Global Surge Team Roster: Emergency Deputy Director of People & Culture

International Rescue Committee

About The Position

The Emergency Deputy Director of People and Culture, Global Surge (Emergency DD P&C) leads the People and Culture function in an assigned emergency response. The role provides overall leadership and supervisory management of the response’s P&C team, systems, and services, including workforce planning, policy compliance, staff care and well-being, safeguarding and GEDI commitments, performance management, and transition to sustainable country P&C operations. The Emergency DD P&C rapidly establishes and scales P&C structures and a safe, inclusive workplace; advises the Emergency Country Director and Senior Management Team; oversees staff support; leads emergency recruitment, onboarding, and employee relations in line with IRC policies and local labor law; ensures accurate payroll, people data, and reporting; and works with Emergency Unit, regional, and global P&C teams to adapt policies and tools to the context. The position deploys in the field in an emergency or roving capacity, within 72 hours of notification, for deployments of up to 12 weeks. The Global Surge Team roster is an occasional employment opportunity; deployment needs vary, and deployments are not guaranteed.

Requirements

At least 10 years of progressive People and Culture experience, including leadership of a P&C function supporting small, medium, and large Country Programs across multiple locations in an emergency context.
Experience working in conflict, post-conflict, or disaster response settings, including rapid startup or scale-up of P&C operations.
Prior experience working within organizational structures in transition.
Broad knowledge of P&C competencies, including recruitment, compensation and benefits, employee relations, contract management, payroll, performance management, and HR information systems.
Working knowledge of international labor law and ability to establish compliant employment practices quickly in a new country context.
Experience supporting high-volume recruitment, onboarding, and deployment of surge and national staff.
Experience handling employee relations, safeguarding, and code of conduct cases, including coordination with investigations teams.
Knowledge of duty-of-care and staff well-being practices in high-risk, high-stress contexts and ability to work with security teams on staff safety.
Ability to use people data and analysis to inform decisions and produce simple, timely reporting.
Ability to manage multiple priorities promptly and deliver high-quality outcomes.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office, especially Excel, Word, and Outlook.
Demonstrated experience advising senior leaders such as Country Directors and Senior Management Teams and building trusted relationships.
Successful leadership of multidisciplinary teams in cross-cultural settings, including mentoring and coaching.
Ability to build national P&C colleagues’ capacity and effectively hand over systems and responsibilities.
Ability to supervise in matrixed, remote, and fast-changing environments.
Ability to handle stressful situations constructively and model and promote staff well-being.
High levels of integrity, empathy, and sound judgment on sensitive matters.
Opportunity-awareness and an innovative approach to unpredictable operational, staffing, and funding contexts.
Ability to clearly represent P&C context, constraints, and successes to senior internal and external audiences, including regulators and government authorities.
English language proficiency is required.
Ability to deploy within 72 hours of notification.

Nice To Haves

Graduate degree in HR management or a related field is preferred.
Working knowledge of Workday or other HR information systems and file-sharing platforms such as SharePoint is an advantage.
French, Arabic, or Spanish language skills are highly desired.

Responsibilities

Rapidly establish P&C structures, processes, and tools, including employment registration, labor law compliance, contract templates, national staff terms, and payroll setup.
Review the local labor and salary market and recommend a competitive, compliant compensation approach.
Lead high-volume emergency recruitment and onboarding, coordinating deployment of surge and roster staff and filling priority national and international positions.
Co-lead workforce planning and organizational design with the Senior Management Team, including rapid scale-ups and adjustments consistent with legal requirements and IRC policies.
Maintain a headcount, vacancy, and recruitment tracker and provide regular, timely reporting to leadership.
Advise the Emergency Country Director and Senior Management Team on workforce strategy, compliance, and organizational culture.
Lead, supervise, and support deployed and national P&C colleagues and remain accountable for the quality and timeliness of P&C services.
Coach managers on supervision, performance expectations, and difficult conversations; advise on disciplinary matters and mediate impartially while ensuring fairness and legal compliance.
Escalate code of conduct issues and lead or co-lead investigations with Employee Relations and, when needed, Ethics and Compliance.
Oversee recruitment, compensation and benefits, employee relations, onboarding and offboarding, contracts, leave management, and HR information systems using context-appropriate practices.
Implement IRC P&C policies and adapt them to emergency conditions with Regional and Global Surge Team P&C support.
Ensure staff receive accurate and timely payroll and compensation.
Provide staffing structure and position-scoping input to proposal design and grant review.
Provide technical P&C guidance to response partners in line with the PEERS framework, where applicable.
Promote inclusive and fair recruitment and onboarding and a workplace free of discrimination, harassment, bullying, and abuse of power.
Integrate safeguarding into rapid hiring and onboarding, including the Safeguarding Minimum Standards; orient staff on the Safeguarding Policy and IRC Way and make reporting channels visible in relevant local languages.
Work with global investigations teams and response leadership to implement safeguarding investigation recommendations, particularly disciplinary actions, within two weeks.
Work with the Duty of Care team to provide staff duty-of-care guidance and partner with Safety and Security on best-practice aftercare following critical incidents.
Develop staff physical and psychological well-being plans for high-stress, high-risk contexts, including rest-and-recuperation and rotation arrangements.
Establish engagement and communication approaches suited to fast-changing, remote, and insecure environments, including listening sessions.
Plan and deliver the transition to sustainable country P&C operations, including a documented handover to incoming long-term P&C staff.
Coach national P&C colleagues to take over core processes and contribute lessons learned to improve emergency P&C policies, SOPs, and toolkits.
Support the Emergency Country Director with ad hoc tasks and uphold organizational standards by remaining alert to operational and administrative irregularities.