Regional HR Advisory Lead (MENA)

Job Description

Role Purpose

• The HR Advisory function focuses on the legally and culturally compliant execution of people plans and provides practical advice to the business as well as assistance in planning and implementation of activities that flow from the strategic capabilities.
• This role will work closely with the Business Partnering function to advise on and implement relevant strategic HR initiatives within the region, including current Organisational Development programmes.
• It will ensure proactive management and mitigation of legal and operational risk relating to Human Resources including adherence and advice on policies and processes.
• The role will support HR Business Partners and Business Leaders with advice and decision making on areas related to the Organisational Developmentprogrammes

Main Accountabilities:
Leadership & management

• Provides HR input to the development of business strategy across the region. Works in partnership with business partners to support management to identify the people implications of strategic and business growth plans across defined organizational areas.
• Has a formal role in supporting the development of wider regional HR strategy within the region
• Provides formal line management to a small-medium-sized Advisory unit, involved in providing expertise, advice and specialist support. Team members are geographically dispersed.

Relationship & stakeholder management

• Manage the relationship with the business stakeholders and develop an in-depth knowledge of the business by understanding its financial position, short, midrange and long-term plans and the culture being driven. Influence other HR colleagues to align and enhance integrated services that would achieve the business goals/vision.
• Manage the relationship with relevant Centres of Expertiseresources to ensure consistent use of frameworks and processes.
• Engage with business stakeholders to ensure appropriate application and utilization of Centres of Expertiseand other HR services
• Builds a network of internal sponsors and supporters to help influence decision-making

Consultancy, analysis & problem-solving

• Applies advanced HR functional knowledge to solve a range of complex business issues across the region
• Devises non-standard and/or bespoke analytical approaches to understand complex problems and enable informed business-planning, decision-making and/or the development of new or improved policies and practice during this time of change.
• Deploys a range of specialist HR or bespoke approaches relevant to support the provision of high-quality services and advice
• Working with HR Business Partnersto provide support and advice to managers and aid them with planning during a period of major changes and culture change.

Functional expertise

• Provides expert professional advice, support and challenge to internal customers and other stakeholders to support the development of high quality, effective and continuously improving business practices within HR.
• Ensures that HR Business Partners, Operations/Shared Services Centreand business, are appropriately informed of changes in policy/practice/compliance and any legal updates
• Leads negotiations and management of any reviews of terms and conditions of work for locally engaged staff and provide advice to Country Directors on a range of issues in their dealings with local staff representatives.
• Leads the HR Advisory function on country-specific consultations across the region to support the businesses through Organisational Development programmes
• Collaborates with Centres of Expertise, Operations/Shared Services Centreand HR Business Partners to ensure the delivery of the people agenda through HR project management of people initiatives implementation at a country and regional level
• Provides regional support, with Employee RelationsLead, to the businesses and Centres of Expertisein managing complex casework and oversight and monitoring of all discipline and conduct related issues, ensuring compliance, compiling regular reports and analysis.

Service improvement

• Makes technical/professional recommendations which have a measurable impact on local business performance (e.g. in terms of efficiency, quality, reliability, mitigation of risk, productivity, profitability or customer satisfaction)
• Actively champions and monitors staff compliance with the agreed corporate policies and practices relevant to their area of functional expertise. Investigates reasons for non-compliance.
• Gathering and consolidating of benefit cost data to inform the analysis and evaluation the total costs of benefits offerings and recommendations to support improvement
• Provides intelligence on HR service gaps to HR Business Partners, Operations/Shared Services Centre, Centre of Expertiseand support the implementation of solutions
• Provides detail analytics at regional and country level to inform business and HR Business Partnersso they translate into business-driven people initiatives.

Job Requirements

About You (essential requirements for the role):

• Considerable experience of working in HR at a senior level
• Demonstrable experience of delivering the people element of large-scale change programmes involving significant culture change across a dispersed organisation
• Demonstrable strong experience of liasing with legal firms and Centre of Expertise, in particular Employee Relations
• Experience in an international environment
• Team management experience, including virtual teams

Desirable requirements

• HR qualification (MA/MSC or CIPD or equivalent)
• Knowledge of two or more of the following area
• Talent Management
• Learning and Development
• Reward
• Staff Engagemen
• Performance Managemen
• Recruitment
• Excellent commercial acumen and understanding of business strategy and practices