Division People Officer

About CRS

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. CRS works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding.

Job Summary:

An integral member of Global People Resources, the Division People Officer leads implementation of a highly effective, strategic HR function in the assigned US/ Global regions. His/her aim is for Divisions to have the talent they need to deliver high-quality programs and a consistent, equitable employee experience that enables staff at all levels to contribute their best to CRS’ mission. The DPO will work closely with HRBPs to ensure efficient, ef fective and locally contextualized delivery of HR services and support in line with Global HR Standards. S/he will provide practical hands-on support in the roll-out and adoption of HR global initiatives and practices across the region and support the professional development of HRBPs in their Division. S/he will serve as advisor and counsel to leaders to maximize staffing resources and performance, ensure efficiency and consistency of business processes, and contain institutional risk.

Roles and Key Responsibilities:

Upholding Standards, Contextualizing Approaches

• Work with Centers of Excellence, Division Leaders and HRBPs to ensure Global HR initiatives are well-timed, meet Region/Country Program needs/priorities, and are adapted to the local context.
• Work collaboratively with in-country HR staff and management to ensure consistent application of policy, practices and global and in-country specific HR initiatives and provide hands-on support for effective implementation.
• Liaise with Director Global Employment Compliance and Internal Audit team to develop and implement Global HR Standards for monitoring and evaluation to ensure HR systems, policies, processes, and practices meet agency, donor, and local legal requirements and standards.
• Provide counsel and practical in-person support as necessary in all areas of employee relations including effective staff management, to include disciplinary action, conflict resolution, performance, and separations.
• Support investigations with instructions from Ethics Unit and/or HR Safeguarding Liaison.
• Work closely with management to support their efforts in improving work relationships, building morale, and staff engagement. Liaise with leadership to support development and implementation of action plans following the CRS Engagement Survey.

Providing Strategic HR Guidance, Aligning Priorities

• Serve as a strategic partner and trusted adviser to US/ Global Divisional Leadership teams, establishing HR needs and priorities that align with the overall agency plans and strategic objectives.
• Collaborate with leadership to identify gaps and make recommendations about appropriate HR staffing and structure.
• Work with Divisional leadership, hiring managers, HRBPs to support diverse leadership and gender equity efforts.
• Work with management and HR teams to provide analytical reports on HR data, metrics, and trends. Promote data-driven decision-making.
• Provide strategic counsel to Leadership regarding complex HR challenges in the region.

Strengthening HR Capacity in the Global Departments

• Work with Centers of Excellence on the collaborative development of effective capacity building efforts and trainings. Lead delivery of HR-related training and capacity building efforts, in-person or using e-learning, as needed.
• Evaluate and facilitate HR functional capacity and service delivery for the region.
• Build strong knowledge of the HR capabilities within the department. Build knowledge, expertise, and capacity of GPR Operations staff through purposeful development planning and coaching.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in HR Management, Business Administration, Organizational Development, or other relevant field required.
• 10 to 15 years of professional HR experience with a minimum of 5 years as a manager in an international organization or equivalent with strong knowledge of HR best practices and standards.
• Experience with implementing and supporting diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace
• Additional education may substitute for some experience.

Preferred Qualifications

Travel – include percentage of required travel, if applicable. Must be willing and able to travel up to 15%.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Excellent management and leadership skills including coaching, mentoring, performance management and delivering individual and group training.
• Strong collaborator with effective interpersonal and analytical skills who can work seamlessly across countries and cultures required. Good knowledge of local context strongly preferred.
• Broad knowledge and experience in US employment laws, employee relations, staff engagement, compensation and benefits, talent acquisition, HR Audits, training and development
• Demonstrated success as an HR professional in humanitarian sector, emergency response, conflict zones preferred.
• Demonstrated success in supporting key senior management and building strong, trusted relationships.
• Deep commitment to fostering equality in the workplace, with experience in establishing a supportive workplace for women and other under-represented groups and accelerating their professional development in support of the agency global gender strategy.
• Superb interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills required.
• Excellent relationship management skills with ability to influence and get buy-in from people not under direct supervision

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with and demonstrated ability to analyze, interpret and advise on employment laws, regulations, policies, principles, concepts, and practices for various countries.
• Experience in project management and change management (HR projects).
• Experience using HRIS (Oracle or PeopleSoft or other similar HRIS)

Supervisory Responsibilities: HR Business Partner

Key Working Relationships:

Internal

HR: Global People Services, Director – Regional; Centers of Excellence; other RPOs, HRBPs, Safeguarding

External

INGO counterparts; legal counsel; HR associations and networks

Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. We welcome as a part of our staff and as partners people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need.