Beverly Chahonyo, Human Resources Officer

Beverly Chahonyo

Human Resources Officer

World Food Program

Location
Kenya
Education
Higher diploma, Human Resources
Experience
21 years, 4 Months

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Work Experience

Total years of experience :21 years, 4 Months

Human Resources Officer at World Food Program
  • Kenya
  • My current job since July 2018

WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME J

September 2019 to Date:
1. LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT:
** Support staff capability building, working with managers to understand individual skills and business requirements, and organizing development solutions which equip people with the skills and knowledge required to meet current and future challenges.
** Identify and assess future and current training needs through job analysis, career paths,
annual performance appraisals, surveys, consultation with line managers and staff members, as needed.
** Promote a Learning Culture within the Country Office through proactive sharing of Learning
Courses, Knowledge Management and other creative methods
** Design and implement a robust learning and development plan from the learning needs for the
Country Office leveraging available resources to build a learning culture
** Act as the focal point for capability development for the Kenya Country Office and in close
liaison with the Outcome Managers; develop a Learning Calendar to be deployed across the country Office
** Champion the utilization of WeLearn through innovative and creative solutions that will foster a
culture of organizational learning. Manage the eLearning platform and increase learning uptake
through this channel
** Monitor and evaluate training program’s effectiveness, success and periodically report on
them
** Develop and maintain a Training policy and budget. This includes development of a Kenya CO
Learning and Development SOP
** Hold session with managers and focus groups to get feedback on learning and development
needs Champion 70:20:10

2. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
• Support the implementation of an appropriate Performance management approaches that
• Ensure evaluations are conducted on time and the quality
• Suggest career paths and support plans for specific staff
• Promote a Learning Culture within the Country Office through proactive Performance Management initiatives

3. PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
• Work with the Head of unit to lead and develop HR staff through coaching and mentoring
• Ensure team leadership and cross-functional collaboration
• Support and advise staff and management as appropriate to improve relations, achieve
consensus and resolve issues.
• Contribute to building and managing talent within WFP, while working with managers to
understand their needs and delivering solutions to recruit, retain, manage and develop a high
calibre workforce to deliver the set objectives.
• Support & deliver onboarding activities to ensure new employees have a positive experience
of WFP, and are successfully integrated into their new role and the organization

JULY 2018 - JUNE 2019: Playing a key role in the management of the recruitment processes as well as the creation and execution of the organization’s learning programs and Career development.

PROJECTS & ACHIEVEMENTS:
** Org Alignment - Working with senior management on the implementation of the Country Strategic Plan (CSP) which involved the posting, interviewing and recruiting of 129 affected positions across all duty stations.

** Career Transitional Training - As a part of the Org Alignment process, identified and worked closely with an external party / firm to rollout this training across all duty stations to all staff. I was key in designing the program to ensure maximum impact to staff.

** Reduction in Recruitment & Selection Process:
Increased Employee Engagement
Implementation of Global Staff Survey action plans
Business Partnering

** Staff Engagement - Played a vital role in revamping and roll-out of the HR Business Partnering program that saw me actively engage and influence the Global Staff Survey action plans organization wide. Also introduced exciting and innovative engagement activities to boost the engagement rating in the Kenya Country Office.

Lead Consultant at Talent Masters Limited
  • Kenya
  • September 2016 to July 2018

Charged with Business Development, Relationship Management, Delivery, Talent Acquisition and Learning & Development of a Talent Development outfit whose vision is “To Inspire Greatness, Instil Excellence and Nurture Leaders to Birth Tomorrow’s Ideas Today”.

Achievements:
** Successfully developed and implemented a 6-Month Leadership Coaching programme (references of clients available upon request)

** Successfully designed and implemented a Personality Assessment tool (Twende Safari) which is currently being automated and trademarked for use globally

Group Head of HR & Training at Mobile Decisioning (MODE)
  • Kenya
  • June 2011 to June 2016

OVERALL:
* Provide proactive support, direction & advice to other division managers on HR procedure, policy, benefits & legislation to facilitate in achieving the objectives & targets of The Group.
* Perform management works relating to employee engagement, talent management, recruitment, retention, career development and leadership training, compensation, promotion, termination. My responsibilities went beyond the Group Headquarters in Kenya and oversaw operations globally with staff in KENYA, UGANDA, NIGERIA, CAMEROON, RWANDA, SOUTH AFRICA, INDIA and the UK. The staff strength grew from 24 at my arrival (in Kenya only) to 168 globally. This interaction included liaising with local HR and Legal partners on matters surrounding local Regulatory and Legislature in the respective countries.

STRATEGIC: Liaise with the Leadership and the Board of Directors on the Strategic Objectives and goals including but not limited to Due Diligence, Audits, Investor Relations, Award Entries, Performance Based Incentives and Succession Planning among others.

