People & Culture Lead – Ukraine Response

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible.
In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions
into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.
Now, and for the future.

Response Summary

Mercy Corps is responding to the Ukraine emergency since the escalation of armed conflict across the country in February 2022. The attacks set off a wave of displacement internally and into the countries along Ukraine’s western borders. Mercy Corps response program will focus on multi-purpose cash intervention and other key sectors, particularly food security, livelihoods, NFIs, and protection. Mercy Corps is also supporting local NGOs and other civil society actors currently supporting displaced populations, as well as those in Ukraine sheltering in place. As Mercy Corps pursues its objectives in the region it will continue to assess the security situation in areas of potential operation, with an eye towards the logistics of possible programmatic interventions and positioning going forward.

General Position Summary

The People and Culture Lead will be critical in the coordination of the response and also support the settling of long term operations, including staffing, people operations and local labor law navigation. The People and Culture Lead will ultimately support the team members’ employment lifecycle. This includes the following key functions: onboarding, policy adjustments, compensation and performance, safeguarding, culture of care, and off-boarding. For this role, it is particularly important to understand Culture of Care, Safeguarding, and local context/regulatory requirements.

Essential Job Responsibilities

STRATEGIC OVERSIGHT

• Develop and implement a country People Strategy for Mercy Corps Ukraine and liaise with HQ, regional and country offices to support and contribute to global/regional People/HR strategy;

• Establish annual People and Culture work plan, set priorities, monitor work progress and ensure results are achieved according to schedule and set standards;

• Support and contribute to the development and implementation of Mercy Corps Ukraine strategy;

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight of all MC Ukraine Response People and Culture processes;

• Develop, implement and monitor the interpretation and application of Ukraine labor laws, human resources systems, practices and procedures as well as complementary procedures that reflect the needs of programming as required;

• Ensure that the National Employee Handbook is set up in each country where Mercy Corps support the Ukraine Response and is in line with the Labor Law and that clarity is provided accordingly;

• Remain informed, on an ongoing basis, about current and changing HR related laws, policies and “best practices” to ensure that current and future staff policies, employment practices, and compensation packages are within the limits of established standards,

• Advise departments on organizational structure challenges and improvements.

CULTURE

• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence and continued learning;

• Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one on ones and performance reviews.

TALENT ACQUISITION AND ONBOARDING

• Help design optimal program and shared services staffing plans to deliver programs and strategy effectively;

• Support the People and Culture team to develop and implement a country-level recruitment strategy that is inclusive of gender and diversity, etc. This includes setting clear performance indicators and regularly monitoring progress;

• Ensure recruiting and hiring practices are in compliance with government regulations and organizational policies;

• Ensure all hiring requests are completed according to Recruitment Policies and Procedures;

• Ensure that exit process for staff departing Mercy Corps is conducted in line with the HR policies and Mercy Corps requirements;

• Ensure strategic reviews of the organizational charts and structure for all positions across all programs and departments are conducted on a regular basis, covered within budgets and shared with the team

• Oversee the implementation of consistent systems in the orientation and induction of new national and expatriate staff;

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

• Support in implementation of country level compensation in line with Global Compensation philosophy

• Ensure all country staff are covered on all relevant insurances

• Benchmark and review the salary scale and benefits packages against the market to ensure competitiveness within the job market;

• Conduct job evaluations on new and existing positions and manage country wide job audits to ensure equity and competitiveness within the job market;

• Provide required support during assigned expatriate recruitment activities;

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND MANAGEMENT

• Using available HR data work with the team to deploy annual employee surveys to promote employee engagement within our offices;

• Ensure effective implementation of MC Ukraine Response performance management system;

• Support management’s goal of continuous capacity development of national team members through the provision of internal and external training;

• Coordinate with People and Culture team during internal compliance activities including of routine audits, investigations and disciplinary meetings;

• Alongside our legal counsel, support the management of all human resource related legal issues in compliance with labor law;

• Proactively update senior management on any issues and grievances and ensure efficient and transparent solutions that protect both Mercy Corps Team members and the organization’s interests in accordance with policies, regulations and procedures;

• Promote the Mercy Corps goals and targets in support of global initiatives;

TEAM MANAGEMENT

• Develop the capacity of the team, deepen understanding of their roles and assist with career development;

• Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback and assist team members with information, tools and resources to improve performance and reach objectives;

• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence;

• Hire, orient and lead team members as necessary.

