About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible.In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps has been operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since August 2007, with a staff of approximately 400 people working in Eastern DRC. Mercy Corps’ national office is in Goma with sub-field offices in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri provinces. Mercy Corps’ key programming areas include a combination of longer-term development and immediate humanitarian response programs in order to: 1) Improve water service delivery and ensuring equitable access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene services, in urban and rural areas; 2) Improve food security and nutrition; 3) Promote diversified livelihoods, economic recovery and development. Mercy Corps DRC’s humanitarian programs aim specifically to assist populations affected by the conflict and crisis in Eastern Congo with multi-purpose cash assistance and emergency WASH support to displaced and host populations. Mercy Corps is also currently responding the unfolding Ebola epidemic in North Kivu and Ituri Provinces. The current annual budget includes resources from DFID, USAID, ECHO, UN-donors, Government of Netherlands, OFDA, FFP, SDC and others.

General Position Summary

The Recruitment Specialist is a high-energy leader who is an exceptional relationship builder, strategic planner, and holder of the recruitment philosophy for Mercy Corps DRC.  The Recruitment Specialist leads the Recruitment team in identifying exceptional talent to advance Mercy Corps’ DRC mission.  The Recruitment Specialist works with key internal stakeholders to anticipate and plan for upcoming people needs, manage full cycle recruitment by designing and implementing effective recruitment strategies, building collaborative internal relationships and effective external networks.  This position also works with the broad DRC team to strengthen their capacity to source, attract and select in-country talent.

Essential Job Responsibilities

STRATEGY

• Lead the restructure and redesign of the national recruitment process in DRC
• Ensure that controls are put in place to allow for transparent and unbiased recruitment processes and systems
• Utilise data analysis to track and ensure progress on active recruitment and upcoming talent needs.
• Partner with Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and other DRC leaders to anticipate future talent needs and proactively take action in advance of needs.
• Keep up to date on trends in talent acquisition, particularly in the humanitarian aid sector.
• Create recruitment strategy to attract and retain senior national talent with diversity focus.
• Develop a Gender, Diversity and Inclusion (GDI) recruitment strategy of national team members and track progress of gender balance in national team utilising hiring data.
• Identify areas of opportunity to strengthen recruitment function and proactively offer recommendations to hiring teams including working with hiring managers to ensure Position Descriptions (PD) and recruitment process is adapted to take into consideration the GDI strategy.

TALENT ACQUISITION

• Take ownership for building and maintaining productive partnerships with SMT and other Sr. leaders on future and current talent needs.
• Create internal and external talent pools for Mercy Corps DRC senior national roles through proactive sourcing and headhunting.
• Provide responsive, high-quality service to candidates with additional care for internal or former team members.
• Expand the capacity of hiring teams to identify talent via improved interview skills and ability to specify critical needs.
• Execute full lifecycle talent acquisition activities for multiple disciplines and levels positions.
• Pivot focus as needed to support rapid growth or surge in international recruitment for Africa.
• Develop tools that support national recruitment processes aligned with global MC practices with focus on transparency and diversity, and consistent with local labor context.

COLLABORATION & NETWORKING

• Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with talent sources in the DRC including technical networks, thought leaders, academic institutions.
• Assist in promoting Mercy Corps as an employer of choice by attending events, promoting through social media, job boards and developing talent communities.
• Build effective partnerships with internal stakeholders to support current needs and develop plans for future needs.
• Collaborate with all members of the Global talent team to promote continuous improvement and foster information/idea sharing.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

• Develop the capacity of the team, deepen understanding of their roles and assist with career development.
• Assist team members with information, tools and resources to improve performance & reach objectives.
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one on ones and performance reviews.
• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
• Hire, orient and lead team members as necessary.

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 Community Partners

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Supervisory Responsibility : 4 direct reports

Accountability

Reports Directly To: HR/Administration Director

Works Directly With: HR & Admin Team, Global Talent Acquisition team, People and Strategy Team, Country Director, and in-country Recruitment Teams, Regional Program Team, Senior Leadership Team.

Knowledge and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in human resources, business administration, social science or relevant field experience.
• 5+ years of experience with recruitment/talent acquisition.
• Advanced experience with successful sourcing strategies for globally representative and diverse candidates.
• Demonstrated experience and ability to create, implement, maintain and improve recruitment strategies and systems in a high-volume context.
• Proficiency in MS Office, internet searching, and applicant tracking systems and use of social media for sourcing talent.
• Demonstrated understanding of staffing and talent planning in international relief and development environments.
• Ability to communicate, influence and problem solve effectively across diverse cultures and geographical distances with sensitivity.
• Fluency in French and English required.

Success Factors

The successful individual will develop and maintain productive professional relationships with a broad spectrum of stakeholders within the organization and throughout the relief and development community.  S/he will possess the ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks simultaneously, while remaining focused on the quality of internal and external relationships and will be able to work effectively as the leader of a high pressure function whose performance is key to the enduring success of Mercy Corps DRC.  S/he will be flexible, resilient, possess sound judgment and have a good sense of humor.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

This position is based in Goma, DRC and unaccompanied.

Travel up to 20%

The position is based in Goma, DRC and it requires travels to various locations within North and South Kivu. While conditions in the country are improving, there are still pockets of violence and insecurity and petty crime is present. Mercy Corps’ offices experience variable levels of insecurity, with the situation closely monitored by UN peacekeepers. Years of conflict and corruption have badly damaged the country’s infrastructure. Air travel is necessary to get from one end of the country to the other. Mobile phones and cellular service are widely available. Internet is limited, but available in all Mercy Corps’ offices. Travel to field sites will be required where living conditions are clean and secure, but basic. There are a number of health services available with several evacuation options for serious illnesses. There is reasonable access to most consumer goods.

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside 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.

Fostering a diverse and open workplace is an important part of Mercy Corps’ vision.  Mercy Corps is an Equal Opportunity Employer regardless of background. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment.