Human Resources Manager MERLIN Kenya/Somalia

Job Description
Position: Human Resources Manager
Programme: Kenya and Somalia
Responsible To:  Country Director(s)
Responsible For: HR and Administration team
Location: Nairobi, Kenya with frequent trips to field sites in Kenya and flexible 
travel to Somalia field sites
Contract Duration: 2 Years
Starting Date:  ASAP
Salary:  Ksh200-250,000 per month (dependant on relevant experience),                                
Benefits:Insurance cover, housing allowance at 15%, annual leave entitlement of  24 days per annum 

Merlin Undaunted and determined, Merlin saves lives. We deliver medical expertise to the toughest
places. And we stay to help build lasting health care.
Our mission is to end the needless loss of life in the poorest countries caused by a lack of effective
health care. We help communities set up medical services for the long term including hospitals,
clinics, surgeries and training for nurses and other health workers.
We do whatever it takes and we stay for as long as it takes.
Context and Background
Merlin has been working in Kenya since 1998 and currently runs programmes in two regions of the
country – the Nyanza Province in the Western Highlands and Turkana in Northern Kenya – in
partnership with the Ministry of Health. In Turkana, Merlin offers essential primary health and
nutrition services to the drought affected population. Merlin supports 72 outreach sites, 66 clinics,
10 health centres and 5 hospitals. Because of the area's high maternal mortality rate, Merlin also
provides maternal health services to improve safe motherhood. In Nyanza province, Merlin has been
supporting the Ministry of Health in the provision of HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria preventative and
curative services.
Main purpose of the role
To be responsible for establishing and providing professional and effective human resource services
as part of the Country Management Team for both Somalia and Kenya.

