About Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse, and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.
The Region and the One People Team
Our One People Team ensures that Mercy Corps has the people, HR systems, and culture to support our managers and allow our team members to thrive. We comprise of teams of HR professionals at country, regional and global level who work together to foster engaged, equitable, inclusive, diverse, and high performing global teams. We do this through building systems and supporting managers to recruit and retain the diverse and high-performing talent we need to meet our goals, shaping this talent into our future leaders through equitable development opportunities, and by driving strategic partnerships at all levels within and outside of our organization. We work with others to steward our organizational culture through our systems, structure, and processes, to create safe, diverse and inclusive teams, and to ensure a positive employee experience for all our people.
The MENA/Europe region faces immense humanitarian challenges driven by protracted conflicts and climate change impacts. Mercy Corps responds with programming across Ukraine, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine using a layered resilience approach. Interventions target fragility through ensuring food and water security, access to economic opportunities, and access to energy through a climate-smart, evidence-driven model committed to local leadership and innovative solutions. Amid displacement, increasing natural resource scarcity, and instability, Mercy Corps delivers inclusive, creative solutions spanning relief to long-term development. Our integrated approach aims to build resilience by simultaneously meeting urgent needs while fostering self-reliance and peace within crisis-affected communities.
Supervisory Responsibility
The Regional HR Director MENA / Europe is responsible for leading and managing a diverse and high-performing Regional HR team, representing four team members, including a shared Talent Acquisition person.
Budget Management Responsibility
The Regional HR Director will manage a small delegated budget of approximately 20,000 – 40,000 USD per annum for key regional HR activities, such as travel, team training, and recognition.
Position Summary
The Regional HR Director MENA / Europe is the senior HR leader with responsibility for providing world-class HR service delivery for the region which delivers measurable, positive impact, in ‘peace time’ and when an emergency response is required. The post-holder operates as a strategic HR business partner for senior leaders in the Regional Office / relevant senior leadership team, using data and evidence and drawing upon internal and external HR good practice to provide effective strategic HR advice, support and problem-solving on a diverse range of HR issues. They will work with others to promote a positive employee experience within Mercy Corps and help ensure fit-for-purpose HR and talent management architecture is in place so we can attract, retain, engage and develop the high-performing talent we need to deliver our ambitious Pathway to Possibility strategy in the region, including its five commitment areas.
The Regional HR Director is also responsible for designing and driving a compelling vision and specific HR priorities for the MENA and Europe Region, continuing to adapt and respond to the evolving needs of our Country Offices / other stakeholders, and effectively implementing and monitoring global initiatives within the region.
Essential Responsibilities
TEAM LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
- Establishes, nurtures and develops a diverse and high-performing Regional HR team, equipped with the attitude, skills, behaviours and knowledge to deliver a consistently high-quality HR service for the region, aligned with evolving organizational needs and Mercy Corps’ core behaviours.
- Develops and implements a clear workplan for HR in the region with measurable goals and targets, and oversees its delivery via effective cascades to team members’ individual goals and workplans.
- Takes active steps to ensure all regional HR team members have a positive employee experience across the life-cycle in Mercy Corps, with a focus on individual and team wellbeing, nurturing a sense of safety, inclusion and belonging, and driving innovation and learning.
- Ensures all team members have clear goals and expectations aligned to the regional workplan and that they receive regular, timely and effective feedback on progress towards them and their performance and behaviours more broadly.
- Works with team members to ensure their individual learning needs and career aspirations are clear and they have a fit-for-purpose personal development plan which reflects them and that they are supported to realize.
- Effectively monitors and manages the regional HR budget to optimize the use of limited resources for optimal impact.
REPRESENTATION AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
- Serves as the senior HR representative of the ESLT / Regional Office and One People Team in the region and ensures regional and country-level interests are effectively represented in different forums, including as a member of the One People Team SLT and a member of the RHRD team.
- Establishes multiple effective two-way communication channels to listen, understand and respond to the needs of diverse stakeholders within the region and beyond, and to communicate clearly and regularly update about the work of the regional HR team.
- Fosters and nurtures a vibrant and active regional HR network and communities of practice, creating cross-regional connections and driving knowledge-sharing and innovation.
- Cultivates effective and positive working relationships across the One People team and works collaboratively to solve issues arising on a timely basis and in accordance with service-level agreements.
- Contributes effectively to the design, implementation and realization of organizational initiatives and goals as a member of relevant Working Groups at regional and global levels.
