JOB DETAILS

Director of People, Talent, and Human Resources

CompanyNamati
LocationWashington
Work ModeOn Site
PostedApril 18, 2026
About The Company
Law is supposed to be one of our most powerful tools for advancing justice. But for billions of people around the world, the law is broken. It’s an abstraction—or worse, a threat. Since 2012, Namati has advanced social and environmental justice by building a movement of people who know, use, and shape the law. We’ve grown tremendously, from a small founding group of big-hearted change-makers to a global staff of 180+ people across 12 time zones in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. The Grassroots Justice Network, which Namati convenes, has grown from 30 people in one room to the world’s largest community of justice advocates. Our 16,000 members, spanning 188 countries, are building power together to make grassroots justice a reality. Namati has supported local communities to take on thousands of justice issues, directly improving the lives of over 4.1 million people since our founding. Together with communities, partners, and Network members, we’ve envisioned, and won, transformative changes across our country programs and beyond, expanding rights for over 100 million people. Namati has been featured in the New York Times, The Washington Post, the American Journal of Law and Equity, TED, The Economist, Amanpour & Co., and The Telegraph, among other outlets.
About the Role
<p dir="ltr"><strong>About the Position&nbsp;</strong></p><p dir="ltr">Our people are everything to us at Namati. The reason we exist &ndash; and can have an impact in the world - is our team of grassroots justice advocates and the staff members that support them across the globe. Our people team helps build a more durable Namati by bringing both structure and humanity to the experience of working here, and by ensuring legal compliance and adherence to our cultural principles in our day-to-day operations.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">Namati is seeking a Director of People with experience managing global HR and a track record of building and leading strong teams. This is a new,&nbsp; entrepreneurial role that combines high-level strategy, thought partnership, and management across the global People function.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">The Director of People will work in close partnership with organizational leadership (you&rsquo;ll report to the COO), as well as with all our teams, bringing expertise to bear in overseeing the big-picture employee lifecycle while ensuring core HR functions &ndash; like total rewards, compliance, and employee relations &ndash; are handled with clarity and care in all corners of the world. The role will shape the way our organization supports, protects, and grows our people.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">This role is for someone who roots their work in the ethos that HR and people practices have a unique and powerful role in shaping the human experience at work, and who uses that as an orienting principle to build inclusive HR functions that drive results and create a strong, nurturing organizational culture. As a global HR leader, we&rsquo;re looking for someone who is skilled at facilitating breakthrough conversations in sensitive personnel matters, while maintaining confidentiality and communicating across cultures.&nbsp; Our ideal candidate is someone who deftly manages complex people processes by listening first, connecting dots, and moving with confidence and clarity &ndash; trying to make things clearer, not more complicated.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">This role will lead a team of five that covers the full people and HR function in specialized roles. As a team leader, you&rsquo;ll earn trust by being thoughtful and helpful: asking questions, prioritizing team training and professional growth, and pitching in directly where you&rsquo;re needed. We&rsquo;re looking for a leader who won&rsquo;t shy away from the unglamorous parts of building a global People domain.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr"><strong>Responsibilities:&nbsp;</strong></p><p dir="ltr"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Leadership and Strategy</strong></span></p><ul><li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Partner with the COO to develop and execute a global people strategy aligned with our mission, values, and strategic priorities.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Oversee Namati&rsquo;s global approach to equitably developing our practices&nbsp; -- across talent acquisition, onboarding, performance management, professional development &amp; growth, and succession planning -- aligned with organizational goals and people strategy.</li><li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Partner with senior leadership to ensure that change management processes are thoughtfully designed and executed across the organization.</li><li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Foster collaboration and strategic alignment across people, operations, finance, and leadership to strengthen the employee experience.&nbsp;</li></ul><p dir="ltr"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Global HR Oversight&nbsp;</strong></span></p><ul><li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Work with country team leaders, HR, and operations staff to ensure that HR systems and processes are built-out, legally compliant, and locally contextualized while aligning with our global systems, policies, values, and culture.</li><li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Ensure our HR policies fully support our values, are appropriate in our operational context, reflect best practices, and are in line with legal requirements and risk management, everywhere we operate. Guide and supervise change management of new organization-wide policies and guidelines.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Partner with senior leadership to manage sensitive employee relations matters that are legally compliant, locally contextualized, and uphold our policies and values.</li><li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Provide oversight of safeguarding across Namati. Ensure safeguarding policies are effectively implemented, handling all matters confidentially and in accordance with our values. Maintain clear, visible, and accessible reporting channels.&nbsp;</li><li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Establish and lead a People data and analytics strategy, including development of HR KPIs and reporting frameworks that enable leadership decision-making, organizational insight, and continuous improvement.&nbsp;</li><li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Lead Namati&rsquo;s total rewards strategy across multiple labor markets, including compensation, benefits, and recognition programs aligned with organizational values and market trends.