About Us

The Foundation for International Law for the Environment (FILE) was set up in 2019 to be the major philanthropic re-granter scaling up legal action globally to tackle the climate and the biodiversity crises.

We work as movement enablers, campaign strategists, and impact funders, using the law in pursuit of three interconnected system-level goals:

• Reducing net greenhouse gas emissions to protect the climate

• Safeguarding nature

• Delivering climate and environmental justice

We pursue these goals not just by supporting legal action directly. We believe in growing the strength of the climate and biodiversity legal movement globally, and in enabling people and movements to use legal action to shift narratives.

As movement enablers, campaign strategists, and impact funders, we at FILE do not ourselves bring litigation. As a re-grantor, FILE is not an endowed foundation, but rather we engage in fundraising to secure resources to support our partners globally.

The Role

FILE is looking to engage a Director of People and Culture to join FILE’s newly established leadership team. This is an exciting opportunity for a hands on, charismatic, strategic HR leader to join the team. The main aim being to lead our people strategy and drive our culture as we move into a period of consolidation, maturity and stablisation, after a dynamic period of growth.

Leading a small team of HR and Administrative professionals the ideal candidate will be able to switch seamlessly between operational and strategic thinking. You be expected to take on the role of mentor and leader to your direct reports, encouraging their development and growth, as well as leading on all people and culture initiatives, working collaboratively with the senior leadership team and the board of directors to create a culture that encapsulates and supports our philanthropic values.

The Candidate

The ideal candidate will have significant experience in building organisational culture at a senior management level.  As a creative and solutions driven thinker you will advise the board on our people strategy and work in partnership with your peers to drive positive change.

You will be able to establish trust and credibility quickly, with a focus on creating collaborative partnerships throughout the foundation.

Ideally you will have grown, driven and led a globally diverse workforce with a keen focus on diversifying our employee base globally, to support the Foundations regional and thematic Climate justice work in the global south. Currently the Foundation has two entities in both the UK and the Netherlands. You will be expected to lead and advise on initiatives to support this growth from a governance, culture and organisational development perspective,

You will have hands on experience with driving organisations to improve operational HR efficiency as we move into a period of maturity. You will be able to demonstrate your ability to attracted and retain high level talent, coaching high achieving teams to success.

Justice, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion are of paramount importance to the foundation and embedded into our values, you will be expected to have demonstrable previous experience running successful JDEI programs that make a significant difference and support FILE’s overall ambition to substantively impact historical inequalities.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead on FILE’s people strategy, in line with the foundation’s overall strategic direction. Playing a key role in shaping the people strategy for the future.

• Ensure effective monitoring and measurement across the People agenda to drive performance improvements in line with strategic deliverables and governance arrangements. Ensure the provision of timely, high quality information to the Senior Leadership team and the Supervisory Board, providing assurance that the foundation is working in the best interests of its people and towards its ambition to be an employer of choice.

•  Ensure the provision of an excellent, proactive, efficient service to stakeholders across all aspects of Human Resources and the foundations organisational development agenda. Securing board and senior leadership investment. Act as a trusted advisor supporting the senior leadership team and board on complex employment matters, offering considered solutions in line with employment law regulations.

• Work closely with all key stakeholders to shape the development of a high-performing People service that builds capacity, capability and culture to support the delivery of strategic priorities.

• Develop and promote a positive climate of employee relations and engagement within the foundation that encourages communication and cooperation with partners and employees alike.

• Overall accountability for decisions and management of the People budget, prioritising expenditure, through considered planning, assessment for all people project initiatives.

• Supporting the Senior Leadership Team, giving counsel to colleagues and leading on complex Employee Relations issues as and when they arise.

Leadership  

• Promote inspirational leadership by demonstrating organisational values and embodying our leadership behaviour framework.

• Drive positive change as a senior leader of the business, delivering HR programs that have impact across the foundation and help to build and grow a strong culture of trust, transparency and empowerment.

• A strong commitment to live and deliver against the leadership team’s agreed behavioural objectives, work in collaboration with the other members of the leadership team.

Talent

• Lead the foundation’s work on globalising our workforce, to reflect the need to attract talent in different geographical locations, offering practical solutions to ensure we are best placed to service our grantees as experts, enablers and network builders.

• Lead on programs to support the development and professional growth of all our people.  

• Lead the team to securing and managing our existing talent. Overseeing fair and best practice recruitment practices and providing development solutions that enable us to develop talent to support our ambition to develop the ‘Climate Leaders of the future’.

Culture

• Lead the foundation’s work on organisational culture and design. Driving a value led program that is consistent with our overall mission as a foundation and that reflects and underpins the foundation’s strategic plan.

• Champion a high-performance culture in line with FILE's organisational strategy, supporting our leaders to achieve best in class people management. Operate as a thinking partner for the Senior Leadership and Supervisory Board on all aspects of culture, behaviour and leadership.

• Act as a role model for the Foundation’s values and support senior colleagues to do the same.

• Lead the development and delivery of the justice, diversity, equality and inclusion program, alongside, Supervisory Board and SLT sponsors to drive positive and impactful change.

• Build a positive culture of inclusivity, where employees are supported and encouraged to be themselves and deliver excellence in their roles.

• Build a freedom to ‘Speak Up’ agenda supported by comprehensive and measurable strategy, building a culture that encourages and supports all employees to raise concerns.

• Lead on initiatives on staff wellbeing ensuring it is at the heart of decision making.

The Talented Individual

• Experience of leading people initiatives, in a diverse international environment, building a culture of inclusiveness and alignment.

• Excellent knowledge covering the breadth of HR, strategy, learning & development, organisational design, employment law, culture and talent management.

• Outstanding partnership management skills, demonstrable experience of establishing and managing collaborative internal and external partnerships.

• Excellent leadership skills, experience of managing people and high performing teams for success, acting as an internal coach and mentor, sharing experience and knowledge. 

• Outstanding and demonstrable English written and communication skills.  You will understand how to present information in a compelling way through proposals, memos and PowerPoint presentations and be able to direct your team accordingly.  Confident at presenting information at Board level. 

• Excellent attention to detail and strong organisational and project management skills, ability to navigate your team through growth and change, thinking through issues logically in order to make solid decisions and recommendations in line with strategic goals. 

• Knowledge of other languages including Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin advantageous. 

Diversity & Inclusion

As an equal opportunities employer, FILE is committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and does not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership.

We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join FILE.

To apply

Please apply by contacting our recruitment partner TrapezHR by sharing with them your CV and cover letter sharing why you are interested in joining the organisation and detailing how your experience matches FILE’s vision for this position and the contribution that you think you could make to the Foundation’s overall mission in this space. 

This role is open for applications immediately, Friday 27th October 2023.  Should you have any questions, please email Harriet Lavender harriet@trapezehr.com