People and Culture Manager

General Description of the Programme:

GOAL is an INGO with a presence in Türkiye since 2013 and has been contributing to the migrant response since 2016 with a focus on responding to needs in health service delivery, social safety nets and the protection of vulnerable and marginalised migrants in southern Türkiye.

GOAL has been working in Syria since 2013, responding to the acute needs of conflict-affected communities. GOAL is working in Idleb Governate, both through direct implementation and through partners, delivering food, non-food programming to highly vulnerable populations, and provision of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) through support to Water units, as well as emergency support to recently displaced households.

GOAL has been working in North Aleppo Governate since 2019, through direct implementation and through partners, delivering food, non-food programming to highly vulnerable populations, as well as emergency support for recently displaced household.

GOAL’s programming in Türkiye is dedicated to the protection and social inclusion of vulnerable and marginalized refugees through the ECHO-funded LINK project which specifically targets refugees from nomadic and semi-nomadic backgrounds, as well as seasonal agricultural workers. It addresses protection concerns of these vulnerable groups by raising awareness about their rights, obligations, and available services in Türkiye. The project employs a holistic approach that includes sensitization and advocacy activities, targeting key stakeholders and service providers, and delivering Individual Protection Assistance (IPA) and Case management (CM) to enable access to essential social and protective services under the Temporary and International Protection regulations in Türkiye, as well as psychosocial support (PSS) aiming to improve the wellbeing of the targeted communities.
GOAL’s protection programming is designed to mitigate risks faced by these communities and ensure their access to life-saving services. The LINK project also fosters partnerships with local actors to increase outreach and strengthen response mechanisms for the displaced and marginalized populations across southern Türkiye. Additionally, GOAL conduct regular protection monitoring and provided context updates to service providers, helping them address personal and systemic challenges/barriers faced by refugees in Türkiye. These efforts aim to promote resilience, self-reliance, and sustainable change among the targeted communities.

After the February 2023 earthquake, GOAL launched an emergency response to support earthquake-affected refugees and host communities in southeastern Türkiye. This response includes the distribution of food and non-food items, the provision of psychosocial support, and shelter assistance to those impacted by the disaster.

Overview of the role: 

The role of People and Culture Manager will be expected to provide generalist HR support to GOAL’s Türkiye and Syrian Programme offices and partner organizations. This role will be responsible to provide effective support and advice on all HR aspects of the employee lifecycle, including coordination with regional teams, stakeholders at GOAL’s head office in Ireland and other stakeholders. You will also be responsible for ensuring full compliance with GOAL’s internal policies and procedures, the Turkish Labour Law and other applicable legislation as well as best practices.

One of the key aspects of will be the management of organization's talent acquisition process, ensuring a positive candidate experience and compliance with internal and external processes. This includes managing full-cycle recruitment, enhancing employee experience through effective onboarding, learning and development initiatives and performance management.

The People and Culture Manager will collaborate with cross-functional teams to foster a positive work environment, support staff well-being, and contribute to the continuous improvement of HR practices.

  ** Please note the role is subject to securing additional Donor funding and will then commence in early April until Dec 2025. The position will be based in Gaziantep but with Frequent Travel to GOAL Offices in Türkiye** 

Key Responsibilities

Talent Acquisition and Onboarding:

• Partner with hiring managers across business functions to fully understand their recruitment needs and ensure a recruitment campaign and selection process that is compliant with internal and external procedures and enables appropriate and successful recruitment.
• Work closely with the HR function at Head departments and other functions across the organization to contribute to the development and regular review of an induction plan for new staff, including mandatory training.
• Prepare and manage tailored induction schedules for new starters in liaison with heads of functions and hiring managers, ensuring all stakeholders are aware and have access to the induction schedule. 
• Manage complex recruitment campaigns through the full life cycle from initial CV screening, shortlisting, interviews through to offer and on-boarding. Utilize LinkedIn and CV databases to headhunt.
• Ensure data protection compliance for all recruitment documentation.

