Korn Ferry has partnered with our client on their search for the role, Chief People Officer.
Title: Chief People Officer
Functional Area: People & Culture
Reports to: Chief Operating Officer / CEO
Location: Flexible within two hours of GMT
Travel required: Yes – c.20%
ABOUT PLAN INTERNATIONAL
Plan International is an independent development and non-profit that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We believe in the power and potential of every child but know this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it is girls who are most affected.
Working together with children, young people, supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges girls and vulnerable children face. We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood and we enable children to prepare for and respond to crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.
For over 85 years, we have rallied other determined optimists to transform the lives of all children in more than 80 countries.
We won’t stop until we are all equal.
ROLE PURPOSE
The Chief People & Culture Officer is a senior organisational leader responsible for shaping and leading the people and culture agenda needed to deliver Plan International’s purpose, strategy and continued organisational evolution.
Reporting to the CEO/Chief Operating Officer, the Chief People & Culture Officer will lead the development and delivery of an integrated global People & Culture strategy, ensuring Plan International has the leadership, capabilities, culture and ways of working needed to deliver for children and young people, and particularly girls, in a rapidly changing development and humanitarian context.
In addition to leading the People & Culture agenda, the role will play a central leadership role in Plan International’s broader organisational transformation, helping to shape and drive enterprise-wide change and ensuring the people, organisation and culture dimensions of transformation are successfully delivered.
A core mandate will be to continue the transformation of People & Culture into one cohesive, high-performing global function that operates as a trusted strategic partner to the organisation, moving beyond transactional HR delivery to create greater organisational impact.
Working across Country Offices, Regional Hubs and the Global Hub, the role will strengthen organisational effectiveness, leadership and talent, and help shape a culture that is inclusive, values-led, collaborative and accountable.
DIMENSIONS OF THE ROLE
- Contributes to enterprise-wide strategic priorities, organisational transformation, organisational effectiveness and cross-functional decision-making.
- Leads the global People & Culture function, setting direction and enabling effective delivery across the Global Hub, Regional Hubs and Country Offices.
- Provides strategic leadership across organisational development, talent, leadership, reward, mobility, employee engagement and culture.
- Works closely with Regional Directors, Country Directors and senior leaders to ensure people priorities support organisational and programme needs.
- Leads and develops a globally distributed People & Culture team.
- Shapes and drives the people and organisational implications of strategic change, including evolving organisational models, localisation and humanitarian capability.
- Advises the CEO/Chief Operating Officer, senior leaders and governance bodies on organisational capability, workforce priorities and people-related risk.
- Operates across a complex international organisation with multiple entities, geographies and operating contexts.
- International travel of up to 20%.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
People & Culture strategy and leadership
- Lead the development and delivery of Plan International’s global People & Culture strategy, ensuring it is aligned with organisational strategy, priorities and future direction.
- Provide strategic advice, insight and constructive challenge to the CEO/Chief Operating Officer, leadership teams and senior leaders on people, organisational and workforce priorities.
- Ensure people and organisational considerations are embedded in strategic planning, organisational change and key decision-making.
- Lead the continued evolution of People & Culture Function into a strategic, high-impact and globally cohesive function, with clear accountabilities and strong partnership with the organisation.
- Bring external insight and emerging practice into Plan International, anticipating changes in the world of work and their implications for the organisation.
Organisation and workforce
- Build organisation-wide change capability and a consistent, practical approach to change that enables leaders and teams to successfully navigate transformation.
- Provide strategic leadership, driving organisational transformation, ensuring communication supports understanding, engagement and behaviour change.
- Shape organisational design, workforce planning and operating approaches that enable Plan International to be effective, sustainable and responsive to changing needs.
- Lead work to strengthen organisational capability and ensure the skills and capacity required to deliver development and humanitarian ambitions.
- Support the evolution of organisational structures and ways of working, balancing global coherence with different operating contexts.
- Strengthen workforce planning and deployment, enabling effective use of talent and capability across countries, regions and the Global Hub.
