125 Director, People and Culture at Boma Projects

Job Summary – Purpose

• The Director, People and Culture is a key strategic partner to the Chief Executive Officer and a member of the senior leadership team, carrying full strategic and operational ownership of the People and Culture function. The role leads on culture practices and provides expert direction across Workforce and Capacity Planning, Talent Acquisition, Job Grading and Career Pathing, Succession Planning, Performance Management, Employee Relations and Welfare, Employee Engagement, Diversity and Inclusion, Safeguarding, Policy Development, and HR Compliance.
• The position is responsible for overseeing effective leadership and management of the People and Culture function and the full employee life cycle across BOMA’s locations (includes counties and countries) of operation, while ensuring compliance with applicable local labour laws, donor and regulatory requirements, HR best practice, and organizational policy.
• This role works closely with the CEO in setting and driving organizational vision and people strategy and carries accountability for strengthening all critical foundational areas of the function including job grading and career pathing, succession planning, and safeguarding. The outputs of this role will build and maintain a highly skilled, competent, committed, safe, and productive workforce that subscribes to BOMA’s vision, mission, values, and culture.

Duties and Responsibilities 

Strategic Leadership and HR Business Partnership

• Lead the development and execution of the People and Culture strategy, ensuring alignment with the organization’s overall strategy, mission, and values.
• Own People and Culture priorities, plans, and budgets across countries of operation; lead and ensure timely, high-quality implementation of initiatives.
• Partner with the CEO and senior leadership team to develop and execute workforce planning and talent strategies that ensure the organization has the right talent, in the right roles, at the right time.
• Act as a strategic advisor to the CEO and senior leadership on organizational design, workforce risk, and the people implications of business decisions.
• Partner with senior leadership to evolve and adopt leading HR practices in line with trends across the organization’s operating geographies, for continued competitiveness.
• Prepare reports and briefings as required and represent the organization in relevant meetings and forums on human resource issues.
• Support the CEO through the development, adoption, roll-out, and tracking of the organizational strategic plan.
• Support the CEO and senior leadership through organizational change management as strategy, partnerships, and new projects require people and systems to work in new ways.

Job Grading, Career Pathing and Succession Planning

• Job Grading and Structure: Design, implement, and continuously refine an equitable, market-competitive job grading and evaluation framework; job families, salary bands, and grading methodology, ensuring internal equity and external competitiveness across all roles and locations of operation.
• Career Pathing: Build and institutionalize clear career pathing frameworks and progression criteria that give staff visibility into growth opportunities, support internal mobility, and strengthen retention of high performers.
• Succession Planning: Lead the design and execution of a robust succession planning framework for business-critical and leadership roles, identifying, assessing, and developing successors and closing talent pipeline gaps.
• Establish job evaluation governance criteria, committees, and periodic review cycles to keep grading structures current as the organization scales.
• Integrate job grading, career pathing, and succession planning with compensation strategy, performance management, and learning and development.

3.3. Safeguarding

• Strategy and Governance: Develop and lead execution of a comprehensive safeguarding strategy covering child protection, protection from sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (PSEAH), and safeguarding of program participants, staff, and communities, aligned with donor requirements and international best practice.
• Policy and Systems: Design and continuously strengthen safeguarding policies, codes of conduct, reporting mechanisms, and investigation protocols; ensure consistent application across all offices and country programs.
• Capacity Building: Lead organization-wide safeguarding training and induction for staff, partners, and volunteers; champion a culture of safeguarding accountability at every level.
• Case Management: Oversee timely, survivor-centered, and confidential management of safeguarding concerns, ensuring compliance with legal and donor reporting obligations.

HR Advisory, Technical and Operational Support

• Function as a strategic HR business advisor to the CEO and senior leadership on organizational and management issues.
• Provide direction and advisory across all areas of People and Culture, including recruitment, workforce planning, change and organizational development, total rewards, employee relations, talent management, and retention.
• Design and execute the organization’s compensation and benefits strategy, systems, and processes to attract the right talent, remain competitive in local labour markets, and support retention in hard-to-staff locations.
• Oversee staff salary and benefits structures and schemes, including remuneration, leave, life insurance, medical schemes, and pension.
• Develop and review People and Culture standards, policies, procedures, and guidelines, ensuring they are contextualized within field offices and countries of operation.
• Lead implementation of People and Culture-related audit recommendations and performance improvement plans.
• Ensure effective management of HR systems, technology, and people data analytics to support organizational decision-making.
• Oversee investigations of unacceptable or non-compliant employee behaviour and recommend corrective action in line with local labour law and organizational policy.

