BRAC International (BI), a leading non-profit organisation, is on a mission to empower people and communities facing poverty, illiteracy, disease, and social injustice. Our vision is to create a world free from exploitation and discrimination, where everyone has the opportunity to realize their potential. We design proven, scalable solutions that equip people with the support and confidence they need to achieve their potential.
BRAC International Microfinance (BI MF) oversees its microfinance subsidiaries outside Bangladesh, which are wholly or majority owned by the legal entity BRAC International Holdings B.V. (BIHBV), operating across eight countries in Africa and Asia. Within this mandate, BI MF expands financial inclusion by responsibly delivering financial services to people at the bottom of the pyramid, particularly women living in poverty in rural and hard-to-reach areas, to create self-employment opportunities, build financial resilience, and harness their entrepreneurial spirit by empowering them economically. The achievement of both ‘Impact and Scale’ are critically important, ensuring that each subsidiary has systems in place to realise both components of the mission.
BI MF provides strategic direction, governance oversight, and institutional strengthening across the portfolio. Today, its operations serve clients (97% women) across the eight operating countries, managing a loan portfolio of approximately USD 277 million, and employing over 7,000 staff, of whom 87% are women.
About the Position:
The Senior Manager, HR, BIHBV (SM, HR) is an end-to-end generalist HR business partner, reporting to the Associate Director, HR, BIHBV (AD, HR), and responsible for an assigned portfolio of BI MF subsidiaries (entities) and designated BI MF Central Team functions/units. The role serves as the HR focal point for assigned Central Team functions/units and strategic people partner to assigned Entity leaders.
The role partners with Entity Heads of HR, Microfinance Management Teams (MMT) and Central Team Technical Leads across its portfolio to understand business priorities, anticipate people implications and shape practical HR responses. In close partnership with the other SM, HR in the team, the role ensures coordinated support across BI MF entities and Central Team functions, aligning on shared and cross-cutting priorities, providing cover during periods of absence or peak demand, and promoting consistency in HR delivery. Working closely with the AD, HR, the role brings insights from its portfolio to inform BI MF-wide HR priorities, decisions and interventions.
Working within BI’s matrixed three-part HR model, the role connects business and Entity needs with HR Centers of Excellence (CoEs) and HR Central Services, ensuring enterprise frameworks and expertise are effectively translated into business context and applied appropriately. The role strengthens Entity HR capability and follow-through, provides trusted advice on complex people matters, and drives cross-entity learning and strategic HR priorities that support growth, impact and sustainable performance.
Key Responsibilities:
1. Strategic HR Partnership
Own the HRBP agenda for an assigned portfolio of BI MF entities, partnering with Entity Heads of HR, MMTs and relevant leaders to understand business priorities, challenges and people implications.
Serve as the HR focal point for designated BI MF Central Team functions/units, partnering with their leaders and BI MF Senior Management Team on people priorities, workforce needs and HR matters.
Translate business priorities into people priorities, provide constructive challenge and shape practical HR responses that support business performance.
Strengthen Entity HR capability, judgement and follow-through, enabling Entity HR teams to lead local implementation while providing advice, challenge and escalation where required.
Strengthen HR delivery across assigned Central Team functions/units, ensuring their people priorities are connected to the wider BI MF HR agenda.
Work closely with the other SM, HR, to align on shared and cross-cutting priorities, and facilitate knowledge sharing, peer learning and transfer of good practices to promote consistent and effective HR delivery across their respective portfolios.
Work closely with the AD, HR, bringing insights from the portfolio to inform BI MF-wide HR priorities, decisions and interventions.
2. Business and Workforce Effectiveness
Partner with leaders on business-led workforce, organisation and people decisions arising from growth, transformation, restructuring, productivity or changing business needs.
Assess people's implications of organisational changes and alignment initiatives, develop options with leaders and advise on effective workforce and organisational solutions.
Provide HR input into business planning and strategic decisions, ensuring people's considerations are integrated into business priorities and execution.
3. Leadership & Talent Management
Partner with leaders and Entity HR to strengthen critical talent and leadership pipelines, succession and readiness for current and future business needs.
Facilitate talent reviews and succession discussions, leveraging enterprise frameworks and CoE expertise while ensuring business ownership of talent decisions and development actions.
Partner with leaders on leadership development, talent mobility and internal movement to strengthen organisational capability and retention.
Promote inclusive and sustainable leadership pipelines, including women in leadership and other priority talent groups.
4. People Risk & Organisational Effectiveness
Identify people-related risks, recurring organisational issues and improvement opportunities across the assigned portfolio, including regulatory, policy, audit, employee-relations, safeguarding, conduct and culture-related risks.
Strengthen Entity HR capability and follow-through on risk mitigation, audit actions and organisational improvements, ensuring agreed actions are implemented and escalating material or recurring risks where required.
Partner with Entity HR and leaders to ensure follow-through on recommendations arising from safeguarding and conduct investigations, disciplinary processes, culture assessments and other people-related reviews.
Identify cross-entity themes and lessons, working with the Associate Director, HR and relevant CoEs to inform improvements to enterprise policies, frameworks and practices.
5. Complex HR Advisory
Provide trusted HR advice to Entity leaders, MMTs, BI MF Senior Management Team and Entity HR Heads on complex people matters, including employee relations, performance, productivity, leadership and organisational change.
Help leaders assess options, risks and implications and make sound, balanced people decisions.
