Job Description

ABOUT VILLAGEREACH

VillageReach transforms health care delivery to reach everyone. We are driven by a vision of a world where every person has the health care they need to thrive. VillageReach’s goal is to reduce inequities in access to quality primary health care for 350 million people by 2030. We work with governments, the private sector, partners, and communities to build responsive primary health care systems that deliver health products, information, and services to the most under-reached. As a locally driven and globally connected organization, VillageReach has offices in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, and the United States.

The People & Culture Manager, DRC, leads the country People & Culture function, providing strategic and operational support across talent management, employee relations, performance management, safeguarding, and HR operations. As a member of the Country Senior Management Team (SMT), the role guides people and organizational matters, ensuring compliance with labor laws and organizational standards while fostering an engaged, inclusive, and high-performing workforce. The position reports directly to the Country Director and has a matrix reporting relationship to the Director, People & Culture

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities listed below are representative of the role and may be modified or expanded based on organizational needs.

People & Culture Partnership & Workforce Support

• Support the implementation of People & Culture strategies, initiatives, and workforce plans aligned with country program and organizational priorities.
• Serve as a key People & Culture partner to managers, guiding employee relations, performance management, workforce planning, and policy interpretation.
• Participate in Country Senior Management Team meetings and provide input on people-related matters and workforce risks.
• Support organizational change initiatives and promote a positive, inclusive, and accountable workplace culture.

Talent Acquisition & Employee Lifecycle Management

• Manage end-to-end recruitment processes, including workforce planning, sourcing, selection, onboarding, and employee transitions.
• Coordinate onboarding activities to ensure new employees are successfully integrated into the organization.
• Support employee development and talent retention initiatives, including career growth and succession planning activities.

Employee Relations & Culture

• Advise and support managers on employee relations matters, including performance concerns, disciplinary actions, conflict resolution, and workplace investigations.
• Coordinate employee engagement and wellbeing initiatives that strengthen morale, inclusion, and staff retention.
• Promote organizational values and contribute to a positive employee experience across the country program.

Performance Management & Learning

• Coordinate performance management processes and support managers in goal setting, performance reviews, and performance improvement planning.
• Identify learning and development needs and facilitate training and capacity-building opportunities for staff.

Safeguarding, Compliance & Risk Management

• Support the implementation of safeguarding and PSEA policies and assist in the management of safeguarding and employee misconduct concerns.
• Ensure compliance with DRC labor laws, organizational policies, and HR procedures.

HR Operations, Compensation & Benefits

• Oversee day-to-day HR operations, including contracts, personnel files, leave administration, employee records, and HR systems.
• Coordinate payroll inputs, benefits administration, and employee lifecycle transactions to ensure accuracy and compliance.
• Support compensation and benefits reviews and assist with the implementation of approved changes.

• Build and maintain productive relationships with external stakeholders, including labor authorities, service providers, and recruitment partners.

Team Support

• Provide day-to-day guidance and support to People & Culture staff as applicable.
• Contribute to building an efficient, responsive, and service-oriented People & Culture function.

Competencies:

VillageReach has ten (10) Organizational Competencies that describe how we work together and get things done, grouped into three strategic areas: Achieving Great Results, Setting Direction, and Bringing Others With You. For a full description, please download our Organizational Competency document.

Achieving Great Results

1. Risk Taking and Innovation

· Key Behaviors Comfort with ambiguity, curiosity, adaptability, unconstrained and undeterred creativity, resourcefulness.

2. Business Judgment

· Key Behaviors: Getting to root causes, understanding the environment, navigating complexity and ambiguity, and entrepreneurial energy.

3. Building Strong Teams

· Key Behaviors: Trust in Subject Matter Experts (SME’s); radical candor to resolve conflict, hold each other accountable as colleagues, focused on results, commitment to mission.

Setting Direction:

4. Compelling Communication

· Key Behaviors: Clear and evidence-based communication, audience adaptability, curious listener.

5. Resilient Self-Leadership

· Key Behaviors: Self-aware, plan how one shows up, emotionally intelligent, use one’s own agency, and take accountability.

6. Stewardship and Personal Alignment

· Key Behaviors: Take ownership, display ethical conduct, be effective at resource management, align personal objectives with organizational goals and mission, focus on continuous improvement and sustainability.

Bringing Others with You:

7. Influencing Leadership

· Key Behaviors: Cultivate trust, influence to make change, navigate the matrix structure.

8. Radical Partnership

· Key Behaviors: Share information and credit, address conflict, increase impact through collaboration, and political and contextual awareness.

9. Cultivates a Growth Mindset

· Key Behaviors: Seek out diverse input, demonstrate flexibility in thinking and curiosity, embrace challenges, demonstrate persistence, seek learning opportunities.

10. Cultural Intelligence and Inclusion

· Key Behaviors: Continuous learning and allyship across cultural lines, challenge prejudice and bias, modeled in one’s own behavior.

