Organizational Context 

The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is ministry of the Society of Jesus, acting as an international non-governmental organisation with a mission to accompany, serve, and advocate for the rights of refugees and forcibly displaced people., that they may heal, learn and determine their own future in community. The organisation was founded in November 1980 and now has a presence in 58 countries, providing services in the field of education, reconciliation, livelihood activities and psychosocial support. The style of JRS service is human and spiritual, working in situations of greatest need, seeking the long-term well-being of refugees and displaced people while not neglecting their immediate or urgent needs. 
Currently, almost 1 million individuals are direct beneficiaries of JRS projects. 

Local operations, organised in functional and sustainable Country Offices, are at the heart of JRS’s work. They ensure needs-based interventions and accompaniment rooted in close engagement with forcibly displaced migrants and refugees.  

Global support for Country operations is delivered through the Virtual Global Office (VGO): seven offices in different locations, whose staff work as globally coordinated teams with shared priorities, clear mandates and a common operational focus. The Rome office is the largest and hosts the VGO’s coordination functions.  

The VGO is structured around five global functions: Global Management of Operations (GMO), Global Resource Mobilisation (GRM), Global Mission-Oriented Transformation (MGT), Global Strategic Leadership (GSL), and Global Management Support (GMS). 

The  Global Management of Operations (GMO) function supports the development of country office operational plans and budgets, consolidates and analyses them at global level, and helps identify and address risks and opportunities across operational, financial, legal, safeguarding, reputational, hr and other relevant areas. It also contributes to operational improvement, organisational development, and capacity strengthening initiatives across the organisation.  

In cases of management emergency, GMO may intervene directly in operations, to support risk mitigation, and the return to standard management arrangements.  

Purpose of the Role 

The GMO - Specialist – Human Resources supports and quality-assures HR planning, workforce management, and capacity/performance monitoring across a Country Office (CO) portfolio. As the first-line HR interface between COs and GMO, the role ensures HR risk patterns are identified early, minimum standards are upheld, and targeted accompaniment is deployed to priority COs when required.  

The role is focused mainly on Countries in the Eastern and Southern Africa Region (ESAR), and might also include providing ad hoc HR support to countries in other French speaking JRS Regions, ensuring timely and effective assistance in response to evolving HR needs, operational priorities, and emergency situations. 

The line manager for this position is the ESAR Regional Director, and the technical supervisor is the Global Management of Operation Human Resources - Senior Officer.  

Key responsibilities  

The following list is not intended to be exhaustive but outlines the main responsibilities of the HR Specialist: 

  1. Country Planning & Performance Monitoring 

  • Monitor HR Minimum Standards across Country Offices and providing technical guidance and support to Country Directors and Country Office HR teams.  

  • Oversee emerging HR risks and trends, ensuring timely recommendations and escalation to the Regional Director and the GMO leadership. Oversee Country Office HR diagnostic assessments, consolidate and analyse regional HR data to support planning, performance monitoring and governance discussions. 

  • Deliver HR planning guidance to CO Management; review staffing budgets, and ensure that recruitment, contract  and wellbeing cost  are realistically budgeted. 

  • Produce country HR performance reports and contribute workforce indicator to IMS dashboards 

  1. Country Support & Risk Management 

  • Provide direct HR support in implementing agreed HR risk mitigation actions and  ensuring appropriate HR  compliance,. 

  • Deliver HR capacity-building to CO Management; conduct training on HR systems, compliance, performance and wellbeing management. 

  • In collaboration with the Country Office HR function and management team, develop an HR action plan, monitoring process  and escalate persistent HR risks or issues. Provide technical  HR dimension of organizational transition processes, ensuring that HR risks, compliance requirements, safeguarding considerations, and employee wellbeing impacts are appropriately assessed and managed.   

  1. Crisis Preparedness & Response 

  • Contribute to early HR warning mechanisms and define  critical leadership vacancies, performance issues, safeguarding incidents, or staff wellbeing deterioration. 

  • Define HR surge functions required for each emergency type; ensure surge roles are trained in emergency HR management; support COs in developing HR emergency response plans, including emergency contracts, rapid recruitment procedures, and wellbeing provisions. 

  • Advise on HR cost assumptions for reserve fund sizing, including emergency staffing and surge deployment costs; provide HR surge support during crises, managing emergency recruitment, staff safety, wellbeing, and safeguarding continuity. 

  1. Organisational Development 

  • Support CO adoption of HR tools and systems and contribute to HR policy development (with relevant inputs and contextual data), , in coordination with the Global Management Support HR . 

  • Evaluation & learning — Contribute HR indicators to evaluation frameworks and participate in learning reviews to strengthen HR management quality. 

  • Contribute HR performance indicators to the GMO evaluation framework, and participate in evaluations and learning reviews, providing HR management improvements, 

Travel 

  • The position may require travel to JRS locations. 

Qualifications and competencies 

  • Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Social Sciences, or a related field, with a minimum of seven (7) years of relevant professional experience in delivering HR business services; or a Master's degree/specialization in a relevant field with a minimum of five (5) years of relevant professional experience.  

  • Demonstrated ability to work proactively and independently, as well as collaboratively within a team environment.  

  • Strong interpersonal, communication, and relationship-management skills, with the ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with stakeholders from diverse cultural and national backgrounds at all organizational levels.  

  • Demonstrated integrity and a high level of discretion in handling confidential and sensitive information.  

  • Commitment to knowledge sharing and contributing to a culture of continuous learning and collaboration across the organization.  

  • Good organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver high-quality results with attention to detail.  

  • Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills. 

  • Previous field-based experience is required. 

  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications; experience with Microsoft 365 tools is highly desirable.  

  • Professional proficiency in both written and spoken English and French is required. Portuguese language is an asset 

  • Candidates must have the legal right to work in the country where the position is based at the time of application. JRS is not able to provide visa sponsorship or work permit support for this position. 

 

Core values and ethics 

  • Commitment to JRS’s mission, vision and values; ability to convey with enthusiasm JRS’s role in accompanying and serving forcibly displaced people and to advocate for their right to protection and a life in dignity. 

  • High integrity, honesty and confidentiality; ability to deal tactfully and discreetly with people, situations and information. 

  • Acceptance of diversity and inclusion as a core value. 

 

Terms and Conditions  

Type of contact:  Fixed Term Contract 

Starting date: as soon as possible 

Location: Nairobi, Kenya 

Full time position 

How to apply 

All applicants are requested to submit the following documents: 

  • A cover letter describing the candidate’s desire and motivation to work for JRS and how her/his qualifications and experience are a good fit for this position 

  • Curriculum Vitae (CV) in English, including two (2) professional references with contact information, phone and email address. 

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. 

Thank you for your interest in joining JRS 

  

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