Director of People & Culture

The Vacancy

Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) is a faith-based humanitarian relief and development organisation working to save and transform the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable people.  Established in 1984, with an active presence in over 45 countries, we strive to make the world a better and fairer place for those affected by poverty, conflict and natural disasters. 

IRW is recruiting for the position of ‘Director of People & Culture' to join its dynamic People and Culture Division based in its offices in Birmingham, UK. The organisation is operating to hybrid working model.

The purpose of the role is to:

•   Deliver a focused HR service to provide strategic direction and leadership to support the organisation-wide HR planning and implementation of policies and procedures to ensure that the overall organisational objectives are achieved. 

•   Strengthen IRW’s relations with the wider community to consolidate and develop the visibility and image of the organisation. 

•   Facilitate professional and systematic communication and cooperation between the different parts of the IRW family to ensure maximum impact of the organisation’s work. 

•   Lead on the development, implementation and regular review of the divisional strategy, policies & procedures, processes, work plans and systems to achieve the agreed divisional objectives. 

•   Lead, manage and develop staff in order to ensure that the divisional is capable of fully achieving its agreed targets, and to provide HR specialist and strategic advice to partners as and when required.

The successful candidate must have or be:

•   CIPD membership at Chartered or Fellow level or equivalent experience

•   Sound understanding of UK employment law is essential

•   Sound understanding and proven experience of HR processes, including but not limited to, change management, organisational development, ER case work, resourcing, compensation and benefits, policy development

•   Proven experience of HR business partnering and substantial skills and experience of HR management at a senior level within in a large organisation

•   A good understanding, commitment and sympathy with Islamic Relief’s Values, principles and mission

•   Proven ability and experience in people and activity management as well as delegating roles and authority in a way in which enables teams to reach their targets/objectives

•   Proven experience of developing and implementing strategies and work plans which help to deliver the wider organisational objectives

•   Ability to guide staff development towards achieving key performance indicators

•   Demonstrable experience in consultative team approaches to decision-making and innovation which motivates and drives teams forward

•   Proven ability and experience in analysing data which enables sound conclusions and recommendations to be drawn to work in a way which always considers long-term goals whilst maintaining an overview of its immediate situation

•   Track record of working in partnership with senior leadership teams, based on a coaching approach

• Up-to-date knowledge of current employment legislation, awareness of forthcoming employment legislation

•   High level of competence in all aspects of managing employee relations

•   Sound financial and time management which enables strategic goals to be achieved within budgetary constraints

•   Ability and motivation to travel within UK and internationally if required

For more information, please click on the Documents tab above to view the full Job Description.

If you are talented, reliable, service-minded, resilient and a highly motivated professional looking for a meaningful career, with a strong commitment to IRW’s mission and values of sincerity, excellence, compassion, social justice and custodianship, please apply by completing our online application form.

For more information on the excellent company benefits we offer our employees, please visit our website.

Pre-employment Checks:

Any employment with Islamic Relief will be subject to the following checks:

• screening clearance
• proof of eligibility to live and work within the UK
• receipt of satisfactory references
• This post is classed as Social Media Profile Level One (Senior Ambassador) under IRW’s Personal Social Media Policy. The postholder must disclose their social media accounts and must represent IRW in an acceptable way online, in accordance with the policy.

Please note, for UK-based roles, we are only able to accept applications from candidates who are eligible to work in the UK. We are unable to progress applications which would require sponsorship.

Our values and commitment to safeguarding

IRW is committed to preventing any type of unwanted behaviour at work including sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, lack of integrity and financial misconduct; and committed to promoting the welfare of children, young people, adults and beneficiaries with whom IRW engages. IRW expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment through our code of conduct. We place a high priority on ensuring that only those who share and demonstrate our values are recruited to work for us.

The post holder will undertake the appropriate level of training and is responsible for ensuring that they understand and work within the safeguarding policies of the organisation.

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which can include criminal records checks. IRW also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme.

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 submitting an application, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures.

Islamic Relief is an equal opportunities employer