Requirements

To perform this job successfully, an individual must satisfactorily perform each essential duty. The requirements listed below represent the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

This position directly supervises the People & Culture Officer. It provides leadership, guidance, coaching, and performance oversight to support the effective delivery of People & Culture functions within the DRC country program.

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Management, Business Administration, Industrial Relations, Organizational Development, Psychology, Law, or a related field required. Master’s degree will be strongly preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible Human Resources experience, including experience in employee relations, talent management, performance management, compliance, and HR operations
• Supervisory or people management experience preferred
• Demonstrated experience working in NGO, humanitarian, international development, or donor-funded environments strongly preferred
• Experience supporting safeguarding, workplace investigations, and PSEA-related matters preferred
• Strong knowledge of the Democratic Republic of Congo labor law and HR compliance practices required
• Experience operating in complex, multicultural, and geographically dispersed environments preferred
• Fluency in French required; professional working proficiency in English strongly preferred
• Equivalent combination of education, specialized training, certifications, and relevant experience may be considered instead of some formal education requirements

Other Qualifications:

· Established cultural competency in partnering with racial, cultural, and linguistically diverse groups.

· Demonstrated understanding of challenges with working in rural, underserved, and low-income contexts; experience living in and/or working in a low-income country is a plus.

· Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Excel) and comfortable in a fast-paced technical environment.

· Experience working in NGO, humanitarian, public health, or donor-funded environments preferred

· Strong interpersonal, communication, and stakeholder management skills required

· Demonstrated ability to manage sensitive and confidential matters with sound judgment and professionalism required

· Ability to travel within the DRC as operationally required preferred

· Membership in a recognized Human Resources professional association is considered an asset

Environment and Physical Demands:

VillageReach employees typically work in a shared, open environment, with task and conference rooms available for privacy and meetings. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet. Due to time zone differences across our USA, Kenya, and Country Offices, and the location of other global staff, we have established core collaboration hours between 6 am Pacific Time and 18:00 South Africa Time (GMT+1) Monday through Thursday. All staff, regardless of location, are expected to be available between these hours. During Daylight Saving Time, this allows for 12 hours per week (3 hours/day) of collaboration time, and during Standard Time, 8 hours (2 hours/day). We do not hold cross-office meetings on Friday.

• The position is primarily office-based, with approximately 70–80% of the time spent sitting and working on a computer, participating in meetings, and reviewing documentation
• Approximately 20–30% of the time may involve standing, walking, travel to field locations, and participation in operational or staff engagement activities
• Regular use of a computer, telephone, and other standard office equipment is required
• Ability to travel domestically within the Democratic Republic of Congo, including to remote or challenging field locations, may be required
• Must be able to occasionally lift and carry materials or equipment weighing up to 10 kilograms (22 pounds)
• Specific vision abilities required include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus for computer and document-based work
• The role may require working in fast-paced, dynamic, and high-pressure environments with frequent interruptions and competing priorities
• The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to challenging working conditions associated with field travel, including variable infrastructure, security considerations, and limited resources in certain operational areas
• Flexibility to work outside standard business hours when operational needs require is expected

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY & INCLUSION:

VillageReach is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer committed to workforce diversity. We believe that diverse, equitably weighted perspectives foster an organizational capacity to create novel solutions that improve health in the most under-reached and hard-to-reach areas. To align our values, innovations, and impact, VillageReach is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse global workforce.

APPLICATION INFORMATION:

This is an immediate hire, and therefore, resumes will be reviewed on a rolling basis until August 31, 2026. To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter via our online portal at http://www.villagereach.org/join-us/ In your cover letter, please address (1) why you are interested in this position, (2) what one reason you think you’d be a good fit for this position, and (3)what one strength you would bring to this position.

Hiring Process:

The hiring process will include the following steps:

1. Review submitted applications

2. Conduct 20-30 minute screening interviews for shortlisted candidates

3. Conduct skills and value-based interviews for 3-5 candidates.

4. Request that top candidates submit a practical assessment (designed to take no more than two hours to complete). Sometimes the assignment will occur before the interview.

5. Conduct final interview if necessary

6. Request references

7. Make an offer

8. Conduct a background check

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted, but candidates who proceed to step 2 will be notified if they are not chosen for step 3.

Safeguarding:

VillageReach is committed to promoting the welfare of children, young people, adults, and beneficiaries with whom it engages. We expect everyone working with us to share this commitment through our code of conduct.All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which may include criminal records. VillageReach participates in the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme and, in line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By applying, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.

Benefits

Compensation & Benefits:

VillageReach has an established compensation structure based on the relevant market and is internally transparent. We hire people into the established range based on their experience and education, and considering internal equity. We do not inquire about salary history. Please refer to our compensation overview on our website for more information on compensation and employee benefits.