Harriet Magomu
Human Resources
Uganda,Kampala
Summary
Dedicated Director of Human Resources competent in developing widely accepted recruitment and retention strategies. Knowledgeable in new hire training and on-boarding methods. Offering successful career history comprising more than 15 years. Astute professional highly skilled in employee relations and training and development. Talented individual offering dynamic skills in recruiting, interviewing and hiring valuable employees. Successful history of building top-level employee benefit programs.
Overview
18
18
years of professional experience
7
7
years of post-secondary education
2
2
Languages
Work History
Director Human Resources
Save the Children
Erbil, Iraq
02.2020 - Current
- This is a new role started in the same Organisation but in a new Country categorised as a fragile state
- As a member of the SMT, I am responsible for the people agenda
- The role entails leadership for human resources management and administration, leading the development, implementation and review of human resources, administration and organisational development strategy, policies, systems and procedures to ensure availability of adequate human resources and efficient administrative support to deliver on organisation’s strategy
- Supports line managers in managing performance and staff development
- A staff compliment of over 280 permanent employees and over 300 incentive workers and a portfolio of approximately USD 18 M by July 2021
- Reviewed and rolled out the HR policies and procedures for national staff and developed Administration guidelines for the support function and ensured clarity of roles
- In the process of conducting an exercise to ensure that staff are rightly placed in the organisational compensation and pay structures
- With the Covid-19 pandemic, provided advise and direction on the people and organisation agenda
- Following the ongoing crisis and global changes in ways of working, developed the standard operating procedures which broadly outlines how the office should adjust to new ways of working at a personal level, professional ethics and coordination of meetings and humanitarian actions and agendas
- Successfully rolled out the new Oracle HRIS system in Country which had been pending from 2019
- Operationalised in Country the e learning tracking on the global Mandatory trainings and have achieved 95% success
- Held one on one meetings and routine meetings with the HR teams on the nationalisation agenda
- Developed TORs for the extended Senior Management team which acts as a think tank for the organisation
- The staff well-being agenda is high for both national and international hires which led to recommendations for improvement
- This is work in progress for the Iraq context
- Championed the Safeguarding agenda to ensure that all programs/work/environment is safe for children, beneficiaries and staff
- Demonstrated flexibility in carrying out regular field visits in hard to reach areas for HR capacity building, mentorship and also to listen to general staff issues and concerns
- His is work in progress that I am in the middle of completing and ensuring that management and staff are motivated and productive in their roles
- 24 January 2022 with an end date of 15 April 2022: Deployment to Afghanistan Country office (CAT 1 Response) – Senior Advisor, Human Resources, Administration and IT
- He Afghanistan Country Office is responding to a major humanitarian crisis following the take-over of the Government by the Taliban in August 2021
- This led to a spike in operations to meet the huge humanitarian needs of the population
- The Country Office has rapidly grown from about 400 fixed term staff to approximately 1100 and 2500 community based Volunteers
- Between the month of February and April 2022, we estimate that another 1,850 staff and community volunteers will be hired to support the response
- The country office projected portfolio for the year 2022 is approximately 110m USD for the year 2022
- Urrently, I am on a short term deployment to support the operation in the areas of:
- Gap filled for HR/Admin/IT Director responsibilities while the recruitment was ongoing
- Induct the new HR, Admin and IT Director in the new role and ensure that he is up to speed from the onset to support the Country Office operations
- Handle selective recruitments with many processes and protocols to match the scale up needs
- Provide advice on Administrative matters which include facilities management, transportation, Liaison and travel authorisation
- Advise and support staff safeguarding matters in the Country Office
- The country office is going through massive scale up which requires being attentive, responsive to address surge needs both pipeline and in country for deployment
- Implement the learning agenda for staff inductions, mentorship and other trainings are currently ongoing
- Review HR and Administrative policies and processes to match the scale up
- Keep track of the surge staff on deployment to include roster management.
Director of Human Resources
Save the Children
02.2018 - 05.2018
- And Administration, Somalia
- Hrough an exchange/secondment program, obtained International experience in Emergency/Humanitarian response from an internal staff capacity development as Director Human Resources & Administration
- In this period, reviewed the HR manual, worked with the National HR Manager to develop a training plan, rolled out the Anti-Harassment policy and trainings, trained staff in the new Performance Management system among other HR assignments
- The staff compliment was 680 excluding incentive workers.
