Talent Acquisition Manager - Africa, Asia and the Middle East

Location: Nairobi, Kenya, Amman, Jordan or any MC office in Asia, Africa or the Middle East

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 Program

The People Team ensures that Mercy Corps has the people, strategies and learning that will enable it to be a world-class, cutting edge, humanitarian organization, creating transformational change in the world. We do this through the recruitment, retention and development of the best global talent. Our aim is to drive strategic thinking and planning at all levels of the organization and steward the organizational culture. To achieve this, we align conversations on learning:  keep the organization focused on what has the greatest impact; leverage our comparative advantages in the crowded and competitive international relief and development landscape; and assure we are constantly learning from our work and the external environment. Most of all, we are passionate about Mercy Corps’ mission and believe a better world is possible.

The Position

The Talent Acquisition Manager for the Africa, Asia and the Middle East regions will assist leading a distributed global recruitment team responsible for filling 500+ HQ and international positions in 40+ countries on an annual basis and provide guidance on national recruitment practices. They will have demonstrated experience simultaneously improving and systematizing candidate management and sourcing, while also exploring new and creative recruitment channels, to enhance Mercy Corps employee brand globally.   They will be an exceptional relationship builder, able to directly handle a recruitment portfolio.  They will also initiate and implement projects that are aligned with People and agency strategy   They will implement industry “best practices” and recruit for talent that will support Mercy Corps’ organizational culture, while perpetuating Mercy Corps' position as an employer of choice.

Essential Job Responsibilities

STRATEGY

• Develop deep understanding of talent requirements and challenges and compare with industry trends and update global TA strategy.
• Support the agency’s aim to have a globally diverse team.
• Assist with identifying trends and best practices that can be incorporated into existing efforts.
• Actively cultivate cross-departmental and cross-functional relationships to ensure that the TA function is well integrated into wider agency objectives.
• Responsible for key objectives and deliverables in People strategy and work plans.

TALENT ACQUISITION

• Design, develop and maintain the recruitment process in the organization and ensures quality and consistency of how we attract, assess, and hire talent.
• Take ownership for the recruiting, sourcing and identification of talent for both domestic and international roles.
• Provide responsive, high-quality candidate experience with added care for internal or former team members and manage executive referrals in timely and sensitive manner.
• Orient and train hiring managers/ teams to effectively select talent.
• Identify and conduct targeted outreach and sourcing and effectively leverage internal and external networks.
• Act as professional adviser to hiring teams in the definition of position descriptions, salary ranges in compliance with the industry and organization’s nomenclature.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

• In partnership with the Talent Acquisition Director, create a sustainable work environment of mutual respect that attracts motivated, skilled and effective team members and enables them individually and collectively to achieve excellence.
• Ensure there is sufficient support available to meet recruitment needs during peak periods.

REPRESENTATION AND INFLUENCE

• Track key initiatives, identify appropriate metrics and track progress towards meeting established objectives, with an eye towards constant improvement.
• Support in maintaining collaborative relationships with hiring managers to ensure clear mutual understanding of people priorities.
• Facilitate and attend meetings with leadership to discuss ongoing recruitment needs.

Supervisory Responsibility

Lead team of Talent Acquisition Advisors

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Director – Global Talent Acquisition

Works Directly With: Global HR Team, Global Talent Management Team, Global Compensation Team, National HR Teams, Regional Program Directors, Cross-Operations Teams

Minimum Qualifications & Transferable Skills

• 5 years of experience in a senior/lead Talent Acquisition role.
• Understanding of Talent Acquisition market landscapes in Africa, Asia and/or the Middle East
• Experience using talent acquisition system and tracking talent metrics.
• Demonstrated capacity to utilize analytics and technology to improve efficiencies.
• Demonstrated capacity to incorporate best in class assessment approaches in global organization.
• Advanced experience developing and implementing sourcing strategies aligned with organizational initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience and ability to create, implement, maintain and improve recruitment strategies and systems in a high-volume context.
• Demonstrated passion staffing in international relief and development environments.
• Ability to communicate and problem-solve effectively across diverse cultures with sensitivity.

Success Factors

The Interim Talent Acquisition Manager will develop and maintain productive professional relationships with a broad spectrum of stakeholders within the organization and with key actors in relief and development community, emerging markets, and other emergent players.  They will possess the ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks simultaneously, while remaining focused on the quality of internal and external relationships. They will be able to work with strong personalities with sensitivity and respect and will be comfortable working across functions. The successful candidate is passionate about the identification and retention of amazing talent to achieve organizational goals.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Nairobi, Kenya, Amman, Jordan or any MC office in Asia, Africa or the Middle East and may travel to Mercy Corps field locations. Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

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.