Alumni Talent Pool: HR Lead Roles

Mercy Corps

23h • Hybrid

About The Position

The Alumni Talent Pool is an exclusive initiative for former Mercy Corps team members who were employed within the past 4 years and completed at least 1 year of service. Its purpose is to support emergency response, transitions, and complex program start-ups by fast-tracking qualified alumni into temporary Senior HR roles. These roles include HR Director, HR Manager, Emergency HR Lead, and Recruitment Lead. The initiative focuses on matching qualified team members with urgent country-based needs for short-term placements, typically averaging 3 months. This offers senior managers professional and personal flexibility and access to diverse experiences. Once selected into the Pool, members will have access to short-term opportunities in countries where Mercy Corps operates, with responsibilities and supervisory structures varying by assignment. When on assignment, members are eligible for competitive salary and benefits, which may vary based on employment type (expat, consultancy, or remote work).

Requirements

• 5 or more years’ experience in International Human Resources, with at least 2 in a managerial role.
• Prior experience with Mercy Corps within the last four years (with at least one year of Mercy Corps work experience).
• Ability to lead teams, influence, handle negotiations and make fast and effective decisions and plans in emergency contexts.
• Personal passion for and commitment to working in a diverse array of emergencies.
• Able to work effectively in a highly stressed and potentially physically challenging emergency response set up in early and later stages of responses.
• Proven ability to work productively with a wide variety of stakeholders to run participatory processes and meet tight deadlines to deliver results.
• Exceptional written and interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to establish personal credibility quickly with a diverse range of stakeholders and in multi-cultural contexts and teams.
• Willing and able to deploy internationally at short notice for assignments.
• Availability to work non-standard hours as needed, especially when supporting an active emergency or critical incident response.
• Be available to deploy/ engage in short notice.
• Professional level proficiency in at least one of Mercy Corps' working languages (English, French, Spanish, Arabic).

Nice To Haves

• Proficiency in multiple languages is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Establish direction by organizing actions and resources, aligning with the country strategy, and prioritizing objectives (HR Director/Manager).
• Provide leadership and hands-on support during office closures, ensuring compliant, transparent, and people-centered processes, including staff communication, transition planning, and coordination with Legal, Finance, and Global HR (HR Director/Manager).
• Assist in proposal and budget development to ensure the HR/Admin structure fits mission and project needs (HR Director/Manager).
• Revise and implement a countrywide HR strategy, ensuring new offices have adequate support (HR Director/Manager).
• Lead and manage a high-performance HR team, focusing on recruitment, onboarding, performance, talent, and learning processes (HR Director/Manager).
• Ensure HR policies are aligned with Mercy Corps standards and local labor laws, including salary scales, agreements, and benefits (HR Director/Manager).
• Collaborate with leadership and global HR teams to provide expert guidance on HR matters and support startup and close-down operations (HR Director/Manager).
• Lead recruitment processes during emergencies, including drafting Position Descriptions, and ensure alignment with Mercy Corps compliance and local laws (Emergency HR Lead).
• Design customized onboarding and orientation packages for emergency response, adhering to Mercy Corps ethics standards (Emergency HR Lead).
• Provide regular psychological assistance pre-deployment and during assignments (Emergency HR Lead).
• Coordinate with teams on tax, immigration, and employment law considerations, integrating mitigation measures into emergency response processes (Emergency HR Lead).
• Collaborate with the Emergency Response Human Resources Manager on program startups and closures, and balance urgency with organizational Safeguarding Core Standards (Emergency HR Lead).
• Works to ensure Mercy Corps’ Safeguarding Standards are integrated and upheld in all areas of HR work.
• Actively learns about safeguarding and integrates it into their work, including safeguarding risks and mitigations related to their area of work.
• Practices the values of Mercy Corps including respecting the dignity and well-being of participants and fellow team members.
• Encourages openness and communication in their team; encourages team members to submit reports if they have any concerns using reporting mechanisms e.g., Integrity Hotline and other options.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and benefits (when on assignment).
• Opportunity to dedicate 5% of time to learning activities that further personal and/or professional growth and development.

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees