Director of Global People Operations

About the role

IDinsight is a global non-profit data and evidence advisory firm working with governments, NGOs, multilaterals and funders to improve lives at scale, using technology and AI. It is growing 35-50% over the next 12-18 months and expects the Global People Operations team to be central to that growth. The Director of Global People Operations leads a team of 12+ people, sets people strategy and executes it, and reports to the Chief Financial and Operations Officer. The role is not a traditional HR role and is based in one of five offices: Dakar, Senegal; Delhi, India; Lusaka, Zambia; Manila, Philippines; Nairobi, Kenya or Rabat, Morocco.

Key responsibilities

• Co-develop and lead the global People Strategy, advise the CFOO on org design and workforce planning, and run 1-2 organisation-changing initiatives a year
• Lead the Global People Operations team, managing workload, performance, growth and career development
• Own compensation philosophy, benchmarking pay and benefits every two years, and track retention and attrition by region
• Design learning and development programmes, including manager development, and advise senior leaders on their development
• Build the recruitment pipeline, own the employer brand and candidate experience, and streamline hiring
• Own payroll accuracy, compliance with local labour laws, and keep people policies consistent across about 20 countries
• Manage core people systems (BambooHR, Airtable, Ashby, etc.), risk assessment and workplace safety, and promote AI-first ways of working

Required profile

• 12+ years in a people-facing leadership role, with experience building people systems from the ground up
• Proven experience developing managers across multiple countries or regions in a non-hierarchical, fast-moving environment
• Values-aligned: low ego, innovative, comfortable rolling up sleeves and turning raw data into defensible recommendations
• Nuanced judgement on people and policy decisions across 20+ countries
• Preferred: experience in a lean global non-profit, lived or professional experience in one of IDinsight's countries, and interest in organisational design or behavioural economics

Required skills

• Familiarity with BambooHR, Airtable, Ashby, Lattice or comparable HRIS/ATS/LMS tools
• Strong written and verbal communication
• Deep, hands-on fluency with AI tools such as Claude and ChatGPT

What we offer

• International health insurance including mental health coverage, paid vacation, sick and parental leave
• Relocation benefits, travel and technology stipends, and a professional development budget
• Start date of 1 January 2027, with a 2-year minimum commitment