Position Description

Expertise France Rwanda opened its permanent office in January 2025.
Given the rapid expansion of its activities, the creation of a Human Resources (HR) Unit has become necessary. Based in Kigali, the Senior Human Resources Officer will report directly to the Coordinator of Cross-Cutting Functions (CFT) within the Project Support Unit (PSU), which encompasses procurement, logistics, finance, and HR services needed for project implementation.

The Senior HR Officer's primary role is to oversee human resources management and support the establishment of the HR environment for the Expertise France Rwanda office, in accordance with HR best practices and internal procedures.

Expertise France currently uses a third-party employer for HR management and is now transitioning to becoming a direct employer, a process that will be overseen by the Senior HR Officer.

In coordination with the Human Resources Directorate and under the supervision of the Cross-Cutting Functions Coordinator, the Senior HR Officer will carry out the following duties:

Direct Employment Setup

• Support the implementation and monitoring of the legal analysis related to transitioning to direct employment, including employer obligations.
• Contribute to the planning and implementation of the transition from third-party employer to direct employment.
• Help develop HR tools for direct employment management (HR database, payroll, training tracking, etc.).
• Support the selection of a payroll service provider and the establishment of the monthly payroll process (validation, payments, cash flow forecasting).
• Contribute to drafting employment contract templates in coordination with HQ HR and local legal counsel.
• Handle administrative processes with local authorities (Labour Inspectorate, social security bodies, etc.).

Structuring the HR Unit

• Assist in developing the HR Handbook with tools and procedures aligned with internal rules and operational needs.
• Coordinate and monitor the outsourced salary benchmarking exercise.
• Support the analysis of potential evolutions of Expertise France’s social policy, including financial impact assessments.

Staff Recruitment

• Receive and process recruitment requests and necessary information to post job openings.
• Publish job advertisements on the Expertise France website and on Job in Rwanda.
• Ensure the recruitment tracking tool is updated by hiring managers.
• Centralize all information and documents related to contract preparation, monitoring, and signing.
• Follow up on all contractual steps with the third-party employer (offer letters, contracts, insurance, payroll, purchase orders).
• For direct employment, ensure execution and proper archiving of all contractual steps (offer letter, contract, insurance, payroll).
• Oversee payments related to recruitment (job ads, third-party payroll, insurance, etc.).
• Archive complete HR files for each staff member.
• Organize onboarding of new staff (briefing on agency operations, coordination with other units for equipment, badges, office integration, etc.).
• Verify third-party employer invoices for compliance with services delivered.

Day-to-Day HR Management as Direct Employer

• Ensure compliance with local labor law in all HR procedures and conduct legal monitoring.
• Liaise with administrative authorities (Labour Inspectorate, social security institutions, etc.).
• Draft and validate local HR procedures.
• Oversee the recruitment process (needs assessment, posting, candidate follow-up, feedback).
• Manage all administrative and contractual processes for national staff.
• Provide technical HR support to project managers and coordinators (goal setting, performance evaluations, disciplinary procedures, etc.).

Skills Development

In collaboration with the training team at HQ:

• Identify individual and collective training needs.
• Contribute to the development of the annual skills development plan.
• Help prepare the annual training calendar.
• Ensure legal training obligations are met.
• Advise staff and project leaders on training opportunities.
• Assist in selecting and organizing local training providers and handling logistics.
• Manage the AEGIS training platform within the PSU (access rights, assigning courses to national staff).

Employee Relations

• Establish a timeline for creating staff representative bodies.
• Organize representative elections with support from HQ HR and local legal advisors.
• Develop a social dialogue strategy in coordination with HQ HR.
• Prepare agendas and minutes of meetings with staff representatives.
• Monitor delegation hours and ensure proper exercise of union rights.
• Regularly report to HQ HR on social dialogue.
• Produce required documents for staff consultation in coordination with legal counsel.

Cross-Cutting Activities

• Foster a positive work environment and company culture by providing a confidential and active listening space for staff and contributing to motivation strategies.
• Identify at-risk individual situations among staff and report to the CFT and HQ HR.
• Support the management of disputes, disciplinary cases, and potential litigation with HQ HR and legal counsel.
• Prevent and manage internal conflicts and raise awareness on psychosocial risks.
• Stay informed on economic, legal, and social developments.
• Ensure proper archiving of all HR documents for national personnel.