SECURITY

• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

POLICIES AND MANUAL

• Set up a new National Employee Handbook in line with latest Labor Law updates and clarify as necessary with team members.

• Monitor HR related laws, policies and “best practices” to ensure that personnel policies, employment practices, and compensation packages are within the limits of established guidelines, procedures, and policies of Mercy Corps and national laws.

ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT

• Provide HR support to leadership as needed.

• Spearhead incoming requests from HQ related to national or expatriate staff.

LEGAL

• Provide guidance on labor law regulations and support for country registration in close coordination with the Global Legal Team and MC Europe

Supervisory Responsibility

HR Manager Ukraine and HR teams in Poland/Romania and Moldova

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Ukraine Response Director

Works Directly With: Deputy RD, Sr Director Emergency Response, RPT for Asia (Europe and Global), Relevant departments at HQ including International Finance and General Counsel, Global People Team

Knowledge and Experience

• More than 8 years of HR experience (this includes conducting salary scale review and benefits package review) required

• Understanding and experience navigating multiple regulatory sources (labor laws, donor requirements, etc) and developing HR policies and procedures that ensure compliance with each.

• Demonstrated understanding of complex emergencies, related security concerns and appropriate responses with experience in insecure environments;

• Demonstrated attention to detail, following procedures, meeting deadlines and working and problem-solving independently and cooperatively.

• Knowledge of donor regulations including USAID, EC, DFID regulations is an added advantage.

• Excellent negotiation and representation skills.

• Effective verbal and written communication, organizational, prioritization and Microsoft Office applications.

• Demonstrated experience in promoting and leading organizational learning, culture and wellbeing.

• Ability to work effectively with an ethnically diverse team in a sensitive environment.

• Demonstrated understanding of complex emergencies, related security concerns, and appropriate responses to such emergencies.

• Experience in Ukraine or in the East European region is preferred

• BA/BS or equivalent in HR; MA/S in HR is preferred.

• Excellent oral and written English skills required; proficiency in Ukrainian and/or Russian is a plus

• Proficiency with MS Office software required (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

• Mercy Corps Core Humanitarian Competencies (as defined in the Humanitarian Capacity Framework) preferred.

Technical competencies:

• Support Culture of Care and Well being

• Is familiar with Mercy Corps’ team member assistance policy and resources (Konterra)

• Is able to recognize post-traumatic stress disorder and trauma on individual and team level

Functional competencies

• Is familiar with Mercy Corps’ Safeguarding requirements and functions as an Ambassador (minimum of 25% or 50% level of effort criteria)

• Understands expedited recruitment & onboarding, with emphasis on diverse talent and inclusive team environment (GDI related policies)

• Is able to adjust to and support rapid change, with a focus on supporting organizational structure shifts (Change Management Capabilities)

• Understands employment law (clarifies employment categories, compensation and benefits in dynamic context, and obtains local legal counsel)

• Understands and implements Performance Management

• Applies a strong collaborative approach with in-country Security Management Team and Mercy Corps Global People team to apply and adapt processes/operations/procedures as needed (Serves as HR Business Partner)

Leadership competencies

• Drives impact by building high performing teams, with emphasis on being a positive role model as an individual and within teams, and mobilizing people and processes to achieve rapid change

• Broadens influence by role-modelling and leveraging networks: promotes a culture of feedback, is able to advocate and influence on key HR issues at country level internally and externally with partners, government and other INGOs

• Nurtures innovation across the team; makes data-driven decision and is able to clearly communicate across the team

Success Factors

Critical problem solving skills, and the ability to work out methods to deliver successful programs while demonstrating excellent stewardship of donor funds and compliance with Mercy Corps and donor regulations. Maintaining strong working relationships with other departments is crucial. A successful candidate will have the ability to interact effectively with international and national personnel both in a managerial as well as training capacity, meet deadlines and process information in support of changing program activities. S/he will be able to live and work closely with a diverse team of individuals in a highly intense and fluid work and security environment. For this role, it is particularly important to understand Culture of Care, Safeguarding, and local context/regulatory requirements.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Ukraine or in neighboring countries. Accommodations are being defined and access to services – medical, electricity, water, etc is in place but may change depending on the situation. This position requires travel to surrounding countries, as security permits. Given the emergency context, this position requires exceptional work schedules, including evenings and weekends.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

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. 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 elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.**