Leadership and talent
- Shape and strengthen Plan International’s approach to leadership, talent and succession, building the leadership capability needed now and for the future.
- Ensure effective approaches to talent identification, development, career progression and succession planning.
- Build an environment in which people can develop, contribute and perform at their best.
- Culture, engagement, change and strategic communications
- Shape and steward an inclusive, values-based organisational culture that supports collaboration, accountability and organisational effectiveness.
- Ensure the people and culture dimensions of organisational change are understood and actively led, supporting leaders and teams through periods of transition.
- Strengthen employee engagement and organisational listening, using insight to inform leadership action and continuous improvement.
- Champion inclusion and equity within workplace and people practices, aligned with Plan International’s values and purpose.
Reward, mobility and talent acquisition
- Provide strategic oversight of reward and recognition, supporting equitable, sustainable and market-informed practice across different contexts.
- Shape effective approaches to global mobility and talent deployment that respond to organisational and programme needs.
- Strengthen talent acquisition and employer positioning so Plan International can attract and retain the capabilities it needs.
- Drive continuous improvement and appropriate innovation across People & Culture practices, systems and processes.
KEY RELATIONSHIPS
- CEO/Chief Operating Officer (line manager)
- Senior leadership team
- Global P&C team in Global Hub, regions and countries
- Regional Directors and Country Directors
- Board and governance committees
TECHNICAL EXPERTISE, SKILLS, AND KNOWLEDGE
Essential
20+ senior leadership experience in People & Culture / Human Resources, driving large scale transformation within a complex international organisation.
Demonstrated experience shaping and delivering organisation-wide People & Culture strategies, leading significant organisational and enterprise-wide change, and translating strategy into practical priorities.
Strong expertise across organisational design, workforce planning, leadership and talent, succession, reward and employee engagement.
Proven ability to advise and influence senior leaders, bringing sound judgement, constructive challenge and a clear organisational perspective.
Demonstrated ability to work effectively with Boards and governance committees.
Experience working across different geographies, cultures and organisational contexts and building alignment where accountabilities and perspectives differ.
Strong leadership capability, with experience leading and developing diverse, distributed teams.
Strong communication, facilitation and influencing skills, with the ability to build trust and engage effectively at all levels.
Highly action-oriented and pragmatic, with the willingness to roll up their sleeves, personally drive critical outcomes and create pace, structure and momentum rather than simply providing strategic oversight.
Demonstrated commitment to inclusion, equity and values-led leadership.
Desirable
Experience in international development, humanitarian, NGO, UN or another purpose-led international organisation.
Understanding of the people and organisational challenges associated with humanitarian and development operations.
Experience of global mobility, international workforce models and/or talent deployment.
Experience working in an organisation with multiple legal entities, country operations and global functions.
PLAN INTERNATIONAL'S VALUES IN PRACTICE
We are open and accountable
We create a climate of trust inside and outside the organisation by being open, honest and transparent. We hold ourselves and others to account for the decisions we make and for our impact on others, while doing what we say we will do.
We strive for lasting impact
We strive to achieve significant and lasting impact on the lives of children and young people, and to secure equality for girls. We challenge ourselves to be bold, courageous, responsive, focused and innovative.
We work well together
We succeed by working effectively with others, inside and outside the organisation, including our sponsors and donors. We actively support our colleagues, helping them to achieve their goals. We come together to create and implement solutions in our teams, across Plan International, with children, girls, young people, communities and our partners.
We are inclusive and empowering
We respect all people, appreciate differences and challenge inequality in our programmes and our workplace. We support children, girls and young people to increase their confidence and to change their own lives. We empower our staff to give their best and develop their potential.
PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
This role is primarily office-based, involving desk work, meetings and computer use. Some flexibility around working hours may be needed to accommodate global time zones and project deadlines, and we are committed to supporting your wellbeing in how this is managed. Occasional international travel to Plan International offices and project sites is required.
LEVEL OF CONTACT WITH CHILDREN
Low contact: No contact or very low frequency of interaction
SE: 510818206