Save the Children is the leading independent organization for children in need, with programs in over 120 countries. We save children’s lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. Save the Children is working in Nigeria because one in five children in Nigeria dies before their fifth birthday. About 40% of children miss out on school and have to work to survive while nearly 2 million children have lost one or both parents to an AIDS-related disease.
We are recruiting to fill the position of:
Job Title: Director, Human Resources and Administration
Ref No: 220007GH
Location: Abuja with field travel
Employee Status: Permanent
Team / Programme: Nigeria Country Office
Contract Length: Open-Ended
Reports to: Country Director
Grade: NAT 1
Team / Programme: Nigeria Country Office
- Level 3: a police check will be required since the role holder is responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process and supervising the staff who carry out the checks.
Role Purpose
- As a member of the Nigeria Senior Management Team (SMT) and the Director of HR & Administration, you will have shared accountability for Save the Children’s international development and emergency programming in a program of approximately $60 million each year through an organization of more than 450 staff.
- You will also share in the overall responsibility for the direction and coordination of the Country Office (CO). In your capacity as Director of HR & Admin, you will be accountable for the provision of effective HR services. In addition, you will be accountable to the Country Director for the provision of effective administrative and Safeguarding services.
- The remit covers both emergencies and development programming contexts.
Scope of Role
- Dimensions: Save the Children works in over 13 states in Nigeria directly and through partners. The country office is in Abuja with state offices in Benue, Borno, Cross River, Gombe, Jigawa, Katsina, Kaduna, Kano, Kogi, Lagos, Oyo, Yobe, and Zamfara,
- Staff directly reporting to this post: HR Manager, Admin Manager, Safeguarding Coordinator with dotted line reporting for HR in the field
Key Areas of Accountability
As a member of the Senior Management Team, you will contribute to:
Leadership of the Nigeria Country Office:
- Support the development of an organisational culture that reflects our dual mandate values, promotes accountability and high performance, encourages a team culture of learning, creativity, and innovation, and frees up our people to deliver outstanding results for children and excellent customer service for our members and donors
- Help design and implement a coherent organizational structure that is consistent with agency practices and appropriate to program needs
- Help establish, maintain, and improve active and regular working relationships with host government authorities, partner agencies including humanitarian and development donors, and local and international NGOs
- Ensure the Nigeria Country Office complies with all Save the Children Management Operating Standards and Standard Operating Procedures
- Ensure that all required support is provided promptly, at scale and in line with the rules and principles during emergencies, working closely with the Regional Office
Policies and Procedures:
- Supervise the Human Resources and support services function to ensure that advice and support are provided to managers and staff on interpretation and application of policies and procedures and on other HR, general administration and Child Safeguarding related matters
- Ensure all HR, Administration and Safeguarding policies and procedures manuals are developed and implemented, and follow the Nigerian government legal requirements and SCI global policies
- Ensure appropriate personnel files and HR documentation is maintained and secure in digital formats as a preferred option
- Supervise the development of dual mandate HR practices and processes aligned with the organisation’s overall strategy and SCI Essential Standards to meet the evolving needs of the organisation
- Ensure appropriate and adequate humanitarian HR procedures are detailed in the Country Office Humanitarian Preparedness Plan to enable rapid scale up
- Facilitate the HR aspects (such as deployment mechanisms) of Nigeria’s Humanitarian Response Team
- Provide ethical oversight and leadership across the Country Office
- Ensure that staff and Save the Children associates are aware of and adhere to the Safeguarding and Code of Conduct policies
Strategic Human Resources Planning:
- Design and manage staffing strategies to ensure that the organisation acquires and retains a qualified workforce capable of meeting organisational challenges in both development and emergency contexts
- Work closely with the program departments to ensure that adequate HR inputs are provided and incorporated during development and implementation of all projects/programs
- Lead long-term people forecasting & HR planning for the organization
- Institute and manage an appropriate performance management and succession planning system to ensure that the organization has a ready supply of staff with the requisite skills and competencies.