Culture, Staff Wellbeing, Employee Engagement and Relations

• Lead initiatives that strengthen the employer value proposition and values-socialization process, advising leadership on opportunities to improve employee experience.
• Identify organizational culture gaps and design culture-change interventions that promote leadership and staff mindset and behaviour change in support of the mission.
• Oversee staff engagement surveys, follow-up action planning, and partnership with stakeholders to implement engagement and retention strategies.
• Develop and strengthen staff care and wellbeing interventions.
• Ensure effective management of employee relations matters, including grievance handling, disciplinary processes, and employee-related legal issues, in compliance with labour law.
• Coach, counsel, and advise managers and staff to support resolution of employment-related matters.
• Champion an inclusive, diverse organizational culture where every employee feels welcomed, valued, respected, and safe.

Staff Development and Performance Management

• Lead development and implementation of an effective performance management system that recognizes strong performance at organizational, departmental, and individual levels.
• Structure and coordinate performance review cycles to identify outstanding contributions and development needs.
• Partner with stakeholders to conduct talent gap analysis and strengthen the quality of the talent pipeline.
• Lead assessment, design, and implementation of an integrated capacity-building plan aligned with performance outcomes and organizational strategy.
• Lead career development initiatives in collaboration with heads of department, in direct support of the career pathing and succession frameworks in Section 3.2.
• Lead talent identification and management; and
• Lead identification and adoption of progressive best practice staff engagement approaches that enable BOMA to remain attractive to the required talent

Team Leadership and Development

• Manage and develop the People Operations & Culture Manager; Recruitment & People Welfare Manager; Safeguarding Lead/Focal Point
• Coach senior-level staff across the organization to manage and develop high-performing teams.
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations, and provide regular constructive feedback through one-on-ones and formal performance reviews.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Education and Certification

• Bachelor’s degree plus a Postgraduate Diploma in HR, or a Bachelor’s degree with CHRP or IHRM qualification (required).
• Master’s degree in Human Resources Management, Organizational Development, Social Sciences, or a related field (preferred).
• Relevant professional certifications and memberships, such as CHRP, IHRM, or SHRM.
• Formal training or certification in job evaluation/grading methodologies (e.g., Hay, Mercer, Paterson, or equivalent) is an added advantage.
• Training or certification in safeguarding, PSEAH, or child protection is an added advantage.

Relevant Work Experience

• 10+ years of progressive HR experience, including managing end-to-end people and culture functions across multiple countries or a matrixed organization.
• Demonstrated experience: designing and implementing job grading/evaluation frameworks, career pathing programs, and succession planning initiatives, with clear evidence of outcomes achieved.
• Demonstrated experience: developing and executing organizational safeguarding strategies, policies, and case management systems, ideally within an NGO, INGO, or donor-funded environment.
• Prior experience operating as a strategic partner to a CEO or senior leadership team, including building or significantly strengthening a people function, not just running an established one.
• Previous work experience in the NGO/non-profit sector is preferred.
• Previous experience working in Africa is strongly preferred.

Competencies, Abilities and Skills Required

• In-depth knowledge of HR policy, best practice, labour law, and industry trends across East/Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Proven technical expertise in job grading and evaluation, compensation structuring, career pathing, and succession planning.
• Strong understanding of safeguarding principles, PSEAH standards, and donor compliance requirements.
• Proven track record in people management, HR leadership, and organizational development.
• Comfort operating as both strategist and builder — equally at ease advising a CEO and personally developing a policy or framework.
• Ability to interface with staff, leadership, and stakeholders with tact, diplomacy, and sound judgment.
• Experience working in cross-cultural settings and navigating diverse cultural norms.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• High ethical standards, sound judgment, and unwavering commitment to confidentiality.
• Comfortable operating in a dynamic environment and adapting to rapidly changing business conditions.