Director, People & Culture

ABOUT THOUSAND CURRENTS

For almost four decades, Thousand Currents has been working to resource grassroots groups and social movements. We believe that frontline communities are most effective at solving the complex and systemic challenges the world faces. We support these groups in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean by providing financial and other resources in ways that honor their leadership, right to self-determination, and transformative solutions. We also organize, educate, and influence other donors to practice solidarity-based philanthropy for systems change.

Our team includes close to 40 talented individuals, working in a fully remote environment across 15 different countries, with just over half our staff based in the US.

POSITION OVERVIEW

Thousand Currents seeks a Director of People & Culture to support our team through its next stage of growth, while navigating an uncertain context. Having doubled our budget and staff size in recent years, and with a team that is spread across multiple geographies and timezones, the Director of People & Culture must be a creative, justice-oriented, forward thinker who can imagine and build systems that cultivate organizational practices that forge a solid foundation for continuous learning, joy and growth toward excellence in advancing our mission.

The Director of People & Culture is a full-time, exempt position, reporting to the Vice President of Operations, with dotted-line reporting to the President & CEO and supervising the new role of Manager, People & Culture.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Leadership & Strategy (25%)

• Collaboratively assess people & organization strengthening needs and define a strategy to meet them that aligns to organizational strategy and values
• Provide leadership and direction to ensure compliance with employment-related laws and regulations, guide management and employee actions accordingly and mitigate risks
• Define annual workplan priorities and budget, ensuring regular budget monitoring and defining and tracking select organizational/human resource metrics
• Serve as a thought partner to the VP of Operations oriented toward continuous improvement in the organization’s policies, processes, and practices related to people and culture
• Maintain knowledge of industry trends and best practices in people & talent and organizational strengthening, including regular engagement with peers in the field
• Proactively advise the Executive Team on critical People & Culture matters

Recruitment, On- and Off-boarding (20%)

• Collaborate with the Executive Team and hiring managers to assess current and likely future staffing requirements
• Oversee development of role descriptions with hiring managers and appropriate placement (subject to Executive Team approval) on the organizational salary scale
• Develop strategies to identify talent and ensure robust and equitable talent recruitment processes
• Support and mentor hiring managers to effectively play their role in recruitment and hiring processes
• Conduct general HR onboarding and orientation for new employees.
• Ensure standardized, effective onboarding and orientation practices that effectively orient new staff to critical elements of organizational culture, process and programs, gathering periodic feedback to inform continuous learning and improvement in onboarding
• Support Executive Team members to maintain and update staffing contingency and succession planning to further organizational resilience through planned and unplanned changes
• Oversee, and conduct as appropriate, exit interviews; analyze offboarding data to surface learnings and recommendations to the organization

Staff growth and learning (20%)

• Serve as a partner for supervisors, supporting them in carrying out their responsibilities on personnel matters and enabling supervision that is generative, consistent, clear and rooted in authentic relationships and thoughtful navigation of power and difference, aligned with Thousand Currents’ management charter
• Work with supervisors to assess organizational and any team-specific needs and assist with identifying professional learning and growth opportunities
• Monitor and assess the effectiveness of training and professional development programs utilized by staff
• Facilitate ongoing strengthening of feedback culture and mechanisms as well as conflict resolution; providing coaching and support opportunities as needed
• Oversee and regularly assess and improve performance management processes that facilitate ongoing constructive feedback, and performance improvement plans as needed, ensuring cross-organizational consistency
• Assess and advance employee engagement and satisfaction, including by proactively engaging employees to improve working relationships, build morale, and support retention.
• Identify emerging problems or areas of misalignment in the organization, developing responses in coordination with the Vice President of Operations

HR Policies & Compensation (15%)

• Communicate and administer HR policies and procedures, providing relevant training and supports to staff
• Manage and resolve complex employee relations issues; where applicable, conduct investigations in ways aligned with organizational policy and values
• Ensure Thousand Currents maintains effective compensation and benefits plans, proposing adjustments, as necessary, and administering a consistent, equitable and progressive compensation approach that is aligned with organizational values and budget
• Support negotiation of appropriate benefits packages that account for the geographically dispersed nature of Thousand Currents’ staff and manage relationships with benefits brokers and related vendors
• Serve as point-of-contact for complex HR policy and practice questions
• Oversee HR administration and maximize implementation of the human resources information system (HRIS)

Staff management, development and support (10%)

• Attract, develop, coach, and retain high-performance People & Culture team members, supporting them to elevate their level of responsibility, span of control, and performance
• Promote a positive organizational culture of continuous learning, experimentation and improvement
• Thoughtfully navigate power differentials, inviting feedback and practicing self-awareness
• Clearly communicate expectations and delegation of roles, decision-making processes
• Effectively support flow of information from the team to the organization and the organization to the team
• Model and facilitate practices of care and support for realistic workloads
• Foster a collaborative, aligned, and joyful work environment

Organization-Wide Activities & Administrative Efficiency (10%)

• Show up fully for organizational activities, including staff meetings, retreats and trainings
• Enable appropriate information-sharing and work collaboratively with colleagues as necessary for cross program activities and functions;
• Pitch in when needed for organization-wide activities, such as the Thousand Currents Academy, annual events, fundraising drives, etc.
• Manage regular personal administration, including timely submission of receipts, reimbursement requests, scheduling, travel planning, filing HR paperwork etc.

Note: Thousand Currents is committed to responding flexibly to changing circumstances and priorities which means that the expectations of every position are dynamic. This description reflects the assignment of essential functions, but does not proscribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Demonstrated lived and professional alignment with Thousand Currents’ values and mission, including a strong commitment to racial, gender, class, social and/or environmental justice and equity.
• Ten or more years of relevant, comparable professional experience including a track record of experience as an HR professional aligning HR good practice with organizational values. SHRM certification is considered an asset.
• Demonstrated creative systems builder/thinker with experience supporting and developing HR initiatives for staff working virtually and located in diverse contexts and timezones.
• Highly approachable, with demonstrated experience building respectful relationships across diverse identities and cultures and engaging in collaborative problem solving.
• Attuned people manager, able to leverage individuals’ strengths and foster a culture of collaboration and accountability
• Skilled at using technology and other resources for remote/virtual work and culture strengthening.
• Able to travel internationally - approximately 2 weeks/year - and work occasional irregular hours to accommodate staff time zones.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: The physical demands of this position are light with the expectation that the staff person can exert up to 20 lbs. of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 lbs. of force frequently, and/or a negligible amount of force constantly to move objects. Light work usually requires walking or standing to a significant degree. Physical demands are in excess of those of sedentary work. The position requires frequent computer use at a workstation. All staff must be able to travel to meetings at locations nationally and internationally and maintenance of a valid passport is required. Thousand Currents will make reasonable accommodations in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This job description and its physical requirements will be reviewed periodically as duties and responsibilities change with business necessity. Essential and marginal job functions are subject to modification.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY: Thousand Currents is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage and seek applications from women, people of color, and bilingual and bicultural individuals, as well as members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. Applicants shall not be discriminated against because of race, religion, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, color, marital status, or medical condition including acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related conditions.