Strategic Project Manager (SPM) Consultant – Human Resources

Background

African Parks is a non-profit conservation organisation that takes on direct responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of national parks in partnership with governments and local communities, in order to protect Africa's wildlife and wild lands. As the organisation's portfolio of protected areas continues to grow, so too does the scale and complexity of its people function.

To support this growth, the Human Resources (HR) department is undertaking a number of enterprise-wide capability projects to strengthen how African Parks attracts, develops, manages and retains its people across all country programmes and Head Office. African Parks is seeking an experienced Strategic Project Manager (SPM) Consultant to provide dedicated project management capacity to the HR function, and to act as a key integration point between HR and other departments on cross-functional, enterprise-wide initiatives.

Purpose of the Assignment

The purpose of this consultancy is to provide strategic project management leadership to the HR department, ensuring that HR capability projects are well planned, effectively implemented, and successfully embedded across the organisation, while ensuring strong coordination between HR and other departments on enterprise-wide projects.

Scope of Work / Key Responsibilities

HR Capability Projects

• Lead and support the design and roll-out of HR capability projects, including talent acquisition, talent management, talent development, succession planning and performance management initiatives.
• Identify capability gaps within the HR function and across the organisation, and translate these into scoped, resourced project plans.
• Coordinate with HR specialists and external partners to design and deliver capability-building interventions.

Project Management

• Apply structured project management methodologies (scoping, planning, budgeting, resourcing, risk management, monitoring and reporting) across all HR projects.
• Develop and maintain project plans, timelines, budgets and risk registers for each HR initiative.
• Track project progress against agreed milestones and report regularly to HR leadership and relevant stakeholders.
• Proactively identify and manage project risks, dependencies and delays, escalating issues as required.

Project Implementation

• Oversee the practical implementation of approved HR projects across African Parks' Head Office and country programmes.
• Coordinate with project teams, internal stakeholders, consultants and vendors to ensure timely, quality delivery.
• Manage the change management and communication processes associated with HR project roll-outs, ensuring effective adoption by staff and managers.
• Conduct post-implementation reviews to capture lessons learnt and inform future project delivery.

HR Standards and Operating Procedures

• Lead the development, review and standardisation of HR standard operating procedures (SOPs) across the organisation.
• Ensure SOPs are practical, consistent, and aligned with African Parks' values and ways of working across all operating countries.
• Support HR teams in adopting and applying standardised procedures consistently.

HR Policies

• Support the development, review and updating of HR policies in collaboration with HR leadership and relevant subject-matter experts.
• Ensure policies are compliant with applicable labour legislation, practical to implement, and consistently applied across all country programmes.
• Support the roll-out and communication of new or revised policies to staff and management.

Integration Role between HR and Other Departments

• Act as a key liaison between HR and other departments (e.g. Finance, Operations, IT, Conservation, Community Development) on enterprise-wide projects with HR implications.
• Ensure HR requirements and people-related considerations are embedded into broader organisational projects from initiation through to implementation.
• Facilitate cross-functional collaboration, communication and alignment to ensure HR initiatives support overall organisational strategy.
• Represent HR in relevant cross-departmental project forums, steering committees and working groups.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources and MBA, Business Administration, Project Management or a related field; a recognized project management certification.
• A minimum of 10 years' relevant experience in HR project management, ideally within an international, multi-country, or non-profit/conservation context.
• Demonstrated experience managing HR capability projects, including talent management, HR systems, organisational design or change initiatives.
• Proven track record of developing and implementing HR standards, SOPs and policies.
• Demonstrated ability to work cross-functionally and act as an effective bridge between HR and other business functions on enterprise-wide projects.
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication, facilitation and influencing skills.
• Strong analytical, organisational and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Alignment with African Parks' mission and values, and willingness to travel to country programmes as required.