HR Manager – West Africa at Louis Dreyfus Commodities

Strategic HR Leadership

• Working with the Africa Cluster HR manager, consider current and future business plans for expansion, market changes, process, and system changes, and review the organization design of the area.
• Engage with country managers and members of the local leadership team’s executives to look for opportunities to create better alignment between the operation structure of the country and the strategy of the product line.
• Act as a trusted advisor to the senior decision-makers on the change approach and the risks associated i.e. people changes, structure changes, etc. Also executes decisions reached with zero impacts/risk to the business.
• Participate in the development and implementation of the change plans.

Budget and workforce planning (Headcount and employment costs)

• Develop HR budget for West Africa i.e. Re-forecast process by the means of an upfront workforce planning process
• Guarantee the reliability and completeness of HR data ahead of the budget process.
• Actively identify initiatives and seek approval to include in budget local and global initiatives
• Work closely in ensuring the final budget is properly updated in magnitude tool

Training (eLearning, managerial Training, academy)

• Proactively identify training needs to be integrated into an individual plan for talents or key employees and provide a full road map of training and development initiatives for the assigned population
• Develop a training plan/Budget for the region
• In consultation with business leaders, nominate executives, senior line management for coaching, and other leadership development. Work with Learning and Development with the selection of appropriate coaches for individuals in line with the approved list of coaches.

Talent Management & Development.

• Focus on identification of candidates for a critical position, through internal mobility/succession planning/career path and support key talents with ad hoc programs (mentorship).
• Working with the Africa Cluster HR Manager, drive formal succession planning for the critical positions in West Africa.
• As part of the talent review sessions, develop and implement successor development plans.

Reward & HR core services

• Guarantee the quality of the data and contribute with HR KPIs
• Benchmark against industry and international country norms, identify areas for improvement, and work with the local country managers and the Africa Cluster HR – Manager to develop and implement changes that may be needed.
• Translate the country strategic business objectives into remuneration focus areas for the country but within the overall reward philosophy and framework set out by the LDC Group
• Manage and support the MERIT process in West Africa. Together with the merit managers, prep for the bonus, and increase pool allocations for the platforms and corporate functions. Facilitate, challenge, and support in this regard to ensure adherence to set guidelines.

Headcount and employment costs

• Monitor headcount and employment cost on regular basis, identifying areas of opportunity in terms of optimization of employment costs.
• Partner with finance to ensure headcount, employment costs and budget is accurate.
• Compile business cases where additional headcount is required due to business changes, get approval, and ensure this is budgeted for in the coming year.

Data Quality and Leave Management

• Ensure data quality for WA is 100% i.e. Workforce planning tool, Workday, Payroll,
• Ensure that all employees have to leave plans in place to keep leave liability low.
• Work with finance controllers and regional date teams in ensuring HR data is up to date and variance properly explained/supported

Talent Attraction and On-boarding

• Recruit and onboard joiners
• Conduct exit interviews for members of the business unit executive team, senior management, and talent pools, whether they exit voluntarily or involuntarily. Review the exit interview analysis for the business unit to determine if there are any flagged risk indicators.
• On an annual basis, as part of strategic workforce planning, define the business requirements for using non-permanent resources with the business leaders, and manage the process of renewing contracts and engaging new service providers.

Employer Branding

• Build Networks with Universities, Colleges, and Schools to ensure continuous feed of talent into the organization.
• Attend career days where appropriate and create awareness of the LDC brand in learning institutions and the labor market.
• Implement the LDC Graduate and Internship recruitment program in EA

Performance Management

• Manage the YPL life cycle. Ensure SMART objectives set in the WD system, mid-year reviews, and end year reviews are done correctly and within the set deadlines.
• Develop and implement a robust performance improvement process in West Africa, including the length of the interventions, the impact on individual performance, and the closure processes. Take ultimate accountability for the governance process surrounding these processes as well as the documentation and evidence required.

Payroll Management

• Maintain payroll information by collecting, calculating, and capturing data
• Timely preparation of payroll and manage the end-to-end reporting process for West Africa
• Update payroll records by capturing changes in exemptions, allowances, insurance coverage, savings deductions, and any other changes that may occur within the month.
• Ensure that the statutory reports are remitted by PWC by the end of every month and within set deadlines.
• Ensure that the company is compliant with all laws that relate to payroll processing
• Prepare and submit monthly all payroll related reports to finance ( AX, Allocation file, Fund requests, Merit Provisions, and HC reports )and regional HR ( CHRIS file).

HR Business partnering & support (HR Generalist)

• Manage employee life-cycle according to the HR calendars in strong coordination with regional HR and COE
• Drive the HR calendar in the country. Ensure that line managers and decision-makers are proactively briefed at the start of major events in HR (for example when the annual remuneration process starts, performance management, etc.).

HR &Audit Compliance

• Develop and implement policies both mandatory and based on best practice in West Africa
• Oversee all HR and Finance Audits are successfully performed with no non-conformities.
• Address adverse ratings on audit findings through the implementation of action plans to address the non-compliance.
• Manage relationships with external stakeholders including Unions, Labour departments, and External Regulatory bodies impacting on the management of employees in each country.
• Ensure compliance with and adoption of applicable labor and or regulatory requirements
• Ensure that all evidence requirements for control reviews and audits are supplied timeously.
• Ensure that the teams understand the compliance requirements in the business. Create actions to address gaps. Monitor compliance training attendance monthly and ensure that teams understand the importance of completing it.

Employee and Industrial Relations

• Monitor and Manage the industrial relations climate in the company to ensure workplace productivity and high motivation levels through effective communication and constant consultation with the labor office
• Provide expert guidance and support on all disciplinary matters
• Act as a first level escalation point for grievances raised
• Recommends and conducts training in the basics of labor law and employee relations to ensure adequate understanding.
• Participate in dispute resolution at the labor office and mediation stage
• Represent the company in Labour court cases as a key HR witness on behalf of the company with legal guidance
• Continuous focus on minimizing people-related risks through the implementation of quality assurance good governance.

Immigration and Mobility

• Maintain a legal status of expatriates in West Africa i.e. work permits, visas, and passes processing.
• Repatriation of expats when assignments are done.

Benefits Administration

• Continuously identify, procure and manage quality and cost-effective medical cover for staff in West Africa up to and including medical enrollment, termination
• Management of LDC pension scheme on behalf of the staff, ensure pension remittance, staff details update, pension awareness, and pension statement issuance.

Canteen – Staff Meal provision with due compliance with safety requirements and within a set budget

Office Management and Admin

• Responsible for the local administration i.e. Visitors Management, Staff transport, Meals provision, and general office hygiene.
• Application/renewal of business licenses and business permits.
• Ensure staff transport is effectively managed to reduce lost hours as well as overtime.
• Monitor the implementation of the performance process in the team
• Analyze management and technical development needs of the Administration team.

Employee Engagement

• Roll out and implement global people survey initiatives

Experiences

• 5+ years of years of experience in a strategic HR function