HR & Records Management:

• Prepare monthly, quarterly and annually HR reports and ensure HR Reports are received for Payroll.
• Ensure a confidential and up-to-date filing system that is compliant for ease of retrieval, reference and reporting: Personnel, Medical, Insurance and Recruitment files.
• Ensure exit interviews are carried out and documents and any lessons learned are shared with the relevant stakeholders.
• Contribute to the development and review of HR policies, procedures, guidelines and business processes, to ensure that everything we do is efficient, cost effective and legally compliant.
• Responsible for updating and maintaining Türkiye Country Office staff lists and organizational charts.
• Facilitate training of staff in HR Policies, including the Code of Conduct, Protection from Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment Policy, Conflict of Interest Policy, and other relevant policies.

Contracts & Administration Benefits:

• Prepare employment contracts upon appointment of staff and maintain an effective contract tracking system, work with line managers to ensure end-of-probation forms are filled and staff are issued with probation confirmation letters when they fall due or issued with other appropriate communication before probation period lapses.
• Track contracts for medical insurance and other staff benefits contracts and liaise with internal and external stakeholders on contract expiries and renewals, probation reviews and issue staff notices or renewals as appropriate in a timely manner.
• Support and provide advice management in line with local legislation, internal procedures and best practice on all employee relation issues, including investigations and disciplinary processes. Where necessary, liaise with GOAL’s legal advisors on employment relation issues.
• In collaboration with Finance, manage the monthly payroll, ensuring any changes relating to staff are processed in a timely manner.

Learning and Development:

As the focal point for Learning and Development (L&D), the People and Culture Manager will:

• Partner with line managers to identify training and development needs within the organization.
• Track and report on the Learning and Development budget.
• Work with line managers and employees to track, evaluate and report on training outcomes.
• Promote GOAL’s e-learning courses and ensure staff have access to the platform.

Management and Coordination:

• Promote the HR team’s capacity to engage with other departments in respectful and trustful ways, ensuring good communication skills.
• Coordinate with other related departments to solve any pending issue and promote better response and effective outcomes agreed in relation to HR matters.
• Frequent communication and discussions with all related departments to assure a common understanding of roles and responsibilities of all areas of HR.
• Representing the HR department in front of any related stakeholder.

Other:
Any other tasks that may be assigned by the head of department

Required Experience, Qualifications and Skills:

• Minimum of 3 years of professional experience in Human Resources, including recruitment and general HR operations.
• University degree in related field (e.g., social work, psychology, sociology, child development, international relations, law, and other relevant disciplines)
• Previous experience in supporting HR operations in the humanitarian sector is an asset.
• 2 years’ work experience in I/NGOs environment preferably with experiences in SE in Türkiye
• Knowledge of core HR functions, including onboarding, employee relations, and performance management.
• Familiarity with HR systems and the Turkish employment law.
• Strong organizational and time management skills with attention to detail.
• Effective interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build relationships across teams.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive information professionally.
• Commitment to workplace diversity, inclusion, and safeguarding practices.
• Proactive problem-solving skills and adaptability to respond to HR needs during emergencies.
• Fluency in English and Turkish (written and spoken) is required for effective communication with stakeholders, donors, and team members.

Desired Experience, Qualification and Skills:

• Arabic language skills are highly advantageous for effective communication with local stakeholders, partners, and programme participants.
• Experience in cross-cultural settings, with the ability to work effectively with diverse teams, stakeholders, and communities.

Safeguarding

Children and vulnerable adults must be safeguarded to the maximum possible extent from deliberate or inadvertent actions and failings that place them at risk of abuse, sexual exploitation, injury and any other harm. One of the ways that GOAL shows this on-going commitment to safeguarding is to include rigorous background and reference checks in the selection process for all candidates.

Accountability within GOAL

Alongside our safeguarding policy, GOAL is an equal opportunities employer and has a set of integrity policies. Any candidate offered a job with GOAL will be expected to adhere to the following key areas of accountability:

• Comply with GOAL’s policies and procedures with respect to safeguarding, Code of Conduct, health and safety, data protection and confidentiality, do no harm principles and unacceptable behaviour protocols.
• Report any concerns about the welfare of a child or vulnerable adult or any wrongdoings within our programming area.
• Report any concerns about inappropriate behaviour of a GOAL staff or partner.

This Job Description only serves as a guide for the position available. GOAL reserves the right to change this document. Any published closing dates are estimated.  Due to the nature of GOAL’s work we aim to fill vacancies as quickly as possible.  This means that we will close adverts as soon as we have found the right candidate and this may be before the published closing date.  We would therefore advise interested applicants to submit an application as early as possible.

Interviews will take place on a rolling basis.