Regional People & Capability Adviser

Main purpose of job:

The Regional People & Capability Adviser, is part of a team that works strategically to implement a geographic HR plan in the region, under the guidance of a Grade 7 Regional People & Capability Lead, with direction from Senior HRBPs based in the UK.

This role works closely with a portfolio of Heads of Missions and their leadership teams, to understand the learning, inclusion and leadership needs of their Posts.

You will be a trusted partner on building capability and supporting change delivery, and a key access point into HR. The understanding gained from these close relationships will provide crucial insights to help guide central HR policy engagement with the overseas network, helping to identify early interventions to support Posts’ learning and inclusion priorities.

This is an important role, both within HR and for overseas clients, working with the wider Regional People and Capability Team and S/HRBPs in HQ to broker HR’s relationship with the network, supporting them to manage change well and providing solutions to learning and inclusion needs. You will work closely with the central HR Business Partnering team, giving you a direct line into HR policy teams and FCDO leadership.

Roles and responsibilities:

We all have a responsibility to embrace the changes of the FCDO as it transforms, building the culture we want to see and delivering our cultural statement in how we lead and behave towards others; how we make decisions and how we get the job done is everyone’s responsibility.

In this role you will also be responsible for:

• Delivering for a portfolio of specific overseas posts, working alongside HRBPs and Regional People and Capability Lead (line manager/team leader)
• Partner strategically with senior stakeholders and team leaders at specific Posts across the region to understand what People and Capability support they need and bringing together a plan to provide it
• Using proximity to Posts to generate insights to inform future HR support
• Identifying opportunities for continuous improvement within the portfolio of posts
• Helping Posts develop strategic learning outcomes, providing relevant solutions to meet those outcomes, drawing on all relevant resources (internal and external) and where appropriate, partnering with HR colleagues to ensure alignment across the region on HR policy
• Being a key stakeholder for central HQ HR, helping to embed policy changes and advising on impactful policy engagement in the network
• Facilitating learning and inclusion sessions both virtually and face-to-face, across a number of topic areas to support global, regional and local Post needs
• Encourage leaders to role model the importance of learning, including applying the 70-20-10 theory, to be less reliant on formal learning and foster a culture of learning whilst doing the job
• Empower and support Posts to develop and lead their own L&D and inclusion strategies, signposting to relevant resources, and promote the benefits of coaching and mentoring to build capability
• Focus on building ‘communities of practice’ across Posts and within the region, to ensure peer to peer ongoing learning and sharing best practice on inclusion and tackling BHD
• Provide 1:1 coaching and mentoring support where appropriate in support of change leadership, signposting to central HR resources and support and the wider government learning offer, to meet specific needs
• Evaluate the impact of our work across the region, engaging with our Business Intelligence team to ensure all learning is evaluated, based on outcomes, and maintain accurate management information and data

The Regional People & Capability Adviser will be responsible for supporting the changes of the FCDO as it continues to transform, building the organisational culture we want to see and delivering our cultural statement in how we lead, how we behave towards others, how we make decisions and how we get the job done

Essential qualifications, skills and experience:

• Bachelors degree in Social Science, Organisational Development or Learning and Development
• Certifications in Change Management (ProSci), Mediation and Conflict Management Experience in developing and delivering Leadership development and Line Management programmes

We are looking for someone with the ability to:

• Get to know and quickly understand how the FCDO operates, its priorities, direction and the needs of our overseas network
• Generate insight from data and evidence - use and apply evidence to support business cases or strategic interventions, as well as providing insight
• Connect with curiosity, purpose and impact - ask the right questions, develop networks and understand where HR can identify opportunities to create the most value
• Lead with integrity, consideration and challenge - have the courage and confidence to challenge the business, its leaders and HR

We are also looking for candidates with:

• Regional Africa experience working strategically in Organisational Development, ideally in a partnering role
• Strong cultural awareness and sensitivity
• Experience of supporting and delivering change
• Experience with developing and facilitating learning sessions