Director Human Resources
Save the Children
04.2011 - 02.2016
- And Administration, Uganda
- Ave a shared responsibility for the overall development of the programming strategies
- The functional responsibility entails strategic leadership for human resources management and administration, leading the development, implementation and review of human resources, administration and organisational development strategy, policies, systems and procedures to ensure availability of adequate human resources and efficient administrative support to deliver on organisation’s strategy
- Supports line managers in managing performance and staff development which has led to improved performance
- A staff compliment of over 500 permanent employees and over 2100 stipend volunteers and a portfolio of approximately USD 34 M by October 2019
- Conducted a job grading exercise to ensure that staff are rightly placed in the organisational compensation and pay structures
- Concluded the organizational transition/change process from Save the Children to Save the Children International
- This involved timely registration, legal support and advise, new structure definition, job descriptions and staff preparedness among others
- Led recruitments under the South Sudanese and Congolese responses of over 200 staff and over 2000 incentive workers
- Uganda hosts about 1.1m refugees and the staff recruited provided support in thematic areas of Child protection, Education, Health and Nutrition, and Poverty Reduction
- Effectively and in a timely manner managed recruitment for USAID grants for the Country Office
- Reviewed periodically policies which included general HR policies, Consultancy policy, Administration policy and ensured that compliance with the Statutory and Country Labour laws
- Conducted climate surveys for all staff with a response rate of above 70%
- The information obtained was used to implement staff wellness and well-being activities across the Country Office
- To this end, the initiative resulted into an engaged and committed work force with the annual turnover rates reduced to 11% at the end of 2018 when compared to 2017 whose rates were 15%
- Led negotiations and conclusion of legal cases which saved the company over 100m Uganda shillings
- The cases were long outstanding
- Participated in training senior staff in Nepal (Asia Region), Nairobi and Pretoria (East and Southern Region) in the Senior Management Development Program
- Supported other Country Offices in training teams in Managing for High performance (MHP)
- Supported MHP trainings (Uganda, Nigeria, Sudan and South Sudan)
- Occasionally conducted Safeguarding and awareness sessions trainings/orientations for staff
- Implemented plans for performance management of the HR team of to optimise individual performance level of staff, capacity building, guidance and coaching
- This is ongoing to ensure that internal talent is groomed for succession planning
- To ensure that staff are motivated, developed and implemented the employee of the year awards, staff wellness activities
- Participated in the roll out of the Country Strategic plan to ensure understanding of the Country Priorities
- The process included the sensitisation of staff on the organisations values and culture and created a movement of change for children.
Human Resources Manager
Finca Uganda Limited, MDI
04.2009 - 03.2011
- Developed and implemented systems and structures for the acquisition, utilization, compensation, maintenance and exit of the human resources for the affiliate
- Finca Uganda is affiliated to FINCA International Inc., (with its headquarters in Washington DC) a leading global network of microfinance institutions providing loans and savings solutions to clients in 21 countries (5 countries in Africa)
- Staff compliment of 460 permanent employees, about 100 contract employees and a loan portfolio of approximately USD 13M in 2011
- Reviewed the HR policies and procedures
- Developed and implemented a human resources administration manual
- Conducted in-house salary and benefits surveys of peer institutions and placed the organization at the 50th percentile and above
- This greatly improved staff retention which was a major factor for attrition
- Conducted climate surveys for all staff and obtained a response rate of above 75%
- Also, took the lead in conducting an all Africa Climate survey and obtained a response of above 70% to inform the Africa strategy review and change management process
- Successfully introduced the Balanced Scorecard which informed the bonus and incentive schemes payouts.
Chief Manager Human Resources & Administration
Uganda Finance Trust Ltd MDI
03.2007 - 03.2009
- Executed and maintained systems and structures for the acquisition, utilization, compensation, maintenance and exit of the human resources in line with the corporate strategy
- Managed the corporate affairs which involved, developing procedures, policies, facilities, systems and processes
- A Staff compliment of approximately 250 permanent employees, about 30 contract employees and a loan portfolio of approximately USD 14M in 2009
- Conducted an Organisational review, job grading and evaluation using the Castellion Job Evaluation method; reviewed all job descriptions, oriented management on the RACI exercise
- This was achieved with support from Ernest and Young who also reviewed the pay structures and placed the organisation at the 50th percentile
- Cultivated funding opportunities for the organisation to support trainings locally
- Specifically, obtained USD 100,000 over two years’ allocation from Private Sector Foundation Uganda who were managing DFID funds
- Created an innovative way of tracking procurements and management of Vehicles and generators and fuel accountability which significantly reduced costs of overheads by approximately 13%
- Implemented the Balanced Score Card Performance management system which improved planning for resources, accountability, monitoring and profitability levels.