- Ensure appropriate and adequate emergency HR procedures are detailed in the Country Office Emergency Preparedness Plan to enable rapid scale up
- Facilitate the HR aspects (such as deployment mechanisms) of the Country’s Emergency Response Team
Staff Recruitment and Retention:
- Ensure appropriate recruitment, retention and succession of staff including orientation programmes, design and implementation of compensation and performance management systems relevant for both development and emergencies, and career development for staff
- Ensure design and management of competitive and appropriate compensation and benefits policies for all employees; and conduct compensation reviews ensuring cost effective, and equitable
- Develop and maintain appropriate job descriptions that reflect Save the Children’s dual mandate, and ensure they are evaluated according to SCI Job Evaluation Guidelines
- Ensure through thorough review that employment terms, conditions and practices are fair, consistent, compliant with labour law and Save the Children human resource policies and best practice, and appropriate to the context
Performance Management and Staff Development:
- Develop a culture of performance management across the organization, where staff are held accountable and rewarded for high performance
- Ensure a robust Induction on all SCI policies and procedures for all staff, visitors, and consultants is implemented
- Ensure that performance reviews are conducted regularly by supervisors; provide training and advise to managers on effective implementation of performance management
- Analyse on an on-going basis the organisational staffing profile and, in conjunction with senior managers, advising on job holder competencies and skills considering changing contexts and content
- Providing guidance on staff capacity building and in formulating the annual training calendar, and offering expert facilitation of in-house training programs such as performance management workshops and orientation programmes
- Ensure that staff have access to HR guidance on individual development opportunities arising from performance review feedback and personal career development interests
- Monitor and advise on disciplinary matters in accordance with established policies and procedures
- Mediate conflict, grievances, and harassment cases
Staff Management, Mentorship, and Development – Human Resources:
- Ensure appropriate staffing within Human Resources and Support Services
- Ensure that all HR and Support Services staff understand and can perform their roles in an emergency
- Manage the HR/Support Services teams, define expectations, provide leadership and technical support as needed, and evaluate direct reports regularly
- Ensure the recruitment, training, and promotion of staff as appropriate and ensure availability of appropriate professional development opportunities for staff
- Incorporate staff development strategies and Save the Children’s Develop to Perform system into team building process and seeking coaching, mentoring, and other developmental opportunities
Administration:
- Supervise administrative function to ensure the smooth running of the CO, monitor visa process for international staff and liaison with Government of Nigeria
- Ensure that appropriate, efficient, cost-effective Information Technology Systems are in place and in compliance with SCI Essential Standards
- Ensure standard hard-copy and electronic filing system is in place across departments and the country office and develop/roll out polices and guidelines
Safeguarding:
- Work closely with the Safeguarding Coordinators to ensure Safeguarding is institutionalized, and that the country programme has a clear complaint, reporting and investigation mechanisms; compliance and accountability is effectively monitored
- Ensure that partners, suppliers, and others associated with SCI are aware of and are compliant with the child safeguarding policy
- Ensure all SCI employees receive the Safeguarding and Code of Conduct policy induction, and refresher trainings
Government Relationships:
- Ensure Support Services and HR maintain strategic links with Government of Nigeria’s key ministries/departments at national and state levels, identify opportunities and ensure Save the Children’s participation in key activities of the national and state and local level government
- Ensure that Save the Children policies are coherent and relevant to current policies in Nigeria
Staff Safety and Security:
- Ensure that all safety and security minimum operating standards are met
- Work with the Safety and Security Manager to ensure implementation of staff security guidelines and ensure periodic security assessment are carried out at the Field and project-office level and reports submitted to the Safety & Security department on time.
Competencies For This Role:
Delivering Results:
- Takes personal responsibility and holds others accountable for delivering our ambitious goals for children, continually improving own performance or that of the team/ organisation.
- Level required: Accomplished
Applying Technical and Professional Expertise:
- Applies the required technical and professional expertise to the highest standards; promotes and shares best practice within and outside the organisation.
- Level required: Accomplished
Working Effectively with Others:
- Works collaboratively to achieve shared goals and thrives on diversity of people and perspectives. Knows when to lead and when to follow and how to ensure effective cross-boundary working.
- Level required: Accomplished
Communicating with Impact:
- Communicates clearly and confidently with others to engage and influence; promotes dialogue and ensures timely and appropriate messages, building confidence and trust.
- Level required: Accomplished
Qualifications and Experience
- A minimum of 7 years management and Human Resources experience in a corporate or an NGO environment, including experience in the development of strategic and operational support services plans and their implementation
- Master’s and/or Postgraduate Specialisation in Human Resources, Law or Business Administration (MBA) with specialisation in Human Resources
- Fluency in English, written and spoken.
- Must meet the highest standards of ethics, with a demonstrated capacity for discretion and for handling sensitive information with care
- Ability to plan and organise a substantial workload that includes complex, diverse tasks and responsibilities in both development and emergency contexts
- Competent level skills in gathering, analysing, and reporting HR data using Data Analytics
- Experience in capacity building and setting frameworks for staff development, as well as coaching, mentoring., delegating appropriately and providing developmental guidance to staff
- Resourcefulness and creativity in developing the role of HR within the programme and ensuring the most effective support to line management
- Willingness and ability to dramatically change work practices and hours, and work with incoming surge teams, in the event of emergencies
- Demonstrated credibility with colleagues and stakeholders at all levels of an organization
- Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to demonstrate skills in leading a multi-disciplined team through a period of change and be a motivator with a track record of leadership
- Experience promoting belonging, equity, and performance across dispersed teams with broad ranges of experience.
- Flexible, sensitive style while working with colleagues from diverse cultures and linguistic backgrounds.
- Should have a people-focused and modern take on human resources. When designing and implementing programs and policies, the role holder must learn about new and best practices to evolve our unique approach to People and Culture
- High level of commitment to mission, vision, and values of Save the Children International.
Application Closing Date
13th October, 2022.
Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online
Note
- Save the Children is committed to ensuring that all our personnel and programmes are absolutely safe for children.
- We undertake rigorous procedures to ensure that only people suitable to work with children are allowed to join our organization and all candidates will, therefore, be subject to this scrutiny.
- We need to keep children safe so our selection process reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.
- Applicants are advised that Save the Children International does not require any payment or expense during the entire recruitment process. Any request in this direction should be immediately reported as it is contrary to the values and practices of our organization.
- Due to the volume of applications received, Save the Children may not provide feedback to all applicants.
- Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
- Qualified candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible, as applications will be reviewed as received.
- Save the Children reserves the right to change the closing date, if considered necessary.