Provide targeted tactical or interim support during critical transitions, capacity gaps or high-priority interventions, while building sustainable Entity HR ownership and capability.
6. Enterprise HR Integration
Connect business and Entity needs with the relevant CoEs and Central Services, ensuring the right expertise is engaged at the right time.
Translate and contextualise enterprise HR frameworks, policies and solutions for BI MF business needs, without duplicating CoE ownership.
Coordinate cross-functional and cross-entity HR priorities, ensuring alignment, business ownership, effective implementation and follow-through.
Bring Entity and Central Team insights into BI MF-wide HR priorities and support the AD, HR in shaping strategic HR interventions.
7. People Insights & Decision
Analyse people data and business trends to identify risks, patterns and opportunities, translating insights into practical recommendations for HR and business decisions.
Develop and maintain HR dashboards and portfolio reporting, providing clear visibility of workforce, talent, mobility, performance and other key people indicators.
Use people insights to inform workforce planning, talent and leadership decisions, organisational effectiveness and strategic HR initiatives.
Analyse workforce and employee data across areas such as recruitment, onboarding, performance, employee experience, benefits, mobility, work permits and career development to identify trends and improvement opportunities.
Prepare regular and ad-hoc analysis, reports and presentations for BI MF leadership, Entity leaders and relevant governance forums, highlighting key trends, implications and actions.
Strengthen the quality and consistency of Entity HR reporting and data, supporting Entity HR teams to use insights more effectively in business discussions and decision-making.
Leverage insights across the portfolio to identify cross-entity patterns, share learning and inform BI MF-wide HR priorities and interventions.
Stay abreast of relevant HR analytics practices and emerging approaches to strengthen evidence-based people decision-making.
8. Safeguarding
Establish a safeguarding culture across all levels of the programme by implementing the safeguarding policy. Act as a key source of support, guidance and expertise on safeguarding for establishing a safe working environment.
Responsible to ensure team members are appropriately trained, supported and have access to resources regarding issues that are identified and actioned in accordance with the safeguarding policy and procedure.
Follow the safeguarding reporting procedure in case any reportable incident takes place, encourage others to do so.
Support the HR department to provide clarification on safeguarding policies and disseminate Safeguarding policies and all supporting promotional materials within the program, department and field offices in the country.
Attend regular Safeguarding Focal meetings with BI MF SG focals and provide safeguarding-related updates.
Academic Qualifications:
Minimum Bachelor's Degree in degree in business administration, Human Resource Management or a related field.
A postgraduate qualification in Human Resources, Business, Organisation Development or a related field is desirable.
Professional HR qualification/certification (e.g., IHRM, SHRM, CIPD or equivalent international HR certification is preferred.
Experience:
7+ years of progressive HR experience, including at least 3 years in an HRBP or strategic generalist HR role supporting senior leaders.
Demonstrated experience partnering with business leaders on workforce, organisational, talent and complex people decisions, with the ability to translate business priorities into practical HR responses.
Experience in financial services, microfinance, banking, fintech or another regulated and operationally complex environment. Experience in financial inclusion, frontline-led operations or organisations delivering impact at scale to underserved communities is an advantage.
Experience working across multiple entities, countries or diverse organisational environments, preferably within an international, matrixed or geographically dispersed organisation.
Demonstrated ability to strengthen HR capability and enable local HR teams to improve judgement, ownership and execution.
Strong experience in employee relations, organisational change, people risk and other sensitive HR matters, with sound judgement and understanding of regulatory implications.
Experience using people data and insights to inform business recommendations, workforce decisions and leadership priorities.
Experience working effectively with HR CoEs and specialist teams, translating their expertise into practical business solutions without duplicating their role.
Knowledge, Skills and Competencies:
Generalist HR expertise: Broad HR knowledge and sound technical depth across talent, organisation effectiveness, workforce planning, performance, employee relations, reward, mobility, policy and compliance; able to assess people and regulatory risks and engage specialist expertise appropriately.
Business acumen & HRBP capability: Ability to connect people priorities and HR risks to business performance, operational continuity and regulatory requirements.
Strategic thinking & judgement: Sound judgement, critical thinking and problem-solving in complex, sensitive and ambiguous situations.
Stakeholder management & influence: Ability to build trusted relationships and influence without authority across a matrixed, multicultural environment.
HR integration: Ability to translate enterprise HR frameworks and specialist expertise into practical, context-appropriate business solutions without duplicating CoE responsibilities.
Advisory & capability building: Strong coaching, advisory and capability-building skills, particularly in strengthening Entity HR judgement, ownership and effectiveness.
People insights: Ability to analyse people data and trends and translate insights into practical business recommendations and decisions.
Execution & prioritisation: Strong follow-through and ability to manage competing strategic and operational priorities across a multi-entity portfolio.
Communication & professionalism: Excellent communication, presentation and relationship-building skills, with sound discretion, integrity and confidentiality.
Additional Requirements:
Willingness to travel: approximately 30% to entity locations, including planned entity visits, long stays to provide interim cover and support during critical interventions.
Employment type: Contractual
Salary: Negotiable
Our Core Values:
Integrity: We approach our work with honesty and integrity.
Innovation: We innovate and iterate to improve our impact.
Inclusiveness: We foster inclusion to reach those who need it most
Effectiveness: We strive for effectiveness to better serve people in poverty
If you feel you are the right match for the above-mentioned position, please follow the application process to grab your dream opportunity!
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