this role implementing P&C policies, it is crucial to understand the business challenges to leverage P&C expertise and design solutions that enhance organizational performance and employee experience.
Key Responsibilities
• Strategic Partnership: Collaborate with regional leadership to understand business goals and develop P&C strategies to support them.
• Business Partnering: Lead regional P&C Operations, performance management and data. Respond to policy inquiries and requests and lead on exit management for regional staff and Country Program (CP) P&C lead roles.
• Employee Relations: In coordination with the Regional People and Culture Director (RPCD), conduct effective, thorough, and objective investigation for regionally assigned cases. Implement post- investigation recommendations in complex cases and advise on escalated CP P&C matters. Provide technical advice to CP P&C leads or management in coordination with Global Employee Relations Centers of Expertise (COE).
• Talent Management: Oversee talent acquisition and retention strategies to ensure the region attracts and retains top talent. Give recruiters regional context. Provide technical guidance & training to CPs in coordination with Talent Acquisition COE.
• Compliance: Ensure compliance with local labor laws and regulations. Keep abreast of changes in employment legislation in coordination with CP P&C Leads.
• Culture and Engagement: Support RPCD in fostering a positive organizational culture and enhancing employee engagement. This includes facilitating Duty of Care initiatives that promote the physical and emotional well-being of staff to ensure a supportive and inclusive environment for all employees. Additionally, engage with Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and coordinate opportunities for connection and knowledge-sharing with groups like Women@Work (W@W), Men Allyship, etc. and others to strengthen community and inclusivity across the organization.
• Learning and Development: Identify training needs, manage Learning & Development (L&D) opportunities, complete the annual review reporting & follow up and coach staff through performance evaluation process & through complex issues in coordination with L&D COE.
• HR Metrics and Reporting: Analyze Regional P&C metrics and provide insights into story-telling and decision-making such as Quarterly P&C scorecard, Quarterly Leadership Diversity Goals, etc. and continuously review and recommend improvements to P&C processes such as workforce analysis.
• Compensation & Benefits: Provide technical support to CPs and lead on benchmarking & analytics in coordination with C&B COE.
• Organizational Development: Support leaders in making org dev decisions and execute follow-up. Always ensure in coordination with Regional P&C Directors that country P&C structures are fit for purpose, alignment of strategies and SAP priorities, processes and people capabilities.
• GEDI: Partner with CRRD GEDI Advisors and country P&C functions and program leaders, to implement context relevant solutions, policies and programs to enable inclusion and promotion of key underrepresented employee groups (ex: women, SOGIESC, people with disabilities, LGBTIQ+, underrepresented and racial minorities) through the employee life cycle to eliminate inequities and achieve organizational Leadership diversity and inclusion goals, incorporating Duty of Care considerations, including the overall wellbeing of our staff.
• Employee Experience: Collaborate with the RPCD and CP P&C teams to promote and support staff well-being.
• P&C Partnership for Strategic Projects and Emergency Surge Support – Serve as the primary People & Culture partner for critical multi-country strategic regional projects such as: Ahlan Simsim, GAVI, Reach, Play Matters, Rebuild, Givewell, WISH, etc., as well as providing emergency surge support as and when needed.
Key Working Relationships:
Position Reports to: Regional People and Culture Director
This role is an individual contributor to the business strategy with no direct supervisory responsibilities.
Key Internal Stakeholders:
• Country P&C Leads
• CRRD P&C Leadership Team
• Global P&C COE leads and teams
• Regional and Global Functional Leads and Teams
• Global Functional Leads
Key External Relationships:
• Other INGOs regional HR Business Partners and any HR Forums representing INGOs.
Qualifications
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in human resources, Business Administration, or related field. Master’s degree preferred.
• Experience: Minimum of 7 years of HR experience, with at least 3 years in a regional or multi-site role.
• Professional HR Certification – Professional HR certification (e.g., SHRM-CP, PHR) preferred. Familiarity with Central Africa geographic context, cultural competence, and professional proficiency of French and English is highly desirable to effectively support and engage diverse teams within the region.
• This position may require occasional travel within the region.
Desired Skills and Competencies
The Regional P&C Business Partners may specialize in subject matter and/or geographical context and language(s) and provide support to department, region or program/office based on request in areas such as:
• Employee relations
• Performance management
• Senior staff recruitment
• Learning & development
• C&B discrepancies – offers, joining bonus, etc…
Skill/Competency
• Leadership High – Advises senior management and leads P&C initiatives
• Strategic Thinking High – Aligns P&C strategies with business goals.
• Operational Excellence High – Implements P&C strategies and manages change initiatives
• Process Optimization High – Identifies areas for improvement in HR processes
• Communication Skills Excellent – Advises senior management and resolve conflicts
• Relationship-Building High – Builds relationships with senior leaders and stakeholders
• Analytical Skills High – Analyzes data for strategic decision-making
• Change Management High – Manages organizational change initiatives
• Problem-Solving Excellent – Develops solutions for complex ER cases as well as complex business
matters
o Direct BP for regional staff
• Business Acumen High – Understands business operations and ensure compliance
o Daily coverage for resolving CP issues related to recruiting, employee relations, comp & ben, performance management, policy interpretation, CP hosting of HQ and regional roles, etc
o Support RPCD and CPs as needed with talent & culture work
o Support office closings, restructurings etc
• Project Management V High – Manages P&C projects and strategic initiatives
• Employee Experience High – Navigates cultural differences across the region focusing on employee
engagement and development
• Tech Proficiency High – Uses HR software for strategic planning and delivering excellent employees
experience
**Standard of Professional Conduct:**The IRC and the IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – our Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality.
Commitment to Gender, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: The IRC is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. The IRC expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying of the IRC persons in any work setting. We aim to increase the representation of women, people that are from country and communities we serve, and people who identify as races and ethnicities that are under-represented in global power structures.
How to apply
https://careers.rescue.org/us/en/job/req56757/Central-Africa-Regional-HR-Business-Partner