Overall Objectives (scope)
 Responsible to manage the recruitment process for all  national staff within Somalia and
Kenya;
 Provide specific advice and guidance to managers and employees on a variety of HR issues
including employee relations issues;Merlin Job Description 2
 Design, develop and implement HR policies and procedures for national staff to ensure legal
compliance and best practice within Somalia and Kenya;
 Assist international staff to understand and comply with international HR policies and
procedures.  Lead specific HR projects and initiatives in line with the country strategies;
 Ensure HR information systems, processes and filing procedures are established maintained
and developed;
 Directly manage a small team of staff while advising on the human resource needs of all
locations.
Responsibilities
Recruitment and Selection
 To co-ordinate and support all aspects of the recruitment and selection process of national
staff.
 Specific responsibilities include job description development, recruitment planning,
advertising and short-listing, selection interviews and tests, job offers, salary calculations
and issuing contracts.      
 To keep updated with relevant new recruitment sources and propose improvements to
processes and selection tools to ensure that the recruitment process meets current and
future programme needs.
 To work closely with the Country Management Team, HR colleagues in the programme and
Head Office to ensure a coordinated approach to recruitment planning & activity, assessing
staffing requirements, ensuring effective forward planning and awareness of available staff
resources to fill vacancies, and reviewing the most appropriate and cost effective way to
recruit to posts .
 To coach and train all staff involved in recruitment on best practice and equal
opportunities.
     Management and Organisation
 Together with the Country Director, to provide advice on the management of all staff
ensuring a clear understanding and implementation of Merlin Policies, Procedures and the
Employment Laws of the country.
 Regularly update the Country Management Team on Human Resource statutory
requirements, including tax laws and ensure that Merlin’s status in country fulfils these
requirements.
 Liaise with external parties (i.e. specialist advisors, other NGOs) on compliance issues
related to Merlin’s operations in country (including work permits).
 Line manage the Human Resource and administration team; ensure that line managers are
clear about their responsibilities in ensuring that Merlin’s Code of Conduct is adhered to by
staff, and support the implementation of appropriate action by line managers in the event
of non-compliance.
 Ensure that line managers conduct performance appraisals and set objectives regularly and
on time and that exit interviews take place for all staff.
 Manage the HR Department budget and ensure expenditures are within budget and in
compliance with established financial standards.
     Policy and Advice
 Develop and monitor Human Resources strategies into country projects and Merlin’s overall
mission and operational strategy.
 Establish and maintain robust and effective Human Resource management and
administrative systems.
 Develop and manage the communication, implementation, monitoring and review of all
Human Resource policies and procedures for national staff, ensuring they consider localMerlin Job Description 3
cultural norms, and gender issues, and that all relevant documentation is translated into
appropriate languages.
 Ensure understanding of and compliance with international HR policies and procedures by
all international staff.
 Provide advice and guidance to line managers within the country programme on all aspects
of employment and staff related issues.
 Conduct regular field trips to project offices to monitor and review Human Resource and
administrative procedures and assist project staff, where appropriate.
 Advise and coach staff at all levels on issues related to performance management, legal
compliance, disciplinary procedure, grievance procedure with the goal of building
knowledge and capacity among staff to improve employee relations and enhance job
performance and productivity.
 Manage national staff welfare policies including health insurance, group life insurance,
personal and accident cover ensuring that they are appropriate and cost effective.
     Learning and Development
 Develop a programme-wide Learning and Development policy, in collaboration with the
Country Management Team and the Learning and Development team in Head Office.
 Identify the learning and development needs of programme staff and, where appropriate,
provide tailored training and support within programme budget constraints.
 Work with line managers to develop and deliver an annual Learning and Development Plan
based on identified learning needs, with support and advice where necessary from the
Learning and Development Team in Head Office.
 Liaise with Learning and Development in Head Office to update line managers with
information and advise on staff development.
 Evaluate and assess the impact of learning initiatives and activities.
     Systems & Projects
 In coordination with the Country Director, lead on specific HR projects, e.g. salary reviews
ensuring that these are fair, reasonable and competitive, policy and procedures reviews,
staff surveys and training & development needs analysis.
 Attend and participate in relevant inter-agency coordination meetings.
 Ensure implementation and ongoing management and regular monitoring of tracking
systems for timesheets, annual leave and R&R entitlements, return flights, travel permits
and work authorizations for all international staff.
 Monitor the maintenance of monthly leave schedules, ensuring appropriate levels of cover
at all times through effective annual leave planning and allocation.
 Ensure accurate maintenance of timesheets for all sites.
 Develop, implement, and maintain an effective HR database and reporting system.
 Oversee the maintenance of an effective HR filing system, with proper files maintained for
each staff member, both manually and electronically.
 Manage the preparation of the staff payroll and the timely disbursement of salaries or other
employee benefits.
 Maintain the monthly expatriate movement schedule as well as the expatriate and staff
salary coding schedules for onward transmission to Head Office.
 Ensure the smooth and timely dissemination of information and advice on queries related to
human resource and administration (internally and externally).
Person Specification
Essential
Qualifications, experience and competences
 Degree or higher qualifications in Human Resources Management or equivalent by
experienceMerlin Job Description 4
 Strong knowledge and understanding of international HR practices and issues
 Strong experience of working for an International Non Governmental Organisation (INGO) in
the capacity of Human Resource Manager
 Experience of providing an HR service to a multi-site operation
 Strong experience of providing a broad range of high quality HR policy advice (including
disciplinary and grievance) to managers and staff
 Strong experience of managing and undertaking a high quality recruitment process
 Strong communication skills, with excellent written and spoken English
 Confident and proficient in the use of MS Office
 Experience of establishing strong working relationships with colleagues from different
functions and cultures
 Experience of a flexible approach to managing and prioritising a high workload  and
multiple tasks in a fast paced environment with tight deadlines
 Experience of proactively identifying and addressing issues
 An understanding of and commitment to Merlin’s mission and values
 Experience with Somalia
 Swahili fluency
Desirable
Qualifications, experience and competences
 Experience of having worked in insecure environments
 Experience of staff management
 Knowledge of health sector Human Resource management issues
 Experience of designing and delivering training
To apply for this position
To apply for this job, please send CV and letter of motivation to recruitment@merlin-kenya.org. by
latest 5.00 pm Tuesday 30
th
October 2012
Only short-listed applicants will be contacted.  Due to the urgency of this position, applications
will be short listed on a regular basis and we may offer this post before the closing date.
Data Protection
Please note that in accordance with the 1998 Data Protection Act, Merlin will hold and use personal
information that you have given for the purpose of recruitment and employment. This information
can be stored in manual and/or electronic form. This information may also be disclosed to third
parties in accordance with the Data Protection Act.  In cases where a job offer is conditional on
ensuring that potential employees’ names do not appear on counter terrorism lists generated by
the United Nations, European Union or the United States due to donor funding requirements, Merlin
will use the information that you have given for checking that your name does not appear on these
lists.