Organizational Context

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, with a network of 192-member National Societies. The overall aim of the IFRC is “to inspire, encourage, facilitate, and promote at all times all forms of humanitarian activities by National Societies with a view to preventing and alleviating human suffering and thereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of human dignity and peace in the world.” The IFRC works to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people before, during and after disasters, health emergencies and other crises.

The IFRC is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (Movement), together with its member National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The work of the IFRC is guided by the following fundamental principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality.

The IFRC is led by its Secretary General, and has its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The Headquarters are organized into three main Divisions: (i) National Society Development and Operations Coordination; (ii) Global Relations, Humanitarian Diplomacy and Digitalization; and (iii) Management Policy, Strategy and Corporate Services.

The IFRC has five regional offices in Africa, Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, Europe, and the Americas. The IFRC also has country delegations throughout the world. Together, the Geneva Headquarters and the field structure (regional, cluster and country) comprise the IFRC Secretariat.

This position is in the Human Resources Department of Panama and reports directly to the Senior Human Resources Business Partner for Panama.

Job Purpose

The Human Resources Officer’s role is responsible for the delivery of excellent customer service in HR in the delivery of services to staff, including National Societies under service agreements in the following functional areas: talent acquisition; employee relations consultation; policy interpretation and application, performance and talent management consultation.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

Talent Acquisition

•  Support line managers with registering new positions on HRIS
•  Review new or revised job descriptions and refer to the Job Classification Committee
•  Prepare budgets and salary calculations for new positions
•  Manage the full recruitment cycle (posting vacancies within and outside the organization, shortlisting, administering behavioral and written assignments, schedule and conduct interviews and background checks)
•  Prepare employment offers and contracts
•  Conduct new employee enrolment on HRIS and IFRC email Administration
•  Conduct new employee onboarding and inboarding

Talent Management

•  Conduct workforce planning meetings with managers and report outcomes in order to anticipate their HR implications and budget.
•  Work proactively with managers to identify staff performance gaps and relevant development needs, and suggest appropriate training and development plans.
•  Advise staff on professional development and growth opportunities.
•  Liaise with the HRA to address compensation and benefits related staff queries.
•  Liaise with the HRBP –Talent Development in the delivery of Learning and Development and Performance Management processes and deliverables.
•  Maintain in-depth knowledge of Panama labour laws and all internal HR policies and guidelines related to day-today support to employees.
•  Coordinate briefings and debriefings with the hiring unit by facilitating completion of administrative arrival and departure related formalities.
•  Conduct employee outplacement for employee separations.

Customer Experience Management

•  Serve as the Service Champion for assigned portfolios and provide excellent service to all stakeholders.
•  Be proficient in all HR tools and policies to better provide guidance and services to our stakeholders.
•  Act as a single HR contact point for managers and staff of the assigned department(s).
•  Follow-up with HRA on employee engagement activities and initiatives such as milestones, birthday celebrations, anniversaries, retirements, etc for assigned portfolio.
•  Develop and implement check-in points with new hires to measure the success rate of the in/onboarding programme and to identify gaps with recommended solutions.
•  Facilitate the offboarding process including exit interviews to identify service gaps and opportunities for improvement.
•  Contribute to client HR strategies to support programs and operations and to ensure the timely provision of HR solutions to meet anticipated challenges.
•  Guide and support staff in all d365 queries to maximize the use of human resources systems.

National Society Capacity Building

•  Act as an HR resource and deploy to the field for emergency response operations.
•  Provide support in case of major emergencies by coordinating speedy deployment of emergency staff in cooperation with the Disaster and Crisis Management dept.
•  Provide the National Societies and PNS’ with HR technical support and advice on all HR related matters.

Education

University Degree in Human Resources Management, Business Administration, or relevant area. (required)

Certificate in Project Management (preferred)

Experience

REQUIRED

5+ years of professional HR Generalist working experience

Demonstrated HR professional experience in an international, matrix organization (INGO, NGO, corporate sector)

5+ years e experience on OD, recruitment, and selection, change management

5+ years’ experience with business partnering performance and talent management

PREFERRED

RC/RC, Movement or other humanitarian field working experience

Knowledge, Skills and Languages

REQUIRED

Excellent customer service skills

Demonstrated mentoring, consulting, and coaching skills

Excellent written and interpersonal communication skills

Ability to work in a cross-cultural and cross functional environment

Availability to work outside normal working hours, e.g. weekends if necessary

Ability to travel within the Americas Region when required

Ability to work towards tight deadlines and handle multiple tasks

Excellent organization and planning skills

Well-developed networking and relationship management abilities

Excellent influencing skills

Fluent spoken and written English

Fluent spoken and written Spanish

PREFERRED

Good command of another IFRC official language (French) or a language relevant in the region or country of assignment (i.e., Portuguese)

Competencies, Values and Comments

VALUES: Respect for diversity; Integrity; Professionalism; Accountability

CORE COMPETENCIES: Communication; Collaboration and Teamwork; Judgement and Decision Making; National Societies and Customer Relations; Creativity and Innovation; Building Trust