Counterpart International is currently seeking an Human Resources (HR) and Office Manager to support the Iraq Civil Society Activity (ICSA) project. The overall objective of ICSA is to increase citizen engagement in the public sphere, especially among women and youth, while supporting civil society organizations (CSOs) to connect to and empower citizens and one another, thereby enhancing CSO resilience, increasing its credibility and effectiveness. The expected result is a more active and inclusive civil society sector that effectively fosters change and contributes to a more equitable and democratic Iraq.

The HR and Office Manager plays a critical role in ensuring that the organization is inclusive and equitable with regards to human resource management and office operations. HR and Office Manager responsibilities include payroll, benefits, talent management, exit management, employee wellbeing, office operations management, learning & development. This position requires a combination of HR expertise, Office/Operations management, and the ability to build strong relationships with senior leadership and employees at all levels. The HR and Office manager will report to the Director of Finance and Operations and will work collaboratively with the Finance Officer and the Security and Logistics Manager.

Responsibilities

• Manage the staffing process, including recruiting, interviewing, hiring and onboarding.
• Work with the recruitment team to ensure smooth recruitment and hiring process of new employees.
• Monitor the department and create a healthy work environment for employees.
• Ensure job descriptions are up-to-date and compliant with all local, state and federal regulations.
• Perform preliminary investigations into employee issues and communicate them to appropriate channels through laid down Counterpart-ICSA policies; work with relevant teams to bring employee issues to resolution.
• Act as a key focal person for HR-related audits and be a champion to promote seamless HR audit processes across the ICSA.
• Champions Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Supports team cohesion, models inclusive development principles, and encourages a safe workplace environment that advances gender and social inclusion.
• Collaborate with leadership to develop and implement HR and office policies that support organizational goals and objectives. Be a champion and custodian of the organization policies and regulations and ensure they are applied consistently.
• Work with the appropriate team to address complex employee relations issues, conduct investigations, and ensure fair and consistent application of HR policies and procedures.
• Stay up to date with labor laws and regulations to ensure HR policies and practices are compliant.
• Maintain employee records in an organized and confidential manner, update employee information as necessary and archive them in hard as well as soft copies (on SharePoint).
• Work proactively to ensure that information and tools such as organogram, contact details, employee directory, telephone tree are up-to-date and effective.
• Work in liaison with key internal stakeholders (team leads, senior management) to ensure seamless HR procedures and office management operations; ensure that obligations and deliverables to key external stakeholders (e.g. regulatory authorities, insurance service providers) are met in a timely manner.
• Liaise with relevant Counterpart headquarters team through established organization protocols.
• Mitigate legal risks by advising on HR-related legal matters.
• Oversee the daily operations of the office and ensure that the office environment is conducive, safe and secure for all employees to work in.
• Organize office operations and procedures, provide input to payroll preparation, manage timesheets, leave schedules, manage vendors, designing filing systems, reviewing, and approving supply requisitions within your approval limit, and assigning and monitoring clerical functions.
• Ensure that office inventory – equipment, supplies and consumables are kept secure at all times and inventory records are up to date.
• Ensure that office utility bills (electricity, water, waste disposal, etc) are settled promptly, and supplies and consumables (stationery, fuel, etc) are monitored and re-ordered to ensure smooth office operations.
• Organizing maintenance companies to keep the office clean and safe and ensure its appliances are in good working order.
• Ensure that security service providers provide round-the-clock security services to the Counterpart ICSA office.
• Report office progress to senior management and work with them to improve office operations and procedures.
• Provide input to the responsible officer for annual, monthly or out-of-cycle budgeting needs.
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the Director of Finance & Operations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field (Master’s Degree or HR Certification is a plus).
• Minimum 7+ years of progressive HR experience, with a minimum of 3 years in a senior HR role, preferably in USAID-funded projects.
• Working knowledge of Iraqi labor law and Kurdistan Region Labor law.
• Strong knowledge of HR best practices, employment laws, and regulations.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills to produce reports, assign tasks, accept instructions and handle vendor contracts, among other tasks.
• Proven experience in resolving complex employee relations issues.
• Strong proficiency in MS Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint is required. Should also be able to demonstrate practical knowledge of SharePoint.
• Demonstrated experience supporting meaningful participation of women, youth, and other historically marginalized or under-represented populations in activity design and implementation.

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• Knowledge and experience with payroll, benefits administration, compensation benchmarking and utilizing HR metrics to inform decision-making.
• Strategic Thinking: The ability to think strategically and align HR initiatives with the organization’s overall objectives.
• Strong interpersonal, communication and conflict resolution skills.
• A commitment to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within the organization.
• Familiarity with and staying up to date with current issues and resources in human resource and office management.
• Leadership ability to manage challenges and oversee employees.
• Organization and the ability to multitask to complete a wide variety of tasks.
• Attention to detail to ensure tasks are completed thoroughly and correctly.
• Flexibility in responding to unexpected challenges.

Language Skills:

• For this position, fluency in Arabic and working knowledge of English is required (oral and written).
• Proficiency of language(s) required will be specifically evaluated during the selection process, which may include written and/or oral assessments.