HR STRATEGY AND SERVICE DELIVERY
- Leads and coordinates HR&OD work at the regional level to align regional HR vision and priorities with One People Team and regional vision, strategy and priorities, helping to ensure the realization of our organizational Pathway to Possibility strategy and strengthen organizational performance.
- Leads and coordinates HR&OD work at the regional-level to embed our Pathway to Possibility commitments, including but not limited to regional initiatives related to strengthening diversity, equity and inclusion, safeguarding, and our locally-led commitment.
- Provides strong technical HR&OD support for change initiatives within the region, including, but not limited to re-structures(including Program Redesign) , country-presence entry and exit (where applicable), and culture / behavior change.
- Coordinates and supports others, including Country Office HR Leads, where applicable, to effectively implement new global initiatives, and continue to monitor and follow up on implementation, where applicable. This includes, but is not limited to, All Voices Survey and other staff voice initiatives, Performance Possible, and mandatory training.
- Provides effective senior HR support for emergency preparedness and response and crisis management, ensuring appropriate HR policies and practices are established in a timely and compliant way.
- Establishes appropriate key performance indicators for the Regional HR team in coordination with others and monitors and reports on progress.
- Collaborates effectively with PSAT and others to optimize HR data analytics and reporting for the region, using a data and evidence-based approach to inform decision-making, planning and resource allocation.
HR FOUNDATIONS
- Creates and implements effective plans for developing leadership, people management and HR capacity and capabilities within the region.
- Works in collaboration with others to build strong HR foundations, ensuring HR policies, procedures and systems in the region are fit-for-purpose to meet evolving organizational needs. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Up-to-date and compliant Staff Handbooks.
- Up-to-date and competitive salary scales and benefits.
- Effective recruitment and selection, onboarding, performance management, talent management, learning and development and exit.
- Provides high-quality advice and support for the timely and compliant resolution of employee relations issues, particularly those which are complex or high-risk.
- Develops capabilities of country HR teams and provides them with guidance and support to ensure that they are effectively carrying out their responsibilities.
Supervisory Responsibility
Direct reports: Senior Regional HRBP and TA Manager (shared resource).
Indirect reports: Regional HR Advisor, and TA Advisor.
Provides oversight and support of CO HR leads in collaboration with Country Directors.
Reports directly to: Deputy Regional Director, Operations MENA and Europe and VP People Team.
Works directly with: Country Directors, Regional SMTs, HR Leads, COEs, Finance, Compliance, Ethics, Legal.
Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Strong technical generalist HR knowledge across the entire lifecycle.
- Proven knowledge of the region, including but not limited to local labour markets, local labour laws, cultural and DEI considerations.
- Knowledge of and / or strong motivation to learn about evolving country program needs and to develop appropriate support to Country Office HR teams to meet them.
- Organizational design and development knowledge and skills are highly desirable.
- Leadership skills that are inclusive, participatory and empowering, and demonstrate strong commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
- High levels of verbal and written communication skills.
- Ability to influence and have credibility at different levels of a global organization.
- Demonstrated success in leading, aligning and strengthening diverse and high-performing and remote teams.
- Ability to effectively prioritize within competing demands and to manage a demanding workload while remaining positive and optimistic.
- Ability to effectively navigate within multicultural environments and complex organizational dynamics to deliver impact and results.
- Committed to problem solving and world-class service delivery.
- Skilled in HR data analytics and using this to drive decision-making, priorities and planning.
- Strong alignment of personal values to Mercy Corps’ mission and mandate.
- Understanding of global humanitarian and development issues and experience within similar organizations is desirable.
- Fluency in written and spoken English and Arabic is required.
Required Education and Experience
- A minimum of ten years experience in a senior HR generalist role with supervisory responsibilities, with at least two years of regional / sub-regional experience.
- A Bachelors or above academic qualification in HRM, or relevant professional HR qualification such as SHRM or CIPD.
- Proven experience of providing technical HR&OD support for organizational change initiatives.
- Proven experience of driving innovation and measurable improvements in organizational performance,
- Experience of HR emergency preparedness and response is highly desirable.
Safeguarding & Ethics
Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. By applying for this role an applicant confirms that they have not previously violated an employer’s sexual misconduct, sexual exploitation and abuse, child safeguarding or trafficking policy. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.
As an applicant, if you witness or experience any form of sexual misconduct during the recruitment process, please report this to Mercy Corps Integrity Hotline (integrityhotline@mercycorps.org).