'Internationalizing' your NGO: 4 lessons from ActionAid

ActionAid stirred controversy about a decade ago, when it relocated its London headquarters — and most of its senior staff — to Johannesburg. While considered radical at the time, it now seems like an “absolutely visionary” move, given current contexts. International nongovernmental organizations based in developed countries increasingly realize that to generate the most impact on target beneficiaries, they need to build their presence in the “global south.” Most have established local offices in their priority countries, but others — like mHealth Alliance and, more recently, Oxfam — have decided to follow ActionAid’s footsteps and relocate headquarters to the global south. But moving to or expanding into developing countries requires careful human resources planning. How can HR and strategy teams negotiate such transition periods effectively? We spoke with the Johannesburg-based head of strategic HR, systems and operations at ActionAid, who shared four tips for international NGOs that are planning to or currently working through a similar transition. Start lean Relocating an international secretariat should start with “a very lean structure,” Jayanta Bora told Devex. In the case of ActionAid, the move began with just the chief executive, followed soon after by finance and key elements of programs teams. But while fundraising and communications team members have moved to Johannesburg over the years, some staffers remained in London. “In the current communications team of 10 people,” Bora explained, “six are based in London while the head of the team is in Johannesburg, and there are three communications advisers in Bangkok, Nairobi and Brussels, covering the regions they are based in.” But the majority presence in London was not a requirement, the HR head stressed. The communications staff was given the choice of where to work, and the majority chose to remain in London. Members of the fundraising team are similarly spread out across different locations, including Johannesburg and London. At present, ActionAid has a team of 55 in Johannesburg and 57 in London. Create a center of expertise Over the long term, the international secretariat should remain lean. While it may serve as a vital “organizational glue,” it remains a cost center that doesn’t raise its own funds. “A leaner structure will ensure cost rationalization — being strategic by doing less but doing it well,” Bora noted. Nonetheless, the secretariat must ensure it has the right skills to operate as an internal consulting unit or center of expertise, so that members see value in using that expertise — and are prepared to pay for it. That brings costs down and also reinforces the legitimacy of the office. ActionAid’s international secretariat works like that “in certain aspects,” Bora noted. For example, country offices would cover the costs of an IS visit — paying per diem allowances and airfare — but would not have to pay for the services provided. Plan ahead for local recruitment Like many international NGOs, ActionAid policy for country teams is to first look for national staff, especially as country directors. But that’s not often possible in many places, particularly in Afghanistan, parts of Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, occupied Palestinian territories, Somaliland, Myanmar and Cambodia. And recruiting is “definitely more difficult” in certain areas. It is easier to find qualified finance and accounting specialists in Johannesburg, for instance, than it is to find professionals with the required external and internal communications skills. “Similarly, someone who does high-value fundraising from individuals or big corporates — those skill sets [are] much more easily available in the U.K. than in South Africa,” Bora stressed. Yet ensuring that the right skills can be sourced locally, or local staff trained up, is crucial since dealing with expat work permits is actually the “much bigger challenge,” according to Bora. Recent changes to legislation in South Africa have made it much more difficult to get the authorizations needed. When in the past, work permits were coursed only through the Department of Home Affairs, now requests need to be screened by the Department of Labor as well — and these two separate ministries have their own set of requirements. The types of work permits available were changed as well, and now expats could only be hired after an organization proves there are no qualified South African citizens who can fill the open positions. Proving that certain skills are not available within the country, however, can be “a huge long process that can take up to one and a half years,” he said. Kenya, which has been shortlisted for Oxfam International’s possible relocation base, also has restrictive laws on foreign workers. Prepare for ‘nationalization’ of expat staff For ActionAid, recreating itself as a more globally balanced organization has also meant levelling out the field between international and national staff. The process of “nationalizing” expat contracts began in 2011 for country directors, and a year later for professional and support staff of the international secretariat. Now, once employed in another country for five years, an expat loses 50 percent of the initial benefits of the expat package, which may include housing, education and flight allowances. In the seventh year, the benefits are cut entirely. In 2011, ActionAid also moved to a system where taxation became the 100 percent liability of all staff — in other words, it no longer protected expat employees from paying income taxes in the host country where they were due. That, Bora noted, was “a huge transition” that brought expats’ total compensation closer to the national staff. Despite the restructure, voluntary attrition over the past three years was just 12 percent, which Bora noted isn’t too far off the 10 percent annualized benchmark across the sector. The reduced benefits, however, have made it more challenging to recruit expat staff. 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