Manager, People and Organisation Development (MPOD) at icipe - African Insect Science for Food and Health

Overall purpose of the job

• The Manager, People and Organisation Development (MPOD) reports to the Director of Finance and Administration (DFA). The MPOD leads in the provision of HR services and other applicable services to all the Centre’s staff, applicable hosted staff, visiting scientists, students and consultants. The MPOD implements employee attraction, retention, development and performance management policies and processes. S/he develops and implements programmes and supporting systems foremployee relations, staff wellbeing, workforce planning and workload management and ensures equity and diversity. S/he should be an excellent leader, people person, strategic communicator, and relationship builder.

Specific Duties:

•  Supervise leadership of the teams providing HR services.
•  Foster Business Partnerships with functions directly engaged in research for development and those in support thereof.
•  Recruiting international and national staff with the capabilities and competences required for the present and future. Work with research leaders to anticipate future needs and lead the talent pooling, attraction, and selection of staff in research roles, and ensure alignment and improvement of attraction and selection processes.
•  Implement organisation design plans, including preparation and review of job classifications, job descriptions and associated systems. Implement talent management and succession planning initiatives.
•  Lead the learning and development programmes, developing the capabilities and competences of research leaders, as well as research and research support staff, encompassing amongst others, management/supervisory skills and soft skills. Implement skills capacity development programmes, aligned with the Centre’s plans and strategic goals.
•  Develop and implement performance management policies, systems, and tools. Implement recognition and rewards policies.
•  Administer and undertake reviews of salaries, and staff related insurances and other staff benefits, in accordance with policies and guidelines and to ensure equity and value for money.
•  Contribute to the development of policies and guidelines and provide advice on their impact on the Centre. Ensure equitable and consistent interpretation and implementation of staff policies and ensure compliance with relevant requirements while being alive to precedents and approval exceptions.
•  Develop and implement HR information systems to support service delivery and decision making, specifically HR within ERP, staff attraction, staff recruitment, learning & development systems, staff performance management system, and management of consultants’ contracts and other supporting systems.
•  Be the Head of Safeguarding (HoS) and be responsible for overall management of compliance, reporting and training of Safeguarding Focal Persons (SFP) deployed on needs basis at regional offices and/or programmes.
•  Act as a link and offer communication and coordination that facilitates a close working relationship between the Centre and its hosted organizations. Handle various matters of the Centre, by participating in joint arrangements with hosted organizations.
• Additional responsibilities
• Be an authorised signatory of the Centre, and in this regard, authorise transactions as per delegated authority and the sourcing and evaluation of appropriate providers (e.g. for medical & life insurances and training consultants).
• Expand, develop, and maintain relationships with key stakeholders and represent the Centre at various meetings. Attend joint meetings of collaborating institutions and participate in HR related joint processes.
• Chair the Occupational, Health and Safety Committee (OHSC) and Training Committee (TC) of the Centre and oversee implementation of necessary procedures arising from the two committees. Membership to various Centre committees as designated from time to time.
• Undertake additional duties requested by supervisor for areas that require her/his support within the Centre’s overall business.

Requirements/Qualifications

• Advanced University degree (Masters) in relevant field.
• At least 10 years of experience in the areas of general management, including human resources at international and multicultural setups.
• Comprehensive knowledge of organizational policies and practices in research organizations is highly desirable.
• Tact, diplomacy and discretion in dealing with sensitive issues.
• Capacity to manage, supervise and evaluate the performance of staff.