REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL:
GLOBAL PEOPLE ENGAGEMENT CONSULTANT
RFP Release Date: October 4, 2024
Performance Period: 6 months to 1 year, 40 hours a week
Proposal Submission Deadline: October 11, 2024
Location of Service: Remote, with travel to Head Office (Little Rock, AR, or Washington, D.C.) or other locations where Heifer International has offices, as required
Reports to: Chief People Officer (CPO)
Electronic Submission: jobs@heifer.org
Introduction and Context: Heifer is going through an organizational transformation, which is the process of evolving and adapting internal culture, structures and practices to better equip an organization to implement its strategy and achieve its objectives.
There are a few reasons why Heifer is on the transformation journey: Firstly, we want to achieve the 2030 goal of helping 10 million more smallholder farming households achieve sustainable living incomes (SLIs). Secondly, Heifer needs to become more agile and adaptable to stay relevant and respond effectively to the evolving needs and priorities of our farming participants. We also want to strengthen and diversify sources of revenue to fund an ambitious work plan amid a challenging fundraising environment.
Becoming Sustainably Locally Led is the guidepost of Heifer’s organizational transformation. For Heifer, locally led development (LLD) means ensuring that local communities can set and forge their own pathways to progress. We trust these communities to know what is best for themselves and they trust us to offer help in building their confidence in their own judgment, abilities and collective power. Organizational transformation will thus be an ongoing process of optimizing the ways we work and how we collaborate with partners to fulfill our mission of empowering smallholder farming households to end hunger and poverty in their communities.
Objective: The Global People Engagement Consultant will lead and influence the development of Heifer International’s employee engagement strategy, with a focus on cultural transformation and communication, change management, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI&B), while keeping track of the People Department’s global KPIs and managing employee relation cases. This assignment is significantly vital to support the organization’s transformation. The consultant will work closely with the Chief People Officer and the transformation stakeholders to ensure that people are engaged in the transformation process and that cultural transformation is central to the process.
Scope of Work Overview: The People Engagement Consultant will be responsible for designing and developing a comprehensive people engagement strategy and fostering a supportive culture that enhances staff experience and performance. The consultant will partner with Heifer’s leadership, regional People Teams, and other key stakeholders globally to influence and implement key initiatives in employee engagement, DEI&B, cultural transformation and communication, and coaching.
Key Responsibilities and Deliverables:
1. Culture Transformation, Communication & Employee Engagement
- Maintain, constantly update and communicate the People Department Engagement plan and calendar to promote cohesion and coordination throughout the different PD activities
- Deliverable: Updated PD Communication and Engagement plan, updated Events Calendar that involve a broad range of Heifer stakeholders. The Plan and Calendar are discussed on a bi-weekly basis during the People Department Senior Management Team (SMT) Meetings. Other stakeholders are kept updated on upcoming PD events.
- Collaborate with the Transformation Team and other stakeholders to establish a Change Communication and Engagement Workgroup. Co-design the purpose of the group and lead activities within the People Department to promote people engagement in the Transformation process:
- Deliverable 1: Change Communication and Engagement Workplan and Activities
- Deliverable 2: Progress reports against plans.
- Design and implement a strategic and proactive approach to employee engagement based on employee engagement survey results and initiatives that align with Heifer’s transformation goals.
- Deliverable 1: Facilitate reflection sessions with the different teams to review their reports and action plans.
- Deliverable 2: Engagement Survey roll-out plan in coordination with the Steering Committee and the organization transformation
- Partner with the CPO, SMT, and the Steering Committee to drive Cultural Transformation
- Deliverable 1: A cultural transformation map developed in collaboration with different stakeholders’ teams
- Deliverable 2: Facilitation of workgroups, discussions with senior leadership teams using qualitative and quantitative methods to drive engagement around cultural issues.
- Deliverable 3: Lead the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiative on the PD side as part of the FY25 Objectives
2. Collaboration and Influence
- Participate in People Department SMT, collaborate with other leaders in defining the strategic direction of the department, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities and transformation goals.
3. Promote People Department Engagement with staff
- Promote PD visibility by creating spaces and opportunities for discussions in collaboration with the Area People Directors.
- Keep track of the PD’s global KPIs on key metrics including but not limited to time to fill, diversity on shortlisted candidates, diversity in leadership, turnover, pay equity, etc. as well as draft messages communicating the KPIs to staff
- Deliverable: Quarterly reports and narratives on global KPIs, lead reflections on actionable items, and developed communication plans to communicate KPIs to the organization
4. Manage sensitive Employee Relations Issues
- Monitor Heifer’s compliance line, keep track and manage global ER cases through collaboration with Risk Management
- Deliverable: Lead or collaborate investigating People-related claims and maintain records of all cases (up to 5 per month)
Travel Expectation: Occasional travel is required (up to 10%), which may include U.S. domestic and international trips for meetings, retreats, and conferences. Expenses will be covered by Heifer.
Required Experience:
- A minimum of 10 years of experience in global Human Resources, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role, preferably within the nonprofit or INGO sector.
- Proven experience in developing and implementing global employee engagement, change management, employee relations, and DEI&B strategies.
- Strong Change Management, Coaching, and facilitation skills
- Strong collaboration, coaching and consultative skills, with experience leading organizational change and influencing without direct authority.
Challenges to Address:
- Managing time zone differences and cultural diversity across a global organization.
- Balancing ambitious goals and limited resources, ensuring that the team’s capacity is aligned with organizational expectations.
- Guiding Heifer’s leadership in integrating DEI&B and employee engagement initiatives into their strategic planning while addressing specific regional needs.
Conclusion and How to Apply: This consultancy will support Heifer International’s mission of ending hunger and poverty by ensuring that the organization’s global workforce is engaged, valued, and aligned with the mission. The People Engagement Consultant will play a critical role in fostering a positive, inclusive culture and implementing key strategies that drive organizational transformation.
If you are interested in this consultancy opportunity, please email your Letter of Interest, pricing and a copy of your resume/CV to jobs@heifer.org by Friday, Oct. 11, 2024.
Late submissions and verification:
Letter of Interest received after the submission deadline will not be considered. Consultants are responsible for ensuring their proposals are submitted according to the instructions stated herein.
Award Process and Contract Mechanism
# Activity Due Date
1. Deadline for Letter of Interest – October 11, 2024
2. Shortlist – October 15, 2024
3. Interviews – October 16, 2024~October 25, 2024
4. Notification of Award of contract – October 30, 2024
How to apply
If you are interested in this consultancy opportunity, please email your Letter of Interest, pricing and a copy of your resume/CV to jobs@heifer.org by Friday, Oct. 11, 2024.