Specialist - Talent Acquisition & HR Administration at ICARDA · Cairo

Reports to: Director of Human Resources and Administration Location: Cairo, Egypt

Purpose of the position

The Specialist - Talent Acquisition & HR Administration will provide professional support to the HR function, with primary responsibility for coordinating end-to-end talent acquisition and recruitment activities. The role also provides operational HR administration support across onboarding, employee lifecycle transactions, HR data and reporting, workforce planning support and other HR processes. The position works closely with hiring managers, candidates, staff and internal functions to ensure timely, consistent and well-documented HR service delivery in line with ICARDA policies and procedures.

About ICARDA

The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) is a treaty-based international non-profit research organization supported by CGIAR.
ICARDA’s mission is to reduce poverty, enhance food, water, and nutritional security, as well as environmental health in the face of global challenges including climate change. We do this through innovative science, strategic partnerships, linking research to development and capacity development that take into account gender equality and the role of youth in transforming the dry areas. ICARDA works in partnership with governments, universities, civil society, national agricultural research organization, other CGIAR Research Centers, and the private sector. With its temporary Headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, ICARDA operates in regional and country offices across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. For more information: https://www.icarda.org.

Main responsibilities

Talent Acquisition & Recruitment

· Manage end-to-end recruitment processes for national & international staff, consultants, and short-term appointments, from vacancy initiation through selection, offer, appointment, and onboarding.

· Partner with hiring managers to develop job descriptions, vacancy announcements, selection criteria, and recruitment timelines in line with HR policies and approved positions.

· Manage candidate sourcing, screening, shortlisting, interview coordination, and candidate communications using appropriate recruitment platforms and channels.

· Conduct reference and pre-employment checks, ensuring all required documentation and clearances are completed.

· Prepare and coordinate job offers, communicate terms and conditions, manage candidate queries, and support negotiations within approved guidelines.

· Act as a Talent Acquisition business partner to hiring managers and stakeholders, providing expert advice and resolving complex recruitment matters, challenges, and escalations.

· Maintain accurate recruitment trackers, talent pipelines, HRIS records, and recruitment documentation, ensuring confidentiality and compliance.

· Monitor recruitment progress and timelines, provide regular updates and recruitment reports to hiring managers and the HR Director.

· Ensure fair, transparent, competitive, and well-documented selection processes throughout the recruitment cycle.

· Identify opportunities to improve recruitment and onboarding processes through HRIS, recruitment platforms, and other digital tools.

Onboarding & Employee Lifecycle Support

• Coordinate onboarding and induction arrangements for new staff and other resources, including required documentation, HRIS inputs and coordination with relevant internal functions.

• Support employee lifecycle transactions including transfers, contract extensions, changes, separations and related documentation.

• Create and maintain accurate and confidential personnel records and ensure timely updates to HR systems and HR databases at the time of appointment.

• Provide timely administrative support to staff and managers on routine HR queries, escalating policy interpretation or complex matters to the Director/HR Manager or relevant HR colleague as may be applicable from time to time.

HR Data, Reporting & Workforce Planning Support

• Maintain HR trackers and prepare routine HR reports and workforce information to support recruitment monitoring, workforce planning and management decision-making.

• Support workforce planning activities through accurate staffing, vacancy, contract and recruitment pipeline data.

• Monitor HR data quality and identify discrepancies for timely correction in HR systems and records.

• Prepare HR data, summaries and presentations for management and HR meetings as required.

Payroll Input & Other HR Administration

• Provide timely HR inputs for additions to payroll, including new appointments and other approved additions, in accordance with established timelines.

• Support administration of routine HR processes and coordinate with Finance, Procurement, IT, Facilities, Security and other functions where required to complete employee-related transactions.

• Support HR projects and initiatives, including staff engagement, learning and development activities, performance management administration and other priorities as may be assigned from time to time.

• Maintain confidentiality of personnel and candidate information and ensure records are handled appropriately.

Policy, Compliance & Process Improvement

• Apply ICARDA HR policies, procedures and guidelines consistently in recruitment and HR administration activities.

• Support the HR team in implementing HR processes and continuous improvement initiatives that enhance service quality, efficiency and employee experience.

• Support HR reviews, audits and compliance exercises by maintaining complete and accessible documentation.

• Perform other related duties within the scope of the position as assigned.

Education, qualifications, and experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Management, Business Administration, Personnel Management or a related field; equivalent qualifications may be considered.

• Minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible HR experience, with strong practical experience in talent acquisition and recruitment administration.

• Demonstrated experience coordinating end-to-end recruitment processes and managing multiple vacancies or recruitment assignments simultaneously.

• Experience in onboarding, offboarding, personnel records, HR data management and employee lifecycle administration.

• Experience working with HR information systems and digital recruitment/HR tools; knowledge of Peoplesoft or comparable HRIS/ERP systems is desirable.

• Experience in an international organization, United Nations agency, NGO or similarly structured and multicultural environment is strongly desirable.

• Strong organizational, analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines.

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with staff, managers, candidates and service providers.

• Excellent written and spoken English, with strong attention to detail and a high level of confidentiality and integrity.

Terms of appointment, salary, and benefits

This is a nationally recruited position open for Egyptian nationals for which ICARDA offers an attractive compensation package including a competitive salary, medical insurance, 30 days of annual leave, five months’ maternity leave, 15 days’ paternity leave. The successful candidate will be offered an initial contract of 3 years, renewable subject to continued need for the position and satisfactory performance. The first three (3) months will be a probationary period.

Please be advised that ICARDA accepts applications only in English, as per the organization's standard communication language. Applications in other languages will not be considered.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.