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li></ul><p dir="ltr"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Team and People Management&nbsp;</strong></span></p><ul><li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Lead strategic planning processes for the global people domain -- annual goal-setting, budgeting, and creating team work plans. Ensure our HR and people practices on-the-ground are aligned with our larger organizational strategy. Ensure the team is well-equipped to execute this strategy.</li><li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Ensure the global people domain has robust communications and resources to help Namatians understand the policies, decisions, and actions that impact their lives at work.&nbsp;</li><li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Lead and support the global people team through effective management and mentorship. Ensure team members have clear objectives, ambitious workplans, and opportunities for growth. Maintain appropriate staffing and role clarity, and foster accountability so all team members understand their responsibilities and can contribute excellently to the team&rsquo;s goals.</li></ul><p dir="ltr"><strong>Experience and Qualifications</strong></p><ul><li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Minimum of 10 years of progressive global HR experience, with at least 4 years of experience managing or leading teams, across multiple countries or regions.</li><li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Professional Certification: HR certifications such as SHRM, SPHR, CIPD, or equivalent.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Experience working in an international NGO is required; it is strongly preferred that you have worked in one or more matrixed organizations.&nbsp;</li><li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Proven success in implementing and managing comprehensive HR functions across multiple countries or regions.</li><li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Capacity to make sound, principled, and courageous decisions in complex situations.</li><li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Experience in setting a strategic vision and people strategy that aligns with organizational goals.</li><li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Excellent organizational and time management skills, with the ability to meet deadlines and perform under pressure.</li><li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Proven people management skills, with the ability to build and motivate effective teams across multiple geographic locations.</li><li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Strong, accessible writer and communicator, able to convey important and sometimes complicated policy requirements in ways that facilitate understanding and compliance.&nbsp;</li><li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Ability to engage effectively at all levels of the organization, fostering inclusion and respect across roles, grades, gender, and backgrounds.</li><li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Strong ability to influence and collaborate with diverse stakeholders, including those without direct line authority.&nbsp;</li></ul><p dir="ltr"><strong>Location and Travel</strong></p><p dir="ltr">We&rsquo;re looking for a successful candidate to be based in Nairobi, Kenya, or the Washington, DC metro area. Candidates in either location will be expected to follow a hybrid office policy, which calls for staff to report to the office two days per week between Tuesday and Thursday.</p><p dir="ltr">This role will require some travel, including internationally (likely two trips/year). Travel requirements may change over time based on evolving priorities. The successful candidate will be expected to sometimes work non-standard hours to accommodate the various time zones of Namati&rsquo;s teams.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr"><strong>Compensation Package</strong></p><p dir="ltr">Namati's staff position bands range from 1 (entry level/assistant) to 9 (managing director). This position will be at band 8.</p><p dir="ltr">We base our compensation on the markets where our staff operate. Because this position is open in multiple locations, we will communicate transparently with candidates early in the process about the prospective offer range for the candidate's location. Throughout the hiring process we will seek to understand your specific skills, experience, and abilities as they will fit into our team and our job levels. We will finalize pay and responsibilities based on the qualifications, experience, and country location of the person joining.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">We also offer excellent benefits: while the exact terms vary somewhat based on location, they always include health coverage, generous paid time off, retirement or old-age plan contributions, sick leave, and parental leave. All staff also have access to funds for professional development opportunities.</p><p dir="ltr"><strong>About Namati</strong></p><p dir="ltr">Since 2011, Namati has worked to build a movement of grassroots justice advocates worldwide. We&rsquo;ve grown tremendously, from a small founding group of big-hearted change-makers to a global staff of 170+ people across more than 10 time zones in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. The Grassroots Justice Network, which we co-founded and convene to this day, has grown from 30 people in one room to the world&rsquo;s largest community of justice advocates, with over 17,000 members across 189 countries.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">Since our founding, we have supported local communities to take on thousands of justice issues, directly improving the lives of over 5 million people, protecting over 3 million acres of forests and grasslands, and strengthening rights for over 155 million people. Together with communities, partners, and Network members, we&rsquo;ve envisioned - and won- transformative changes, like the<a href="https://namati.org/news-stories/sierra-leone-passes-globally-unprecedented-legislation-on-climate-environment/"> Customary Land Rights and National Land Commission Acts</a> of Sierra Leone, and the world&rsquo;s first<a href="https://namati.org/news-stories/legal-empowerment-fund-100-million-grassroots-justice/"> Legal Empowerment Fund</a>.<strong><br></strong></p>
Key Skills
Global HR managementStrategic planningChange managementTalent acquisitionPerformance managementEmployee relationsTotal rewardsSafeguardingData analyticsTeam leadershipMentorshipCross-cultural communicationPolicy developmentRisk managementBudgetingStakeholder influence
Categories
Human ResourcesManagement & LeadershipSocial ServicesConsulting
Benefits
Health coveragePaid time offRetirement plan contributionsSick leaveParental leaveProfessional development funds
Job Information
📋Core Responsibilities
The Director of People will lead the global HR strategy, overseeing the employee lifecycle, talent acquisition, and organizational culture. They will partner with senior leadership to ensure legal compliance, effective change management, and the development of robust HR systems across multiple regions.
📋Job Type
full time
📊Experience Level
10+
💼Company Size
133
📊Visa Sponsorship
No
💼Language
English
🏢Working Hours
40 hours
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