Deputy Director – People and Culture

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 50 countries and more than 25 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 IRC began working in Myanmar in May 2008 with emergency response and early recovery interventions for communities affected by Cyclone Nargis. Since then, the IRC has broadened its portfolio with health, protection, WASH, and shelter programs aiming to support displaced, crisis-affected, and vulnerable communities to survive, recover, and gain control of their futures. IRC’s current programming in Myanmar has a strong humanitarian focus and aims to reach people affected by the national crisis and escalating conflict that has spread across the country following the February 2021 coup, together with pre-existing caseloads of IDPs and marginalized and stateless communities. In addition to direct service provision, a critical component of IRC’s program strategy in Myanmar involves support to and through local partners, and IRC’s portfolio includes a range of local partners working across multiple sectors. The IRC currently works in Rakhine, Chin, Kachin, Northern Shan, Kayah and Kayin States and implements an annual portfolio of over $16 million.

Job Overview

The Deputy Director for People & Culture leads a highly effective People & Culture team to cultivate the desired culture within the Country program and ensure the talents and resources needed are in place to deliver on Country goals and effectively serve our clients. This role works with department Leads and their teams in an “end-to-end” manner to ensure that all people policies, programs, and systems are: 1) aligned with IRC S100 and country SAP and SAP -IP (including the People & Culture Strategy) and IRCs GEDI and Safeguarding Commitments, 2) effectively implemented, and 3) delivered to “best practice” standard. This individual is a key member of the Country Senior Management team (SMT) and serves as a strategic leader, advisor, and coach with a particular focus on ensuring a safe, inclusive, and welcoming culture for all people, organizational performance, and efficiency and effectiveness of people-related operations in the country. The Deputy Director of P&C collaborates closely with the Country Director (CD) & the Regional People & Culture Director (RPCD) to drive the delivery of key P&C strategies, services, and infrastructure nationally for efficient and effective services at multiple levels. Finally, this position will drive the implementation and adaptation of P&C global initiatives and practices within the local context and in line with GEDI and Safeguarding values and principles.

Major Responsibilities:

P&C Strategic Leadership and Management

• Serve as a strategic advisor to the Country Director and Senior Management Team (SMT) in the Country Program on succession planning, providing key insights to facilitate future leadership transitions.

• Act as a thought partner to the SMT, offering strategic guidance on People & Culture (P&C), and organizational culture/values to align with the mission and goals.

• Supervise and be a supportive leader to all P&C staff within the Country Program, ensuring the leadership and management of direct reports are handled with excellence. Accountable for the overall quality and successful delivery of P&C services, actively monitoring progress against established goals.

• Take the lead on conducting talent dialogues, recommending development opportunities, and coaching on conducting high-quality conversations during performance reviews.

• Serve as an advocate for Gender Equality, Duty of Care, and Safeguarding priorities within the Senior Management Team (SMT) and role model safe, inclusive, and caring leadership standards. Collaborate closely with regional and country counterparts to prioritize and support these efforts effectively, enhancing staff engagement and raising awareness across the Country Program.

• Promote initiatives that enhance the employee experience, team engagement, inclusion, and cohesion within the Country Program, fostering an environment conducive to continuous learning and honest dialogue.

• Provide constructive feedback and guidance on career paths and professional development for the P&C team and IRC staff; establish a culture of continuous learning opportunities.

• Advise people managers on appropriate disciplinary actions, serve as an impartial mediator in disciplinary proceedings, and oversee follow-up measures to ensure fairness, compliance with employment laws, and adherence to labour regulations.

• Co-lead and facilitate the workforce planning for the country program, including, managing workforce adjustments, such as staff reductions, or scale-up, including organizational design work, in partnership with the senior management team and the regional P&C Director, ensuring these actions comply with legal requirements and IRC’s country and Global policies while minimizing risks and supporting affected staff.

• Support the management, coaching and development of national staff to build a team of skilled, committed, and motivated staff, ready to advance in their career.

P&C Operations/ Foundational

• Oversee the creation and tracking of P&C objectives at the Country Office, ensuring alignment with organizational goals. Actively engage in proposal design and grant review meetings, providing expert advice on organizational structure, position scoping, demographic and staffing analysis to build a robust P&C foundation that supports high program quality.

• Drive informed decision-making by using data to support people and culture functions, ensuring all data reporting, monthly HR metrics, SG data; and Diversity, are accurate and timely delivered.

• Oversee payroll process ensuring accurate and timely compensation for all staff.

• Ensure the development and implementation of high-quality, context-specific strategies and practices in areas such as recruitment, compensation and benefits, employee relations, onboarding, offboarding, contract management, learning and development, performance management, leave management, code of conduct compliance, legal compliance, HR Information Systems, coordination of policy development and implementation, etc.

• In alignment with our PEERS framework, provide technical P&C support to our local partners, and ensure their ways of working are aligned and in compliance with IRC’s standards.

P&C GEDI

• Act as the primary liaison and focal point for Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), enhancing engagement and collaboration.

• Lead the implementation of GEDI action plans within the Country Program, ensuring effective execution and measurable outcomes.

