Position: Africa Talent Lead

Reports to: Executive Director, Head of Talent

Location: Kigali, Rwanda

Coordinates with: Centers of Excellence, Global Conservation, Africa and Regional HR, Regional Directors, Country Directors

About Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS):

WCS stands for wildlife and wild places. As the world’s premier wildlife conservation organization, WCS has a long track record of achieving innovative, impactful results at scale. We run programs spanning the entire ocean and over 3 million square miles of biologically crucial areas in nearly 60 countries. We build on a unique foundation: Our reach is global; we discover through best-in-class science; we protect through work on the ground with local and Indigenous people; we inspire through our world-class zoos, aquarium, and education programs; and we leverage our resources through partnerships and powerful policy influence. Our 4,000 diverse, passionately committed team members in New York City and around the world work collectively to achieve our conservation mission.

The Opportunity:

This role will be responsible for designing and driving Talent strategies and practices that support the steep growth trajectory of the Regions we operate in across Africa and see to the successful scaling of people practices to enable our talent to thrive. The Africa Talent Lead will report to the Executive Director, Head of Talent, Center of Excellence (CoE) within Human Resources and will work closely with our three Regional Directors in Africa and the Africa Human Resources department. Leveraging depth of expertise in attracting, selecting, engaging, developing and retaining high-impact talent while also developing the next generation of conservationists, will be key to success in the role. This position will also be responsible for overseeing consistent organization-wide talent practices across the three Regions in Africa. This is a great opportunity for someone who is passionate about supporting the growth, engagement and development of a diversity of talent united by the WCS mission to save wildlife and wild places.

Primary Responsibilities:

This position’s responsibilities will include but not be limited to:

• Meet regularly with Africa-based leadership to assess talent development and learning needs; implement and refine existing practices where appropriate and develop customized solutions where needed (may include creating development programs to support succession of key roles, internship, and/or mentoring programs for select talent in Africa).
• Partner with Africa and Regional HR leadership to design a strategy around hiring key niche positions and establishing pipelines, where needed.
• Oversee the implementation of consistent organization-wide Talent Acquisition practices in Africa by partnering with the Regional HR leadership to embed; includes training where needed (e-learning, virtual, and in-person instructor-led training (ILT)).
• Lead the development of a targeted approach to identify, develop and support next generation conservation leaders in Africa, partnering with Talent CoE and the Learning and Leadership for Conservation team for support (may include but is not limited to leveraging relationships with external organizations, and determining positions for broader growth and development for key talent).
• Partner with the Talent CoE to design targeted functional curriculum to support scope and breadth of key roles (e.g., technical roles, protected area managers, country directors, etc.).
• Co-develop a dedicated and customized Onboarding process and support implementation through the Regional HR leadership, for new senior leaders in Africa, and develop a New Hire Integration program across Africa aligned with the institution-wide best practices.
• Oversee the implementation of organization-wide Talent Management processes and practices through the Africa and Regional HR leadership (e.g., performance management, succession planning, development planning, etc.)
• Partner with Africa and Regional HR leadership to support embedding WCS Leadership Principles across leadership ranks in Africa.

Qualification Requirements

• Master’s degree in human resources, I/O Psychology or a related field preferred
• Experience in Talent Management, Talent Acquisition and Learning & Development functions in a large or rapidly growing organization, preferably in Africa.
• Significant experience building and fostering effective engaging working relationships to consult/influence/inspire action and change with multiple stakeholders in a fast-paced matrixed environment
• Previous experience creating strong partnerships HR Business Partner in large HR functions
• Proven track record of managing senior to mid-career level Talent Acquisition
• Demonstrated agility and creativity in problem solving collaboratively. Includes ability to generate insights from data, diagnose issues, and drive action plans for continuous improvement
• A good listener who persuasively conveys observations and recommendations
• Fluent in French and English
• Strong proficiency in MS Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint
• Committed to the mission of the Wildlife Conservation Society

Preferred Qualifications:

• Familiarity with Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS)
• Experience in a global role

Workplace Conditions and Environment:

• Periodic need to work overlapping hours with teams located in different time zones
• Travel to our three different Regions within Africa, where needed

WCS is an equal opportunity employer, and the organization complies with all employment and labor laws and regulations that prohibit discrimination in hiring and ensures that candidates from all backgrounds are fairly and consistently considered during the recruitment process. We are dedicated to hiring and engaging a diverse workforce. We are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment and look for future team members who share that same value. The organization provides equal employment opportunities for all qualified candidates. The organization does not discriminate for employment based on gender, race/ethnicity, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship status, caste, genetic information or any other covered status or characteristic protected by laws and regulations/and similar categories.

It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that we do not tolerate discrimination or harassment based upon a person’s membership in one of these protected categories in areas such as recruitment, selection, job assignment, supervision, training, promotions, job grading, transfers, termination, compensation, benefits, educational opportunities, WCS sponsored recreational activities and facilities.

The organization complies with the spirit and intent of relevant local laws and WCS’s employment policies.