Terms of Reference: Head of People & Culture (HR Manager)

Job Description  

The Global Buildings Performance Network (GBPN) is a globally and regionally focused non-government not-for-profit organisation. Our aim is to tackle the climate emergency by decarbonising one of the earth’s most significant carbon pollution sources – the building sector. We form powerful coalitions that bring together the right people in the right locations to deliver maximum impact. Working with government and industry through local experts and partners, we support building policy reforms that increase efficiency and drive down emissions. Together, we’re building a healthier, more sustainable world.

With team members located around the World in Indonesia, India, Australia, Africa and Europe, GBPN brings over 10 years of knowledge and innovation to sustainable building policy reform. With every project, governments leverage our intellectual capital, our experience, analysis, evidence and our network.

GBPN’s goal is to contribute to the building sector achieving its full energy savings and CO2 mitigation potential.  To do that, GBPN assists governments and industry to implement climate change actions in their building sectors that help achieve their commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Context & Reason for the Hire

As GBPN continues to scale, with ambitious growth plans involving a decentralised team structure and broader network, the requirement for a Head of People & Culture (HR Manager) has now been identified as we move into 2025 and beyond. 

While GBPN has made great strides in our People (HR) Priorities across the organisation in the last 12 months, through existing team members and consultants, it is now necessary to hire a HR professional to serve as a strategic partner to the organisation’s leadership team, aligning HR objectives with organisational goals. The successful candidate will be responsible for developing and implementing HR strategies, policies, and programs to support growth and people engagement.

GBPN is a people centred organisation – we care about the motivation and wellbeing of our people and teams. We foster and value an environment and relationships of trust. At GBPN we want our people to feel empowered and supported to achieve a shared mission. We are “Mission driven people working as committed teams of local experts, in for the long haul, with successful track-records in supporting policy reforms. … This is not a job, this is a calling for our people.

Scope of Work

You will provide management and leadership of the HR function to maintain our ‘stoke’. This includes providing advice and direction on workforce planning, resources, strategic and policy issues, and employee/consultant issues. You will provide expert professional advice to senior management in all areas of HR, including Employee Relations, Employment Law, Performance Management, Learning & Development, and HR Policy & best practice. You will champion a high-performance culture with a focus on successful outcomes to improve teamwork, communication, staff retention and engagement. You will provide leadership in developing change management programs in the organisation when required.  

The role requires a seasoned professional with at least 15 years of HR Management experience, across multiple geographies. You must have an understanding of the wide range of HR disciplines that would be expected in a HR generalist role of this nature. The successful candidate must also have the ability to build trusted relationships across various stakeholders in the organisation, ranging from the leadership team, to support functions, to project and operations teams.  The role requires a HR professional who is passionate about Employee Engagement & Culture and who understands that people are at the heart of a successful organisation. The successful candidate will be results-driven, with the ability to navigate complex challenges.

