Requisition ID: req46382
Job Title: Regional People & Culture Director - West Africa
Sector: Strategy
Employment Category: Fixed Term
Employment Type: Full-Time
Open to Expatriates: No
Location: Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire
Work Arrangement: Open to Remote
Job Description
Background:
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps people affected by humanitarian crises to survive, recover and gain control of their lives. Founded at the call of physicist, humanitarian, and refugee Albert Einstein in 1933, the IRC is now at work in over 40 crisis-affected countries as well as communities throughout Europe and the Americas. We deliver lasting impact by providing health care, helping children learn and empowering individuals and communities to become self-reliant, always seeking to address the inequalities facing women and girls.

We are committed to a culture of bold leadership, innovation in all aspects of our work, creative partnerships, and most crucially, accountability to those we serve. The IRC is a tireless advocate for the most vulnerable.

Job Overview
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

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusivity:
IRC is committed to building a diverse organization and a climate of inclusivity. We strongly encourage applications from candidates who can demonstrate that they can contribute to this goal.

Gender Equality:
IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances.

Professional Standards:
The IRC and IRC staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Global Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti-Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Equal Opportunity Employer:
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.
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