Mercy Corps
Position Title: Total Rewards Manager (Nairobi based)
Job Category: Human Resources
Requisition Number: TOTAL003183
Full-Time
Location: Nairobi, KE
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 / Department / Team
The People Team ensures that Mercy Corps has the people who 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; create a robust body of research to guide us internally and externally 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.
The Position Summary
This global role will support the management of a Total Rewards strategy.
The primary focus is on Total Rewards, specifically ensuring cohesive and standardized compensation and benefits practices globally including monitoring and updating compensation and benefits policies and practices at the country levels.
Essential Responsibilities
Strategy and Vision
- Work with the Director, Total Rewards to guide the People Team’s overall vision and approach, delivering clear actionable plans to achieve department priorities.
- Support the vision for a comprehensive Total Rewards Strategy providing for global team members, ensuring coherence across regional teams and the People Team; strategically engaging to advance implementation of those plans.
- Advise country/program teams on compensation and benefit best practices, supported through a global compensation/Total Rewards philosophy.
- Strategically develop and manage cross-departmental and cross-functional relationships and activities to ensure the compensation and benefit function is well integrated into wider agency objectives.
Global Compensation
- Manage and monitor salary structures and classifications while ensuring practices are compliant with applicable laws and regulations, and ensure they are in alignment with the organization’s overall strategic objectives and vision.
- Recommend/implement changes to practices to establish & maintain competitive compensation programs.
- Align and manage pay structures through salary survey analysis to ensure appropriate and competitive compensation programs and standards are in place.
- Manage and develop global compensations policies around base pay and variable pay options.
- Provide management oversight for the salary scale framework globally including merit pay, promotions, and salary changes.
- Manage and conduct job evaluations and evaluate new position descriptions/classifications in compliance with local labor laws.
- Advise and partner with department leaders, HR Officers, and recruiters on compensation-related matters such as benchmarking new positions, job offers, promotions, internal transfers, and department restructures.
Global Benefits
- Support Mercy Corps’ benefit strategies locally; partner with brokers when indicated to develop programs which are cost effective, supportive of team members, and in line with current benefit trends globally.
- Support local teams in managing and updating benefits policies and programs, including medical, dental, vision, life, disability, workers’ compensation, retirement, expatriate benefits and voluntary benefits.
- Ensure all benefit plans comply with organizational policy and procedures, as well as local regulatory requirements.
- Establish/maintain effective employee communications on benefits topics including conducting benefit orientations.
Team Management & Leadership
- With support from the Director, develop the capacity of the People Team as it relates to the Total Rewards function.
- Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence and continued learning.
- Participate within the larger People Team, and agency, to share ideas, develop standard practices and implement best practices across Mercy Corps programs.
- Design and streamline processes in collaboration with others on the People Team to develop an improved Total Rewards experience across the global Mercy Corps team.
Representation, Communication, 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 Mercy Corps’ managers to ensure clear mutual understanding of People Team priorities.
- Collaborate with Mercy Corps Europe’s Human Resource Team to ensure a mutually supportive approach to compensation and benefits.
- Communicate Total Rewards strategy and overall benefits more broadly internally, and work with the Talent team to incorporate into the employment brand strategy.
Minimum Qualifications & Transferrable skills
- 7+ years of experience managing Total Rewards programs, international experience and strong compensation experience preferred.
- BA/BS in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field, preferred.
- Multilingual is a ‘plus’ (English required with French, Spanish or Arabic as a second language is a plus).
- Demonstrated history of providing excellent customer service and a high level of attention to detail.
- Ability to recognize and demonstrate sensitivity to team members’ personal situations.
- Demonstrated knowledge of employee benefit, wellness, and compensation program designs to meet the needs of a globally dispersed workforce.
- A historically demonstrated ability to maintain confidential information.
- Ability to train, coach, lead, inspire, and supervise one or more direct reports.
- Strong analytical, mathematical and problem-solving skills, effective organizational and interpersonal skills, strong written and verbal communication.
- Excellent time management skills and attention to detail.
- Project management skills including the ability to create and execute plans within established deadlines.
- Proven track record of successfully managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced work environment.
- Strong organizational skills paired with strong process-orientation (able to develop / implement systems).
- Strong analytical skills and a thorough knowledge of compensation and benefit plan designs.
- Ability to exercise sound judgment and maintain composure in stressful situations.
- A proven ability to originate, maintain and audit records.
- Ability to understand, evaluate and make judgment on proposals (RFPs).
- Ability to understand how to leverage benefit, wellness, and compensation programs to align with industry duty of care best practices.
- Proven experience and intermediate skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, and Google Suites, as well as project management tools.
- Demonstrated knowledge of compensation and benefit plan design global and local.
- Experience with compliance programs.
- Experience with UltiPro, or comparable HRIS, human resources information system.
- Experience in the healthcare industry, nonprofits and or international NGOs is preferred.
ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING: As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient, and relevant to the communities they serve – we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.
Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders
Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work.
We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: People Operations Team Senior Advisor
ACCOUNTABILITY
REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Director of Total Rewards
WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: People Team departments, Corporate Finance; Regional Directors and Country Teams
Success Factors
The successful team member will be an avid learner, self-directed, innovative and action orientated.
Furthermore, they must have the ability to work independently, employ effective time management skills, handle frequent interruptions, and shift priorities, exhibit effective customer service skills and work effectively with a wide variety of individuals including team members based overseas.
They will have the ability to work onsite and collaborate with team members, deliver compelling designs within the guidelines of specific project objectives, and interact professionally and productively with HQ and other global staff.
Additionally, the individual will thrive in a fast-paced environment prone to rapid change and be willing to increase his/her responsibility level in the assigned areas.
The most successful Mercy Corps team members have a positive approach, a strong commitment to teamwork and personal accountability, and the ability to be flexible and ensure effective communication is a priority in all situations.
Living / Environmental Conditions
This position is based where Mercy Corps has a registered office. It requires minimal international travel in support of Mercy Corps programs, though up to 10% travel domestically can be expected. This position may be asked to travel on occasion with little notice.
Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/STA 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 always and in all in-country venues.
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 based on 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.
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.
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