Key Responsibilities

• Initiatives and Impact
  • Responsible for collaborating with the Leadership Team to develop and then deliver on the People & Culture strategy.
  • Dedicated to fostering a high-impact performance culture and driving strategic initiatives to make an impact on the organisation’s goals.
  • Developing and implementing strategic organisational HR initiatives that support the company’s mission and vision.
  • The role is responsible for building and developing a best-in-class human resources function and team with the corresponding roles to support ambitious business growth and overall rewarding people´s experience. This includes designing a HR operating model suited to a federated organisation.
• HR Leadership
  • Ensure effective communication within the Shared Services Team, hire & develop and mentor HR staff and promote professional growth. 
  • At its core, this role acts as an internal consultant and trusted partner to the Head of Shared Services and the Leadership team on a range of high-priority People matters such as Strategic Workforce Planning, Performance Management, DEI, Health & Wellbeing to name but a few.
• Performance Management
  • Implement the organisation’s Performance Management framework and adapt it to suit the growing organisation. 
  • Ensure that a culture of high-impact-performance is maintained throughout the organisation, by championing goal setting and performance management. 
  • Enabling People Managers with the tools and resources they need to build solid relationships with their team members and so that they can manage and coach their teams for them to be successful in their roles.  
• Talent acquisition and development
  • Provide advice and guidance on the Recruitment Process to ensure only the highest calibre of suitably qualified candidates are hired. 
  • Ensure oversight of the Recruitment Process and activities carried out by the local offices. 
  • Ensure that all new team members are successfully onboarded to drive engagement and retention. 
  • Help to identify skills gaps and develop plans to address them. 
  • Foster a culture of continuous learning and development.
  • Support the organisation with its talent development strategy, focusing on identifying skills, succession planning and providing opportunities for high-performing individuals to grow in their roles.
• HR Technology
  • Support the selection, implementation and embedding of new HR Technology solutions and tools across the organisation, that will support the functionality and productivity of the HR systems, particularly recruitment & on-boarding, learning and development .
• Policy Implementation
  • Develop a set of Global HR Policies and Procedures, review those in place and implement them as a ‘one-GBPN Way’ to support a federated organisation structure, ensuring they are communicated effectively and consistently applied. 
  • Support the Local HR teams in developing appropriate Local HR Policies to suit local legislation. 
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
  • Strongly commits to Diversity and Inclusion by successfully navigating cross-cultural communication in both local and global contexts, and creating a workplace that is supportive of difference. 
  • DEI advocacy: Champion Diversity, Equity and Inclusion by driving and supporting the EDI Strategy.
• HR Administration and Compliance
  • Oversee HR Administration, including fee-based remuneration packages and payroll (through external and local experts), donor-sponsored benefits, HRIS management, and record-keeping, ensuring compliance with laws, regulations, and internal policies. 
  • Work with vendors or external experts in the sourcing of market rate data to determine salary, fee and benefits packages and therefore ensuring we are competitive in the market in order to attract top talent.
• HR Reporting and Communication
  • Create HR Metrics, provide updates on HR Projects, and raise issues or concerns.

Essential Qualifications

Skills and Experience

• Highly experienced HR Leader with 15+ year’s operating at a senior management / leadership level in an international HR Team. 
• Bachelor’s degree in HR or a business-related field. 
• Membership of a HR Professional body is desirable (For example, CIPD). 
• Experience in the Not-For-Profit sector would be advantageous.
• Strong knowledge of HR Best Practices. 
• Substantial and broad generalist HR experience. 
• Experience working in global, multi-offices, multi-cultural and agile environments, with a proven ability to lead a team of HR professionals. 
• Applied knowledge of HR Legislation in one or more jurisdictions. 
• Experience in driving high performance across an organisation. 
• Excellent communication, interpersonal and leadership skills. 
• Ability to build solid relationships in order to act with integrity as a trusted advisor across the organisation, and hold the right decision versus the easy decision. 
• Ability to think strategically and align HR initiatives with organisational goals and objectives.
• Ability to naturally seek to support both small projects and large strategic goals.
• Ability to handle sensitive & confidential information with discretion. 
• Experience in coaching and mentoring of other HR professionals. 
• Strong and creative Problem Solving and decision-making skills in changing needs and situations
• Proficiency in HR Software and MS Office.

Conditions and job circumstance

• Candidates should have the ability to work remotely with a suitable home office set up. 
• Ideally, the role should be based in a location to support time zones across the continent of Asia, however other locations will be considered.  
• The successful candidate must be fluent in English. 
• While the organisation prioritises the wellbeing of its team members, flexibility will be required at times, to support multiple time zones. 
• Occasional international travel may be required. 
• The candidate will have the ability to operate as an independent HR Consultant

Direct report

In this role you will be reporting to the Head of Shared Services of GBPN and be a member of the Management Team reporting to the Leadership Team and CEO.

How to Apply

Email proposals by 5 PM GMT on 23rd September 2024 to: careers@gbpn.org (include Head of People & Culture in the email subject line).

Please provide:

1. Your CV and a cover letter detailing qualifications to perform the role, including relevant experience, and description and/or links to similar assignments. The letter should also indicate your preferred start date and fee.
2. Your professional Bio (optional)
3. List of references and their contact details. 

– Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted

– The position will be filled as soon as a suitable final candidate is selected