As a member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) in Ethiopia, the Director of HR, Safeguarding, and Admin (HRSAD) shares the overall responsibility for the direction and coordination of the Country Office.

The HRSAD acts as a business partner to the Country Director and SLT and has ultimate responsibility for all people-based activity within the organization from both strategic and operational perspective.

The HRAD is accountable for the provision of effective HR services in both emergencies and development programming contexts. S/he is responsible for all staff related areas, such as resource planning and recruitment, performance and talent management, reward and compensation, learning and development, employee relation issues and staff wellbeing. The HRSAD is the central focal point for Child and Adult Safeguarding and ensures SCI’s ambitions on diversity, equity and inclusion are maintained amongst staff across the organization.

As a member of the SLT, the position holder is also expected to play a significant role in ensuring gender equity is maintained across the organization.

The Director plays a crucial role in overseeing and managing the administrative and legal matters within the country office, overseeing the various administrative units and supporting services to facilitate the organization’s goals and objectives.

Responsibilities

As a member of the Senior Leadership Team,

• Assume leadership of the CO, support the development and implementation of the Country Strategic Plan and the achievement of the organizational goals.
• Help establish, maintain and improve active and regular working relationships with host government authorities, partner agencies including humanitarian and development donors, and (I)NGOs;
• Ensure the CO complies with all organizational policies, procedures and standards.
• Ensure strong HR performance and achievement of relevant KPIs.
• Ensure that all required support is provided promptly, at scale and in line with the rules and principles during emergencies, in collaboration with Aos.
• Lead on design and implementation of a coherent organizational structure that fits and serves the organization’s practices and programmatic ambitions.
• Responsible for contextualizing and conducting a timely assessment of safeguarding framework and risk assessment of projects.
• Lead and manage reported safeguarding incidents and timely case closure on Datix in coordination with the relevant units by ensuring reasonable reporting mechanisms for beneficiaries.
• Lead and ensure communities are effectively communicated on relevant safeguarding information, capacitated, and the CO Safeguarding KPI is on the right track.

Policies, Procedures, and Employee Relations

• Review HR, Safeguarding, and Administration policies and procedures on time and ensure they are implemented consistently.
• Ensure HR, Safeguarding, and Administration policies, practices, and processes align with the CO and global strategy to meet the organization’s evolving needs.
• Oversee the Human Resources function to ensure advice and support are provided to line managers and staff on interpreting and applying policies and procedures and other HR-related matters.
• Ensure staff and Save the Children Associates know and adhere to its policies.
• Ensures that everyone associated with the organization is aware of their obligations and responds appropriately to issues of abuse and exploration of children, adult beneficiaries, and staff.
• Ensure that all safeguarding cases, including sexual harassment and bullying cases, are investigated and responded to timely
• Facilitate effective implementation of mechanisms such as international deployment and in-country staff rotation to ensure flexible resourcing of staff needs.
• Provide ethical oversight and leadership across the Country Office.
• Monitor and advise on disciplinary matters in accordance with established policies and procedures;
• Mediate conflict, grievances and harassment cases.

Staff Recruitment, Retention and Staff Administration

• Work with SLT to create a diverse and inclusive organization that can better attract and develop capable talent, nurture creativity and innovation, and understand and relate to our beneficiaries and their communities.
• Ensure effective and timely recruitment, retention and succession of staff, including tailored orientation programs, with strategies to attract diversified teams.
• Ensure through a 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.
• Prepare terms and conditions of employment and issue all employment and consultancy contracts in compliance with Ethiopia Labour Law and regional HR best practices.
• In collaboration with the Finance Department, ensure maintenance of updated information on staff salaries, allowances and income tax calculations in compliance with current laws and regulations.
• Ensure a conducive work climate that enhances staff motivation and retention.Provide support to senior managers to ensure staff wellbeing and splendid team spirit across the organization.
• Oversee that the organization recruits only representatives suited to work in compliance with our safeguarding policies.
• Review the organization’s retention rates periodically and develop an improvement plan.
• Conduct an annual compensation and reward review against comparators in the Ethiopian labour market and work with the Senior leadership team on the findings.