• Coordinate and facilitate the implementation of GEDI strategies and strategic initiatives across the Country Program, ensuring alignment with the P&C mandate. With support from the GEDI regional team or the RPCD, facilitate in-depth discussions on GEDI topics, ensuring these conversations extend beyond compliance to genuinely enhance practices, particularly in recruitment and selection processes.

• Foster a healthy organizational culture that is free of unequal power dynamics, discrimination, bias, harassment, bullying, and abuse of power. Oversee the integration of feminist, decolonial, and anti-racist values throughout the employee lifecycle, providing guidance and direction in collaboration with the Regional P&C Director to ensure these values are embedded in all P&C practices, including regular reporting, and measuring progress on the S100 LDG and GEDI goals.

• Champion inclusive practices as part of the GEDI initiative, organizing cultural exchanges and culture-building activities to enrich team cohesion. Ensure the incorporation of GEDI best practices into the employee lifecycle and day-to-day operations, maintaining accountability for the continual improvement of diversity and inclusion within the organization.

P&C Safeguarding

• Promote best practice through the integration of safeguarding considerations in hiring, recruitment and onboarding practices (e.g., ensure delivery on Safeguarding Minimum Standard 1).

• Ensure that all IRC employees receive an orientation to IRC’s Safeguarding Policy and behavioural expectations, collaborating with the Safeguarding Manager function where it exists and/or Regional Safeguarding Advisor.

• Ensure that the IRC Way and information on reporting channels are sign-posted in all IRC office locations (in all relevant local languages).

• Collaborate with country and regional specialized safeguarding staff and Country SMT members to convene functional stakeholders within the country and promote the adoption and progress of the Safeguarding Minimum Standards.

• Partner with IRC global investigations teams and the Country Director to ensure that recommendations from safeguarding investigations, particularly those involving disciplinary actions, are implemented within two weeks.

P&C Duty of Care

• With the support of the Regional Duty of Care Advisor and RPCD, provide guidance and support for all staff-related duty of care initiatives, ensuring adherence to organizational standards.

• Partner with Regional Duty of Care and S&S teams to ensure best practice aftercare response to critical incidents.

• Support DOC, GREWS, GEDI, and SG teams to promote safe, healthy, and inclusive workplaces through global and local initiatives.

• Ensure strong connectivity and communication among P&C staff to foster a cohesive team environment.

• Develop country program action plans aimed at enhancing morale and supporting the social, physical, and psychological well-being of staff. Maintain a healthy and empowering office environment that promotes open, honest, and productive communication. Implement an employee engagement and communication strategy tailored to suit remote management contexts, ensuring it supports effective interaction and staff integration across all levels of the organization.

Other Responsibilities:

• Actively participate in and support staff meetings to foster a collaborative work environment.

• Conduct Listening sessions to gather insights and feedback from staff, enhancing organizational communication and employee satisfaction.

• Support the Country Director with ad hoc tasks as needed, addressing requirements that may arise outside of the usual responsibilities.

• Remain vigilant for any signs of discrepancies or irregularities in operational and administrative procedures, ensuring organizational standards are upheld.

• Escalate code of conduct issues and lead or co-lead investigations in collaboration with the Employee Relations unit and when needed Ethics and Compliance unit (ECU). Ensure that issues are thoroughly resolved, and appropriate follow-up actions are implemented to maintain integrity and compliance within the organization.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to Country Director with technical support from the Regional P&C Director – Management in Partnership (MIP)

Direct Reports: HR operations and Employee experience managers

Key Internal Relationships:

• Country Senior Management Team

• Regional Functional Leads

• Global P&C Functional Leads

Key External Relationships: INGO counterparts; legal counsel; P&C associations and networks

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree required. Master’s university degree in HR management, International Relations or Development, social sciences, MBA, Law, or related field is preferred.

• A minimum of 10 years of progressive professional P&C experience

• Demonstrated success as a P&C leader supporting groups of 200+ employees at multiple organizational levels, cultures, and locations in Myanmar, within a regional or global environment.

• Demonstrated success as a P&C professional in emergency response, conflict zones and/or humanitarian aid sector preferred.

• Demonstrated success in supporting key senior management and building strong, trusted relationships.

• Proven track record of excellent management and leadership skills including capacity-building, coaching, mentoring, performance management and delivering individual and group training.

• High degree of comfort and successful track record supervising in matrixed environments.

• High levels of integrity and empathy, with the ability to understand, engage, and inspire others.

• Skilled in collaborating with operational and technical focal points to ensure organizational best practices are represented in work.

• Broad knowledge and experience across the broad spectrum of People & Culture competencies

• Strong collaborator with effective interpersonal and analytical skills who can work seamlessly across countries, cultures, and organizational units required.

• Demonstrated ability to work, manage, and meet competing deadlines in a fast-paced, high-volume environment and on deadlines; aptitude for problem-solving and decision-making needed.

• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills required.

• Must possess a highly collaborative, inclusive, consultative, and resourceful workstyle that balances required compliance/policy enforcement with a steadfast commitment to client service and support.

• Excellent project management and organizational skills including detailed work planning and superior time management skills.

• Proficient in people analytics and data management and interpretation, with an aptitude for translating datasets into actionable people insights.

Language/Travel:

• Fluency in English and Burmese is a must.

• Travel: minimum national and international travel is required – not to exceed 30%.

**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.