Country Human Resources Manager

Description
PositionCountry Human Resources Manager
Grade
Department & LocationHuman Resources
DateJanuary 2014
Reports to (position):Country Director
Purpose: How does this post support Plan’s strategy and mission?


Founded 75 years ago, Plan International is one of the oldest and largest children's development organizations in the world. We work in 50 developing countries across Africa, Asia and the Americas to promote child rights and lift millions of children out of poverty particularly those who are excluded or marginalized. We deliver high quality programs that deliver long lasting benefits and work in partnership with others. Plan's vision is of a world in which all children realize their full potential in societies that respect people's rights and dignity. Plan is independent, with no religious, political or governmental affiliations and is an equal opportunity employer.
The purpose of this position is to support and contribute to the attainment of the overall strategic business plans and objectives through effective management and leadership of the human resource function.
The Human Resources Manager (HR) will provide leadership and strategic direction for the HR function in Plan Kenya. S/he will drive effective HR related policies ensuring all staff understands and are knowledgeable about various opportunities, conditions and directives. The HR manager will provide effective support to managers to grow and retain a team with the right skills to deliver Plan’s goals and develop HR initiatives to ensure personal development, team building and effective HR management for those in supervisory roles. The post holder will require a thorough understanding and appreciation of both the internal and external context in which he / she is working and anticipate future HR needs of the organization. The post holder will also be required to identify and effectively manage HR risk within the Country Office, ensuring full compliance with local labour law and Plan’s HR policies and procedures, both locally and globally.

Dimensions of Role:
 Acts as a key member of the Country Management Team, providing high level recommendations on best practices, HR policies, initiatives and HR strategies.
 Managing an HR Unit to ensure quality services to a staff of up to 300 persons in various offices around the country
 Effectively identifies monitors and manages HR risks and opportunities related to the delivery of Plan Kenya’s goals, including all HR related Child Protection risks.
 Provides effective leadership, line management and development of HR staff.
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 Responsible for developing and implementing a HR strategy which will support the delivery of the Country Strategic Plan and Program Unit Long Term plans, and reflects regional and global HR strategy / direction.
 Responsible for the implementation of effective, efficient and compliant HR systems which meet the needs of approximately 300 staff and managers, are fit for purpose and are in full compliance with all relevant Plan policies, including but not limited to Gender, Child Protection and Global Pay.
 Responsible for ensuring that the HR team is fully prepared to provide effective HR support in the event of a disaster as outlined in Plan’s Disaster Manual.
 Responsible for ensuring full compliance with all relevant organizational and statutory policies, procedures and law and that the local Staff Handbook is regularly updated to reflect changes.
 Provides leadership on training, learning and development for all Plan Kenya’s staff.
 Ensuring Health and Safety policies and standards are in place for the Country Office and understood and adhered to.
 Budget responsibility for salary, benefits, training and staff wellbeing.
 Acts as an effective member of the regional HR network and global HR team, proactively sharing good practice across boundaries and providing advice and support to HR colleagues or input into global / regional projects as requested.
Typical Responsibilities - Key End Results of Position:
Plan Kenya is supported by an effective HR strategy and team
 Develops and implements a HR strategy which will support the delivery of the Country Strategic Plan and Program Unit Long Term plans, and reflects regional and global HR strategy / direction.
 Ensures high quality, professional People and Culture staff are attracted and retained by Plan Kenya.
 Ensures all HR staff are effectively line managed through the setting of clear objectives that are aligned to overall strategy and that their performance is managed against them.
 Oversees the development of all HR staff to support them reach their full potential.
 Advises staff and managers on HR related matters, providing coaching, counselling or referral to others as appropriate.
 Acts as a ‘change agent’ and proactively supports managers to manage change, both large and small scale effectively and to minimise risk to the organisation.
 Provides regular or ad hoc timely and accurate reports to the CD, CMT, RO or IH on HR related matters as required.
 Provides input into regional or global HR projects as requested and is an effective team member of the Regional HR network.
Workforce Planning - An excellent team is planned, skilled and resourced to optimize Plan’s program impact, reach and quality.
 Provides a thorough internal and external HR analysis to support strategic planning processes.
 Supports management on workforce planning for current and future needs and the definition of roles within budget to ensure the delivery of agreed strategies and individual projects.
 Supports management to periodically review the organizational structure, roles and competency requirements.
