Manager, Contingency Workforce Management at Rainforest Alliance

Position summary:

The Rainforest Alliance is looking for an experienced Manager, Contingent Workforce Management with a global scope and international experience to join the HR team. 

The Manager of Contingent Workforce Management is responsible for leading all aspects of and optimizing the organization’s contingent workforce strategy. This includes handling temporary staff, contractors, freelancers, and third-party vendors who contribute to the organization’s operations. The role will ensure that the contingent workforce is aligned with the organization’s capability & skills needs, ensuring flexibility, compliance, and efficiency in the use of external talent. The manager will build and implement workforce management processes, ensuring high-quality service delivery while maintaining cost-effectiveness and regulatory compliance.

This individual will report into the Talent Lead and will be part of the Global HR team that consists of HR professionals who are passionate for RA’s mission and dedicated to creating a great place to work for all our colleagues. 

Responsibilities: 

• Establish and implement a strategic plan for handling the contingent workforce that aligns with organizational goals;
• Collaborate with senior business partners, senior manager organizational effectiveness and leadership to understand workforce needs and plan for external talent acquisition;
• Establish, implement and communicate policies and procedures to ensure understanding and adherence across the organization
• Handle contingent workers effectively, including sourcing, onboarding, training, performance tracking, and offboarding;
• Evaluate, select and maintain relationships with staffing agencies and freelance platforms to secure favourable terms;
• Evaluate the performance of external providers, ensuring they meet organizational expectations and compliance standards;
• Monitor and evaluate vendor performance and facilitate corrective action plans if necessary;
• Optimize contingent workforce usage by balancing full-time employee capacity and external talent needs;
• Ensure compliance with local labor laws, tax regulations, and organizational policies regarding contingent workers and mitigate risks by implementing robust governance structures;
• Work closely with compliance and legal department to establish best practices for engaging and managing external talent;
• Work with finance to track expenses and ensure that external talent is utilized efficiently;
• Provide regular reporting on workforce costs, vendor expenses, and staffing efficiency to senior management;
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications: 

• Master or Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Engineering or related field;
• Demonstrated ability (5 years) in managing contingent or external workforce programs, including vendor management and contract negotiation;
• Strong understanding of contingent workforce management, including knowledge of temporary staffing, contract labor, and third-party vendor processes;
• Proficiency in workforce management tools and systems and expertise in compliance with local and international labor laws and regulatory requirements;
• Excellent vendor management and negotiation skills, with the ability to manage multiple providers;
• Excellent project management skills, ability to supervise multiple programs simultaneously;
• Analytical skills for assessing workforce data and making strategic decisions;
• Strong project management, communication and leadership skills with the ability to influence and work cross-functionally with HR, compliance and legal teams;
• High level of integrity and professionalism;
• Must be pro-active, creative, self-driven and able to work collaboratively;
• Be hands-on whenever there is a need to drive project results;
• Fluency in English (and other languages are a plus);
• Ability to travel up to 25%.