Senior Human Resources Manager

About the position

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced HR professional with a strong belief in the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in helping to build high performing teams within the international anti-slavery sector. You will be leading a small HR team and will be responsible for developing and delivering an effective HR strategy across the global organisation. The role will report to the Managing Director, Finance and Administration.

This role will suit candidates with previous experience of leading an HR function, particularly those with experience working in a global organisation and / or within a charity and a personal passion for and commitment to social justice missions. You should be able to work independently – leading on the development of an HR strategy for the organisation, delivering on HR projects and providing high quality technical HR advice to managers across the organisation.  You will be an excellent communicator, able to work in a fast-paced and evolving environment and comfortable leading others through change processes in a positive, collaborative and solutions orientated manner.  You will also be highly skilled at prioritising and managing multiple activities, with great attention to detail.  You should value working with a diverse group of internal stakeholders and enjoy communicating effectively with people from different cultures and with different backgrounds.

You will be based in the Freedom Fund’s central London office and be working to support staff across the UK, the US, Brazil, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Kenya, Nepal, Liberia, Nigeria, Myanmar and Indonesia – and other countries as and when our programmatic footprint grows further.  The Freedom Fund currently has 47 staff based in the London office and 36 staff in our other global locations. Outside of the UK, our biggest teams are based in the US (11), Ethiopia (8) and Brazil (6).

Responsibilities

•    Develop and deliver an HR strategy in collaboration with SLT that supports the organisation to deliver on its overall strategy as well as its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion vision and action plan.

•    Monitor staff engagement and retention (including through an annual staff survey) and work with managers to continuously improve the Freedom Fund as a place to work.

•    Provide HR analytics and recommendations to the Senior Leadership Team and Board.

•    Provide high quality and timely HR advice and support to managers and staff globally.

•    Keep up to date with employment legislation and best practice in the countries where Freedom Fund operates

•    Work with the Managing Director of Finance and Administration and the Employer of Record in relevant jurisdictions to ensure legal compliance in all HR activities globally.

•    Maintain and update the Staff Handbooks for the global staff team, ensuring that HR policies and procedures are well understood and adhered to across all jurisdictions.

•    Lead on all performance management issues - including probationary and annual reviews, and employee relations issues such as grievance and disciplinary cases.

•    Facilitate periodic benchmarking reviews of global remuneration and benefits, in line with the organisation’s pay policy.

•    Manage the Employment Pathways Program alongside an external organisation to provide internships for those with lived experience of human trafficking and/or forced labour

•    Manage the relationship and act as day-to-day point of contact for our Employers of Record globally and external payroll services in the UK, including ensuring that payroll changes are communicated and invoices are reviewed and submitted for payment in accordance with agreed timetables

•    Ensure appropriate induction and learning and development programs and in place and embedded throughout the organisation

•    Line manage the Operations Officer

•    Oversee global recruitment, ensuring fair, safe and compliant recruitment practices that particularly encourages and supports applicants with lived experience of human trafficking and/or forced labour.

•    Oversee background clearances are obtained on all new hires.

•    Oversee new starter onboarding and induction.

•    Oversee global Employee Assistance Plans and wellbeing initiatives across the organisation

•    Oversee maintenance personnel files.

•    Oversee maintenance of the Human Resource Information System (PeopleHR).

Qualifications and experience

Essential

•    Demonstrable experience of leading an HR function within an organisation across several offices (and preferably countries)

•    Demonstrable HR generalist experience

•    Demonstrable experience of creating and delivering a HR strategy

•    Demonstrated knowledge of relevant employment laws and human resources practices.

•    Demonstrable experience in performance management issues

•    Demonstrable experience of overseeing the employee lifecycle (recruitment, development, performance, and HR processes)

•    Demonstrable experience of successfully building and managing relationships with a wide range of individuals from diverse backgrounds.

•    Ability to take a local and global perspective on issues facing the organisation

•    Line management experience.

Personal attributes

Essential

•    Outstanding oral and written English communication skills and the ability to present information in compelling ways.

•    Trustworthy – particularly with sensitive or confidential information.

•    Clear thinking, analytical, and a problem-solver with sound judgement

•    Empathetic and willing to take a collaborative approach.

•    Team player committed to the Freedom Fund’s values.

•    Highly organised, with strong prioritisation and administration skills

•    Ability to work independently, displaying strong initiative in solving day-to-day problems with limited direction.