Senior HR Business Partner - Africa

RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic People and Culture Leadership & Governance

• Work with the Africa leadership team to lead the design and execution of a continent-wide People and Culture strategy aligned with Africa’s strategic objectives and global frameworks.
• Establish robust governance systems that meet global compliance requirements while accommodating complex regional labour laws.
• Drive the development and implementation of scalable People and Culture models that balance sustainability, delivery, and operational efficiency.
• Ensure plans and strategies align with CI's values and expected behaviours in workplace conduct,  inclusive and respectful work environments, and team culture.

Financial Governance & Workforce Budget Management

• Oversee regional workforce budgets, ensuring alignment with project funding cycles and donor expectations.
• Develop and govern cost-effective workforce planning approaches to manage talent investment within available resources.
• Provide oversight of payroll structures across multiple jurisdictions, ensuring equity and fiscal responsibility.
• Mitigate employment-related financial risks through strategic contract design, benefits planning, and severance modeling.

Executive Leadership Coaching & Talent Development

• Act as a trusted advisor to Africa’s executive team, providing high-value coaching, sounding-board support, and leadership counsel.
• Guide succession planning efforts for senior leadership to ensure long-term organisational continuity.
• Implement high-impact leadership development strategies tailored to regional and global requirements.

Organizational Design & Talent Strategy

• Shape and refine organisational archetypes to ensure structural alignment with strategic delivery and cost effectiveness.
• Lead senior-level talent acquisition, ensuring leadership quality and technical excellence.
• Drive agility in workforce structures to enable responsiveness to evolving business and conservation priorities.

Additional Responsibilities

• Align People and Culture functions with internal client service expectations and CI’s strategic objectives.
• Champion cross-functional collaboration and maintain key partnerships across CI divisions.
• Support programmatic and systems rollouts, providing strategic guidance on HR integration.
• Serve as a change leader to drive adaptation, innovation, and alignment with CI’s evolving global strategy.

People and Resource Management Responsibilities

• Manage a large, geographically distributed People and Culture team through three direct reports that oversee Africa’s sub-regions.
• Lead a team of approximately 10 HR professionals serving an FMU of more than 300 staff.
• Lead recruitment, performance management, and succession planning for the People and Culture team.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• This position follows a hybrid work structure, working some days from the office and some days remotely. Guidance will be shared during the interview process.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience, plus 10 or more years of Senior HR leadership experience at regional or global scale in a large organisation.
• 5 or more years of supervisory experience. 
• Experience with high-risk employee relations cases or investigation management experience.
• Demonstrated expertise in financial governance of people functions, workforce cost optimisation, and strategic planning.
• Proven success in executive coaching, talent management, and leadership pipeline development.
• Experience working within donor-funded organisational environments, aligning HR strategy and investments with project-driven funding models.
• In-depth knowledge of Africa’s employment regulations and labor market dynamics across multiple countries.
• Experience working across African countries and regions.
• Fluency in French, Portuguese, and other major African languages preferred.
• Deep alignment with and passion for CI’s mission and conservation objectives

Strategic Leadership & Organisational Development

• Proven ability to design and operationalise HR strategies across geographies.
• Deep understanding of designing and sustaining effective organizational structures.

Executive Stakeholder Engagement & Influence

• Ability to influence board-level and executive discussions to shape regional HR priorities.
• Skilled in cross-functional collaboration and aligning diverse leadership agendas.

Financial Governance & Risk Management

• Expertise in people-related financial planning, including budgeting, forecasting, and employment risk mitigation.
• Strong understanding of labor law compliance in multi-country contexts.

Talent Acquisition & Leadership Development

• Demonstrated ability to manage senior-level recruitment and succession planning.
• Track record of building leadership capacity through coaching and structured development.

Integrated Workforce Planning & DEI Strategy

• Proficient in building inclusive workforce plans that align with DEI principles.
• Experience customising diversity strategies for varied cultural environments.

Change Management

• Ability to lead organisational transformation initiatives with clarity and resilience

To apply for this position please submit a resume and cover letter.