ORGANISATION OVERVIEW

The Science for Africa Foundation is a non-profit, public charity organisation that supports strengthens and promotes science innovation in Africa. The goal of the SFA Foundation is to address the continent’s most pressing developmental needs by generating scientific knowledge that solves problems and informs decision-making.

We serve the African research ecosystem by funding excellent research and innovation ideas; enabling interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers, building and reinforcing environments that are conducive for scientists to thrive and producing quality research that generates new, locally relevant knowledge.

The SFA Foundation takes a holistic approach to the development of science. Our programmatic initiatives are crafted to cater to the entire science ecosystem and span across the value chain from early discovery sciences to translation sciences and target cross-cutting gaps.

Our commitment to strengthening the entire research ecosystem is reflected in the creation of major science and innovation programmes implemented through a well-established grant-making scheme, advocacy and promotion of scientific excellence, emphasis on intra-Africa collaboration and evidence-based policy-making mechanisms.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Senior Human Capital Officer will be tasked with supporting the Human Capital function to achieve the strategic people needs of the SFA Foundation. This involves leading talent management initiatives, enhancing staff performance, remuneration and reward supporting employee development, policy process and procedures review in line with compliance and best practice considerations and supporting organisational development initiatives including organisational design and change.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy Development & Implementation 

• Partner with the executive leadership, and Head of Human Capital & Business Support to support in the implementation of the SFA Foundation's short and long-term business strategy. 
• Enable effective support in the design and implementation of the People Strategy through fit-for-purpose annual human resources operating plans. 
• Provide initiative-taking advice and coaching to the Senior Leadership Team and Line Managers in the delivery of the functional people strategy. 
• Lead the organisation design and organization effectiveness imperatives through defined global processes and practices. 
• Assessing and implementing continuous improvements in Human Capital Policies and processes in line with global trends and emerging best practices for an agile organisation.

Talent Management 

• Partner with the Senior Leadership to identify, acquire, assess, and hire candidates to fill open positions including anticipated programmes/grants that are in the pipeline to ensure applications of JIT / future-ready technique on resourcing. 
• Ensure there is a talent pipeline - through the creation of success profiles, continuous review and extensive networking. 
• Lead the Employee life cycle strategy implementation; Acquisition, Onboarding, Engagement Development, Retention, and Offboarding.

Organisational Culture, Performance Management & Employee Engagement 

• Advise and support functional leadership to build a fun, challenging, and collaborative environment culture that is built on the values of the organization thus contributing to employee experience. 
• Build a high-performance culture that is strongly linked to the SFA Foundation's vision, mission, and core values. 
• Lead organizational change and coach Line Managers as well as their teams to navigate different change initiatives for organisational relevance, impact, and sustainability. 
• Respond to complex relations matters escalated by staff including handling disciplinary and grievance matters. 
• Undertake periodic HR dipsticks/pulse surveys and an annual employee engagement survey.

Policies, Processes, Systems & Administration 

• Assist in the development, review, and communication of human capital policies as well as processes and procedures, ensuring compliance with employment law and alignment with global best practices. 
• Manage the staff database ensuring the accuracy of staff data at all times. 
• Work with the Chief Operating Officer, Head of Human Capital, and ICT Manager in working on the implementation of digital solutions including – HRIS, Intranet, LMS and optimization of current Document Management System etc. 
• Participate in job evaluation reviews.

Learning & Development 

• Develop and implement learning strategies, designs e-learning courses, and manage budgets.

Reward and Remuneration 

• Evaluate and report on the effectiveness of employee benefit programs. 
• Track compensation and benefits benchmarking data 
• Assist in the design of rewards and programs that position the SFA Foundation as an employer of choice.

Human Capital / Business Support 

• Support the HR business process standardization initiatives and improvement by providing continuous feedback. 
• Support programmes on delivery of grants, due diligence as part of grantee selection .
• Provide support in the preparation for HR audits and subsequent action plans while safeguarding employee data in line with SFA Foundations' legal, risk, compliance & data privacy standards. 
• Take responsibility for the departmental risk register ensuring it is always up to date. 
• Undertake specific HR-related projects with the HR team as appropriate. 
• Support in the annual budgeting cycle. 
• Participate in various unit / departmental meetings fostering HR Business Partnerships. 
• Prepare periodic reports for the executive and the board.

PERSON SPECIFICATIONS

Academic Qualifications 

• A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Management or HR-related field from a recognized university. 
• A master’s degree will be an added advantage.

Professional Qualifications 

• A professional qualification in Human Resource Management – HND / CHRP 
• A member of the Institute of Human Resource Management (IHRM) 

Experience 

• A minimum of seven (7) years of relevant experience. working in an NGO, international development sector, a consulting firm, education sector, funding agency etc 

Knowledge, Skills and Attributes 

• Must understand and demonstrate the Foundation’s values such as respect, accountability, excellence, diversity, and inclusion. 
• Must demonstrate the ability to pay attention to details. 
• Must demonstrate problem-solving, decision making and communication skills. 
• Must demonstrate ability to build strategic relationships mentor, and engage staff members and inspire credibility, and confidence and build consensus. 
• Must demonstrate ability to lead, supervise, plan, and organize work. 
• Must promote knowledge sharing and learning and embrace continuous learning and improvement. 
• Must have a high level of integrity and flexibility. 
• Must demonstrate a capacity to think strategically with expertise in complex problem solving, decision making, and critical thinking skills, display good judgment.

Leadership Competencies

Drive for results, organisational development, strong business acumen, project management and people engagement.

Key Result Areas 

• Talent Management (entire end-to-end cycle). 
• Successful implementation of quality control standards for services offered by the department. 
• Effective human resource compliance with legal requirements. 
• Timely submission of reports.

HOW TO APPLY

Should you meet the competencies above, please submit a cover letter and a current Curriculum Vitae not exceeding 5 pages including three professional referees to [email protected]

The cover letter should be no more than two pages long and explain why you are interested in this post and how your skills and experience make you a good fit. The documents should be saved in MS Word or PDF in the following format: Your First Name-Your Last Name-Document Name-Date (mmyy) e.g., DeusWan-CV-092022-SFA
Foundation or Deus-Wan-CoverLetter-092022-SFA Foundation.

THE DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS 5 JULY 2023

SFA Foundation has a commitment to safeguarding people and our environment and this forms part of our background checks.

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