Head of People & Culture

Job Description

The Organization: Accion is a global nonprofit on a mission to create a fair and inclusive economy for the 1.6 billion people who are failed by the global financial system. We develop and scale responsible digital financial solutions for small business owners, smallholder farmers, and women, so they can make informed decisions and improve their lives.

Through targeted investment strategies, advisory solutions, and expert thought leadership, we work with local partners to develop and scale cheaper, more accessible, and customer-friendly financial solutions. Since 1961, Accion has helped build 299 financial service providers serving low-income clients in 77 countries, reaching over 500 million people.

Position Overview: Accion has grown in complexity over the last few years and is projected to continue integrating and operating multiple entities and subsidiaries across several geographies, including Accion Impact Management (AIM), an SEC Registered Investment Advisor that manages impact investments in financial inclusion leveraging third-party capital.

To support this continued evolution, the organization seeks an experienced and effective Head of People & Culture, responsible for shaping and advancing Accion's global people strategy to enable organizational performance, mission impact, and sustainable growth.

Leading the global People & Culture function, the leader is responsible for enterprise-wide talent, culture, organizational design, total rewards strategy and people operations to support continued global growth, organizational competitiveness and financial sustainability.

The role champions an inclusive and high-performing employee experience, while balancing global standards with local market, cultural, and regulatory requirements across the organization's 180-person international workforce. They will coach, mentor and advise direct reports, peers, and senior/middle management on best-in-class talent management and organizational development practices.

Role & Key Responsibilities:

Reports to: Chief Operating Officer

Team: Manage a team of 9 and partner with organizational leaders

Global People Leadership

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• Partner closely with leadership team members on aligning the People & Culture approach with organizational priorities, growth strategy and operational structure.
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• Collaborate with leaders and managers across regions and affiliates to implement equitable, inclusive, and locally responsive people practices within a consistent global framework.
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• Ensure people strategies effectively support a globally distributed workforce across non-profit and regulated investment management activity, including employees, Employer of Record (EOR) staff, and consultants.
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• Build a compelling global employee value proposition that delivers a consistent employee experience while respecting local laws, cultures, and business needs.
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• Champion people and culture practices that recognize and support differing business, regional norms, and ways of working, in order to attract/retain exceptional talent reflective of the organization’s charitable purposes and mission-oriented activities.
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• Lead, mentor, and develop team members to build organizational capability and ensure a high-performing, outcomes-oriented People and Culture function.
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Global Culture & Engagement

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• Help strengthen the organization's One Accion culture by championing organizational initiatives that foster cross-team engagement, communication and collaboration across programs, functions, subsidiaries, and regions, and enterprise learning.
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• Continue to introduce and embed practices, programs, and behaviors that increase employee engagement and support health, resilience and sustainable performance.
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• Foster a culture of accountability, equity and inclusion, learning, innovation, and continuous improvement.
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Talent Development, Performance, and Total Rewards

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• Provide oversight for the organization's global talent management and professional development strategy, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities, future workforce needs and operating model.
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• Provide oversight of the organization's performance management philosophy and practices, fostering accountability, continuous feedback, and alignment between individual performance and organizational goals.
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• Lead organization’s global Total Rewards strategy, ensuring compensation, benefits, incentives, and recognition programs are competitive, equitable, sustainable, and aligned with organizational priorities and values.
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• Partner with senior leaders to identify strategic capability needs; develop talent management frameworks and career development pathways that strengthen recruitment, talent development, engagement, succession planning, and retention.
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System & Process Innovation

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• Evolve and modernize policies and processes to enable a ‘fit for purpose’ and efficient operating model across business divisions and entities, including shared services for AIM.
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• Innovate and improve HR and talent software systems, performance management models and tools, workflows, and service delivery.
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• Identify opportunities to leverage AI and automation that will build and drive organizational capability and efficiency across People operations and the enterprise.
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Risk & Employee Relations

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• Ensure strong governance, policy oversight, and effective mitigation of employment risks globally as part of Accion’s enterprise risk management program.
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• Provide strategic oversight of international employment models, Employer of Record arrangements, immigration, and global mobility workforce strategies.
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• Support compliance with labor laws, regulations, and employment practices across various jurisdictions, including the additional regulatory considerations applicable to AIM as an SEC-registered investment advisor.
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• Oversee employee relations and partner with Chief Legal, Compliance and Risk Officer on human resources-related investigations and whistleblower concerns as appropriate, reporting to the Audit and Governance Committee of the Board on Accion’s Whistleblower Program
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• Ensure policies and practices reflect Accion's values while supporting a healthy, respectful, and inclusive workplace.
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The Leader: Accion’s new Head of People & Culture will bring a global perspective, an innovative and strategic mindset, and a strong understanding of how people strategy drives global organizational performance. They will have deep experience shaping culture and leading teams across countries or regions within complex, international, mission-driven organizations. The ideal candidate will combine exceptional management and execution skills with a values-driven, collaborative, solutions-oriented approach, and bring many of the following qualifications:

Preferred Experience:

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• 15+ years of well-rounded, progressive HR experience with current or prior experience leading people team and strategy within a complex global organization.
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• Strong understanding of global employment practices and cross-cultural leadership is key, with direct experience supporting subsidiaries and teams operating across multiple countries and cultures. Prior responsibility for managing Human Resources needs in India, Colombia, and Singapore would be beneficial.
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• Demonstrated prior people leadership experience gained in both a combination of both 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and financial services, investment, venture capital, lending, or other complex capital environments would be preferred.
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• Experience developing high-performing teams, talent pipelines and succession strategies.
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• Expertise in organizational design, leadership development, talent strategy, total reward strategy, and change management.
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• Experience modernizing HR technology and processes and leveraging AI-enabled solutions.
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• Demonstrated managing compliance in a globally distributed organization.
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Values, Competencies & Skills

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• A collaborative and pragmatic partner with all departments/teams across the organization.
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• An ability to coach, mentor and advise a direct report, peers, and senior leaders on best-in-class people and culture, talent management and organizational development practices.
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• Strong interpersonal and partnering skills, leads through influence rather than power and is approachable to staff.
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• A great, clear communicator and active listener who builds trust and equity across the entire organization.
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• Strong enterprise transformation and change management skills, with an ability to toggle tactical and strategic contributions. Excellent project management and delivery skills.
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• Action-oriented, accountable, innovative, creative, and not risk averse while supporting employee wellbeing.
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• A continuous learner and problem solver who is open to feedback, inclusive and solution oriented.
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• Strong conflict resolution skills with an ability to effectively bridge and transcend differences.
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• Appropriately handles sensitive and confidential information.
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Education:

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• Minimum Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Development, or related field.
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Location:

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• The role is based in Accion’s headquarters in Washington D.C.
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• Accion has a hybrid work environment.
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Travel:

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• Eagerness to travel domestically for board meetings, team meetings/retreats, and conferences and globally to regional hub offices and team meetings in Colombia, India, and Africa (anticipated 3-4 trips per year).
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Compensation:

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• Accion offers competitive compensation, excellent benefits, and a supportive working environment.
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• For this position, the base salary range is $225,000 to $250,000 plus an annual bonus. Internal equity considerations will be reviewed before making a final offer.
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