 Supports managers to develop and review job descriptions in line with Plan’s requirements.
 Works with managers to ensure that all recruitment and selection processes are timely, transparent and fair, observing equal opportunities and Plan’s Gender and Child Protection policies and works towards achieving a diverse workforce which will support the delivery of Plan’s goals.
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 Supports grants growth by working with colleagues to ensure optimal cost recovery of HR needs is achieved through involvement at proposal writing and during implementation. In addition, the PCM must ensure the HR elements of any grants proposal are consistent with local labour law and all relevant costs have been included.
 Works effectively with other operational managers to provide effective, coordinated and aligned support services to the programs.
On-boarding / Induction / Orientation - Staff joining Plan Kenya are effectively informed about the organisation, its strategies and the purpose of their role in the delivery of strategy.
 Staffs joining Plan Kenya are effectively informed about the organization, its strategies and the purpose of their role in the delivery of organizational and Country Office strategy.
 Works (or oversees work) with management on the preparation of induction and orientation materials and events to ensure new staff know about Plan and are able to reach full functionality in minimum time
 Provides information, advice and assistance to dependents of Plan staff in new locations/postings.
Rights and Responsibilities - Staff are aware of their contractual rights and responsibilities in delivering their work for Plan in line with the Code of Conduct, Child Protection, Gender and other policies.
 Ensures Plan Kenya policies and Global HR, Code of Conduct, Gender and Child Protection policies are well understood and consistently implemented.
 Revises/writes Staff Handbook and ensures it is endorsed by relevant local authorities (where applicable) and / or a local employment lawyer. The HRM is responsible for ensuring the Staff Handbook is regularly updated to reflect Plan Global policy or changes to local employment law and that all staff are aware of it and can access it in a local language.
Performance Management – Line managers are equipped with the skills and confidence to be able to effectively manage the performance of their teams and the individuals within it to support the delivery of Plan strategy.
 Oversees training of all Plan Kenya staff with line management responsibilities so they are clear about their roles and responsibilities within Plan’s performance management system and have the skills to fulfill them (e.g., can deliver difficult messages, manage career development discussions etc.).
 Ensures that all global policies related to performance management are adhered to within Plan Kenya, including the mandated timetable for the process.
 Develop systems for monitoring the use of the performance ratings and work with management to ensure that they are applied consistently and fairly.
 Ensures that the performance management system and associated documentation is effectively communicated to and well understood by all staff.
Reward - Staff are paid in a consistent way in accordance with local market competition, Plan’s values and the provisions of local labour law.
 Ensures the [insert name of Country Office] grading system is in line with Plan’s global system based on Hay.
 Prepares salary scales and benefits packages based on NGO Local Pay Surveys (Birches Group), analyses survey results and advises management in line with Global Policy and available budget, seeking to ensure that Plan remains competitive in the local labour market.
 Oversees payroll to ensure minimal errors and compliance with local tax, social security etc.
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 Establishes and maintains accurate systems for the administration of benefits for local and international staff, such as R&R, annual leave, medical insurance etc.
Staff Development / Capacity Building - Plan Kenya staff are equipped with the skills and knowledge and demonstrate the right behaviours to deliver effective programs now and in the future.
 Undertakes or oversees full training needs analysis for Plan Kenya based on the skills, knowledge and behaviours required to deliver the Country Strategic Plan.
 Ensures the Plan Kenya training budget is managed effectively to maximise the capacity building of staff to meet current and future program needs.
 Ensures a policy and process is in place and understood by all managers and staff for making training requests and a transparent set of criteria is developed and communicated to assess and make decisions about the requests.
 Guides the Country Director and CMT through the talent management and succession planning process for roles classified by the organization as ‘middle management.
HR risks presented by the local context are effectively mitigated.
 Advises managers of potential HR risks (assessing hazard, those potentially affected, evaluate nature and likelihood of risk, record, etc.) to enable their monitoring and mitigation.
 Carefully manages any individual staff cases (e.g. disciplinary, grievance) in line with Plan policy and procedure and in line with local labour law to minimise all associated risks to the organisation.
 Maintains accurate and up-to-date data related to staff in confidence and in line with local Data Protection requirements.
 Ensures Health and Safety policies and standards are in place for the Country Office and understood and adhered to.
Dealing with Problems/Risks in the position.
 Often required to influence others outside of line management relationships.