Human Resources Development Officer
Infectious Diseases Institute
05.2006 - 02.2007
- Assessed capacity gaps, developed training programs, trained and sensitised staff on the organisations policies, supported recruitment processes, conducted employee opinion surveys and provided feedback to teams, developed and implemented the accountability road maps and agreements that were used for performance management and administration.
Human Resource Manager
Post Bank Uganda Ltd
08.2000 - 06.2006
- Led a team of 4 staff and as a member of the SMT, was responsible for setting strategic direction for HR, developed policies and procedures and oversaw implementation, developed and implemented systems and structures for the acquisition, utilization, compensation, maintenance and exit of the human resources for the Bank, ensured productive employee welfare, commitment and loyalty
- In addition, held the position of Secretary to the Association of Savings Banks of East Africa, an umbrella organization to the Savings Banks of East Africa, and also acted as Secretary to the SMT meetings
- Represented the bank on the Education and Membership Affairs committees at the Uganda Institute of Bankers
- The bank had a staff compliment of approximately 180 permanent employees, about 40 contract employees and a loan portfolio of approximately USD 7M then in 2006
- Managed an organisational review exercise in 2015 successfully which involved structure review to establish efficiency levels with the support of a consultant
- Introduced new ways of recruitment at organisational level using assessment centres, psychometric tests and candidate profiles assessments
- This greatly improved staff retention in a competitive banking environment
- Submitted a proposal to the board who approved the procurement and computerisation of the payroll and HR system in 2015
- Reviewed the Human Resources Manual to ensure legal compliance with the Country Labour Laws and regulations
- Successfully worked as part of the Secretarial group to the Association of Savings Banks of East Africa (ASBEA)
- Successfully worked with a consultant in the institutional review exercise in 2005 which led to having in place an efficient and effective staff compliment.
Education
Masters - Human Resource Management
Makerere University Business School
Kampala 08.2004 - 01.2012
Post Graduate Diploma - Management
Uganda Management Institute
ICSA Graduate - undefined
Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA)
Bachelor of Arts - ARTS
Makerere University
Skills
Human resources records
Affiliations
A Human Resources and Administration generalist practitioner with experience obtained from both Humanitarian, development and private sector. A team builder and player with demonstrated participatory strong leadership skills but result oriented. A candidate who can quantify the value of their experience, that is demonstrate the return on investments in human capital, more specifically how HR leadership boosts that return. Proficient Human Resource Planning, Management and Administrative skills. Has worked accurately on detailed tasks with a lot of judgment, improved human resource management and administration of corporate affairs and instituted a culture of equity and accountability in staff. Well-built initiative and innovations skills - ‘Believes that there is always a better way of doing things. Was and is able to find solutions to HR related challenges and instrumental in suggesting better ways of getting things done. Likes Challenges and takes on very tough assignments which require tact and skills to wade through. Personality is intimate, factual, involved and very honest.
Key Areas of Expertise
Planning and organisation, recruitment & Retention
Performance and Compensation management
Organisational Culture and Change management
Learning and Development
Human Resources in Humanitarian Context
Safeguarding and Equal Opportunity
Resources and Financial Management
Representation and Networking
Legal and Compliance
Procurement and Administration Management, Certified Coach – Coach Masters Academy, July 2020 and May 2021.
A graduate of ICSA (Registered Number 1035058, not active at the moment)
Member of the Human Resource Managers Association of Uganda (HRMAU)
A member of the Federation of Uganda Employers (FUE)
A member of the Uganda HR NGO Network.
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networking
I like meeting people, interacting and sharing knowledge and learning obtained over my work experience.
Timeline
Director Human Resources
Save the Children
02.2020 - Current
Director of Human Resources
Save the Children
02.2018 - 05.2018
Director Human Resources
Save the Children
04.2011 - 02.2016
Human Resources Manager
Finca Uganda Limited, MDI
04.2009 - 03.2011
Chief Manager Human Resources & Administration
Uganda Finance Trust Ltd MDI
03.2007 - 03.2009
Human Resources Development Officer
Infectious Diseases Institute
05.2006 - 02.2007
Masters - Human Resource Management
Makerere University Business School
08.2004 - 01.2012
Human Resource Manager
Post Bank Uganda Ltd
08.2000 - 06.2006
Post Graduate Diploma - Management
Uganda Management Institute
ICSA Graduate - undefined
Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA)
Bachelor of Arts - ARTS
Makerere University