Reports to: Human Resources Manager
Location: Cairo, Egypt
Purpose of the position
The Senior HR Business Partner serves as the primary point of contact for HR operations for the assigned country offices in the region. The position supports the entire HR lifecycle covering recruitment, onboarding, learning and development, and staff engagement initiatives and exit while ensuring that ICARDA’s HR policies are consistently applied in compliance with the local labor laws.
The HR BP works directly with the HR Manager providing a bridge between the regional framework combined with local operational needs, providing strategic and operational support to staff in the region.
About ICARDA
The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) is a treaty-based international non-profit research organization supported by CGIAR.
ICARDA’s mission is to reduce poverty, enhance food, water, and nutritional security, as well as environmental health in the face of global challenges including climate change. We do this through innovative science, strategic partnerships, linking research to development and capacity development that take into account gender equality and the role of youth in transforming the dry areas. ICARDA works in partnership with governments, universities, civil society, national agricultural research organization, other CGIAR Research Centers, and the private sector. With its temporary Headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, ICARDA operates in regional and country offices across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. For more information: www.icarda.org.
Main responsibilities
- Serve as a HR policy advisor to managers and senior leadership for people-related decisions.
- Build partnerships with internal and external stakeholders including government offices, service providers, and other CGIAR centers for policy alignment and operational efficiency.
- Support continuous process improvement and policy implementation initiatives as directed by the HR leadership team.
- Coordinate payroll inputs with Finance, manage HR data, and ensure confidentiality of personnel records.
- Generate HR reports for management, including People Reports and workforce analytics for planning and budgeting.
- Collaborate with HR and other department managers to address and resolve workspace and employee relations issues.
- Conduct exit interviews and ensure smooth completion of separation formalities.
- Administer and implement HR policies, ensuring consistency with ICARDA’s global framework and compliance with local employment legislation for the assigned region.
- Regularly review and update HR policies to remain relevant and context appropriate.
- Act as the local custodian of ICARDA’s Code of Conduct, Compensation & Benefits, Diversity & Inclusion, and staff engagement policies.
- Lead end to end recruitments for nationally recruited staff positions and short-term appointments ensuring transparent and competitive selection.
- Coordinate comprehensive onboarding and induction program for new staff and refreshers for existing employees.
- Promote a positive workplace culture by maintaining continuous communication with staff and organizing engagement workshops.
- Partner with HR Manager to identify and implement learning and development initiatives based on local needs.
- Administer performance management support to supervisors, ensuring timely and fair evaluation processes.
- Support the HR Manager with annual training needs identification and lead L&D initiatives for the region.
- Develop country level learning plans and coordinate delivery of training and development initiatives.
Requirements
Education, qualifications, and experience
- Master’s degree in Human Resource Management, Personnel Management, Industrial Psychology, or a related field.
- Minimum of 10 years of relevant HR experience, preferably within a shared services or regional HR structure.
- Proven experience working closely with senior management and department heads on HR strategy and policy implementation.
- Demonstrated experience in managing employee relations cases.
- Strong knowledge of labor laws and policy interpretation.
- Experience working in an international, multicultural, and multidisciplinary environment.
- Excellent stakeholder engagement, interpersonal, and communication skills.
- Excellent written and spoken English.
- Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- High level of integrity with a demonstrated ability to maintain confidentiality.
- Excellent report-writing skills.
- Proficiency in HRIS and ERP systems (e.g., Oracle, SAP, Workday, or similar), with strong data management and reporting capabilities.
Benefits
Terms of appointment, salary, and benefits
This is a nationally recruited position open for Egyptian nationals for which ICARDA offers an attractive compensation package including a competitive salary, medical insurance, 30 days of annual leave, five months’ maternity leave, 15 days’ paternity leave. The successful candidate will be offered an initial contract of 3 years, renewable subject to continued need for the position and satisfactory performance. The first three months will be a probationary period.
Please be advised that ICARDA accepts applications only in English, as per the organization's standard communication language. Applications in other languages will not be considered.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.