 Required to balance operational and strategic demands of the role.
 Required to remain objective and neutral at all times.
 Required to synthesize and analyze feedback from a wide range of external actors (including NGO HR Forum, Ministry of labor, national surveys).
 Required to work collaboratively and cooperatively with a wide range of stakeholders.
 Required to support change processes objectively and with no self-interest.
Communications and Working Relationships:
Internal
 A member of the Country Management Team: collaborating with other functions-sponsorship, finance, program, operations to ensure that HR processes are integrated and aligned.
 Regional Office: HR Partner / team will provide technical HR support as required. Some CO-level HR policies, pay scales etc. also require RO approval.
 International Headquarters: IH HR team for technical support on global projects, global policy, Child Protection reporting, international recruitment etc.
External
 Local labour ministry
 Local NGO HR forum
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 Local labour lawyers
Knowledge, Skills, and Behaviours Required to Achieve Role’s Objectives:
Knowledge
 Excellent knowledge of local labour law and its practical application in the workplace.
 Excellent technical knowledge of good people management and development practices.
 Excellent knowledge of current good practice and emerging themes and trends globally and within the local context.
 Knowledge of how to develop and implement an effective and aligned HR strategy.
 Basic financial acumen and the ability to align HR and Finance / Operations procedures.
 Ability to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of HR policies and procedures, and HR best practice
 Knowledge of organizational development to ensure changing needs of organization.
 Knowledge and understanding of development and humanitarian programs
 Knowledge and understanding of HR issues related to Gender and Child Protection.
 Knowledge and understanding of the INGO work and, including recruiting for specific knowledge and cost recovery processes.
 Knowledge and understanding of how to provide effective HR support in the event of a disaster and how to prepare to do this.
Skills
 At least 5 years proven experience as an HR manager in a senior position, including high performance in the full range of human resource management activities (recruitment and selection, performance management, development, talent management, reward, employee relations etc.).
 Development of best practice HR policies and systems that support the achievement of Plan’s goals, help manage risk and are fully compliant with Plan policy and procedure and local labour law.
 Excellent knowledge of job evaluation / grading systems and the design of competitive salary and benefits packages based on salary surveys.
 Ability to negotiate, advocate and influence effectively at all levels of the Country Office and outside of line management relationships.
 Ability to remain objective and make tough decisions.
 Ability to analyze complex data or information and extrapolate relevant information from it.
 Training development and facilitation, including team building.
 Strong communication skills, both verbally and in writing.
 Fluency in local language and English, both verbally and in writing.
 Leadership and team management.
 Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to build strong relationships and networks quickly at every level within the Country Office and outside.
 Ability to plan and organize work effectively and deal with multiple tasks simultaneously.
 Ability to handle sensitive people issues with tact and diplomacy.
 Listening, coaching and counselling skills.
 Ability to lead and mange change effectively.

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Behaviours:
Striving for High Performance
 Is motivated and able to motivate others.
 Open for feedback and is willing to provide honest feedback to others.
 Provides timely advice and support.
Strategic thinking and innovation
 Creative and responsive to the needs of the business, adopting a can-do / problem-solving approach.
 Positions HR strategically within Country Office.
 Understands when to share good practice and when to seek support.
 Willing to take calculated risks in the best interests of the organisation.
 Provides proactive HR support and is only reactive when the situation requires.
Decision-making and risk management
 Able to resolve issues independently but knows when to refer them to others.
 Able to maintain confidentiality at all times.
Influence and communication
 Remains positive, even if under pressure.
 Confident communicator, able to establish personal credibility and trust quickly.
Effective teams and partnerships
 Builds teams and works effectively and connects with others.
 Is an effective interface between management and staff, helping to identify ‘win / win’ solutions.
 Adopts a people-oriented approach.
Developing people
 Empowering of line managers and staff.
 Coaches, counsels and mentors and understands when to do so.
 Strives to develop his/her team members’ skills and grow their careers.
 Acknowledges and recognises good performance and deals effectively with underperformance.
Self-awareness
 Behaves consistently and with honesty and integrity in approach to work and decision-making.
 Is sensitive to the needs of others.
Physical Environment and Demands:
 Typical office environment with periodic support visits to Program Units in Kenya.
Level of Contact with Children:
 Low contact: No contact or very low frequency of interaction
Organization chart: Country Director --------------------- Human Resources Manager