Performance Management, Talent Management and Learning and Development

• Support the development of an organizational culture that reflects our dual mandate values, promotes accountability and high performance, encourages a team culture of learning, creativity, and innovation, and inspires people to deliver outstanding results for children, members, and donors.
• Lead implementation and maintenance of performance management system that is in alignment with organizational goals; ensure that performance reviews are conducted regularly by supervisors; provide training and advise to managers on effective implementation of performance management.
• Lead on the development of an organizational culture that reflects our values, promotes accountability and high performance, encourages a team culture of learning, creativity and innovation.
• Lead on Talent Management and Succession Planning, providing career opportunities and ensuring the CO can adequately fill future critical vacancies.
• Analyze the organizational staffing needs – in conjunction with senior managers – and advise on job holder competencies and skills in light of changing contexts and content.
• Guiding staff capacity building, formulating the annual training calendar, and offering tailored capacity building solutions that are effective and low cost (e.g.staff rotation) as well as expert facilitation of in-house training programs on performance management, people management, staff wellbeing, and change management.
• Ensure staff can access HR guidance on individual development opportunities from performance review feedback and personal career development interests.

Child and Adult Safeguarding

• Serve as the national focal point and Child and Adult Safeguarding champion.
• Actively analyze child and adult safety risks and propose and implement mitigation measures.
• Oversee that the organization recruits only representatives suited to work with children and apply strict child-safe recruitment practices and the organizational Code of Conduct.
• Ensures that everyone associated with the organization is aware of their obligations and responds appropriately to issues of child abuse and the sexual exploitation of children.
• Ensure the country Offices conduct regular safeguarding self-assessments, implement action points and relevant organizational initiatives, establish and maintain systems that promote awareness of Child Safeguarding, prevent harm, and ensure reporting of and responding to safeguarding concerns.

Legal Compliance

• Oversee that the legal unit delivers reliable, accurate, timely, and well-informed advice to HR and the Senior Leadership Team on legal issues and the potential legal implications of various SCI initiatives and projects.
• Ensure that the legal unit provides legal services, analyses legal risks, and legality assurance to the management and relevant staff and that appropriate legal services are delivered for the organization by closely working with retained lawyers.
• Ensure that the legal unit works closely with different departments to deliver fair and consistent service, minimize risk to the organization, and react to its needs.
• Lead in looking into staff grievances along with relevant senior staff to ensure an appropriate system is adopted for employee grievance management.
• Ensure full compliance with Ethiopia laws and regulations with regards to human resource matters; ensure that Save the Children policies are coherent with Ethiopian policies.
• Support the visa and work permit process for expatriate staff and liaison with relevant Government entities.
• Support on government relationships that evolve from SCI’s legal registration in the country, and lead on registration renewals.

Administration and Facilities Management

• Play a leadership role in overseeing and managing the administration unit within the country office.
• Ensure the smooth operation of various administrative units and support services to facilitate the organization’s goals and objectives.
• Oversee the overall maintenance of all Save the Children office premises, facilities assets, and equipment (physical work environment) in the country and ensure that they are secure and efficiently utilized.
• Oversee the management of all contracts and leases and advise the senior management on lease renewals and new contracts.
• Ensure facilities are compliant with Health and Safety regulations.
• Ensure adequate insurance cover and keep up to date with suitability and types of cover available
• Oversee the annual preparation of the renewal of licenses and permits.
• Provide logistical support to guests, visitors including partner organizations involved in SC activities

Team development and supervision

• Ensure appropriate staffing within Human Resources department
• Manage the HR team; define expectations, provide leadership and technical support as needed.
• Manage the performance of all staff in Human Resources work area through:
  • Effective use of the performance management system including the establishment of clear, measurables objectives, ongoing feedback, periodic reviews and fair and unbiased evaluations;
  • Coaching, mentoring and other developmental opportunities;
  • Recognition and rewards for outstanding performance;
  • Documentation of performance that is less than satisfactory, with appropriate performance improvements / work plans