OPERATIONAL: Responsible for HR Operations in all territories where the organization had a physical presence and a total of 220 employees (Africa, Asia and the UK). Also responsible for managing the HR, Learning & Development, Administration, Travel & Logistics teams including but not limited to budgeting, employee travel, transport and logistics.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: Responsible for the running of various CSR projects, the longest standing one being the MODE Kids Program where the organization has paid tuition for five elementary school children. This initiative has since grown into a Mode Mentorship Program spearheaded by myself and run by my team where the kids come to the company during school holidays and have been paired with mentors and are learning and growing in all disciplines of life.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT:
* Town Halls, Managers Monthly Meetings & CEO Quarterly Forum: Initiated communication flow upwards, downwards and laterally beginning with Town Hall Meetings run by MODE’s Executive Committee (EXCO) to allow for the free flow of information to demystify the executive to the rest of the organization. This then evolved into two other forums being:
* MANAGERS MONTHLY MEETINGS - A forum that allowed managers the chance to interact with HR, raise issues, ask questions, seek solutions and speak for their teams. Conversely, it allowed HR to broach new ideas and get buy-in at this level then have the managers disseminate the information downwards to their teams in smaller and more palatable settings.
* CEO QUARTERLY FORUM - This was developed in order to expose the executives to senior management and vice versa. Issues on strategy and direction were discussed and both parties were able to put their case forward, be heard and come to a united decision before information was then passed on to the rest of the organization.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
* November 2015: Won the Award for Excellence in Recruitment and Retention at the HR Brilliance Awards held in London, England. \[Facilitated by the BOC Global Events & Training Group\]
* January - December 2015: Facilitated the training of 24 managers at the New Managers Leadership Program run by The Strathmore Business School to up-skill new managers and give them the tools / knowledge necessary for success. This allowed the organization to improve efficiency and productivity by sharpening operational and leadership skills such as HR for non HR Managers, Leadership, Negotiation, Time Management & Project Management as well as improving on the personal front in terms of Career, Personal & Financial Goal Setting and Planning
* 2012: Designed and rolled out KARIBU MODE, an Induction program conducted for new hires run at HQ and staff are flown in from locations globally to attend. The program engages all aspects of the business by bringing in ‘Training Champs’ from different departments and divisions to train the new hires

Founder at Talent Masters Ltd
  • Kenya
  • May 2008 to May 2011

Founder & Senior Consultant of a Talent Development outfit whose vision is “To Inspire Greatness, Instill Excellence and Nurture Leaders to Birth Tomorrow’s Ideas Today” and whose focus areas include but are not limited to:
*** HR & Business Strategy
*** Coaching
*** Training
*** Conferences Facilitation
*** Motivational Speaking

The overall portfolio of Talent Masters ranges across various industries including the below;
*** African Nazarene University - Career Talk on Career Day 2009
*** Egerton University - Career Talk on Career Day 2010
*** Daystar University - Guest Speaker at Career Day 2010 for the Graduating Class of 2010
*** Nestle EAR Management Assistants Training - September 2010. Amboseli as a consultant under Edge Consult Ltd
*** Uchumi Supermarkets - Customer Service Training \[Sept. - Nov. 09\] as a consultant under Edge Consult Ltd
*** AMREF Kenya County Office - Customer Service Training \[February 2010\] as a consultant under Leads Training Ltd
*** Universal Hotel, Enugu City, Nigeria - Customer Service Training \[October 2010\]

Consultant & Head of Staffing at Personnel Resource
  • Kenya
  • December 2008 to April 2009

Charged with the sourcing, selection and recruitment of staff for various clients under the company’s portfolio including but not limited to AccessKenya Group and Ericsson Kenya.

Group HR Manager at The AccessKenya Group
  • Kenya
  • March 2004 to October 2008

ACHIEVEMENTS:
*** 2008: Was the Pioneer Group HR Manager responsible for founding and building the HR Department from the ground up including writing and implementing HR Policies and Procedures for the Group. (this position did not exist prior to my appointment).
*** 2008: Was part of the core team that headed and successfully completed an Merger &Acquisition process with two smaller organizations and helped integrate staff from those organizations into the larger Group dynamics.
*** 2008: Headed the HR Department when the Group went Public and floated shares in an IPO on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
2005 - 2006: Successfully started and grew the Client Relations Department in the Mombasa Branch before relocating to HQ to take over as a Team Lead.

Group Human Resources Manager \[March - October 2008\]
Charged with developing, maintaining and implementation as well as streamlining Human Resource strategies, policies and systems that will cultivate an employee - oriented and high performance culture in the organization.

Team Leader, Client Relations Department \[May 2007 - March 2008\]
Responsible for the Retention, Growth and Development of a revenue base of US $90, 000 per month, as well as a team of 22 Client Relations Executives translating to US $ 1.5 million a month in billing.

Senior Client Relations Executive & Branch Project Manager
\[Oct 2005 - May 2007\]
Managing a portfolio of clients in addition to coordinating and conducting client surveys for installation, liaising with sub-contractors to coordinate the installation process, and reporting to Head Quarters on a weekly basis on revenue retention, office administration, personnel and the day to day running of the branch.

Personal Assistant to the Commercial Manager & Marketing Coordinator
\[March 2004 - Sept 2004\]
Maintaining and coordinating the diary of the Commercial Manager including communication to his office, generating revenue reports, and writing of draft proposals. In addition, I was responsible for the company’s marketing and PsR docket, including facilitating the creation and design of the advertising campaign.

Credit Management Officer at First North American National Bank (FNANB)
  • United States
  • October 2001 to October 2002

Managing customers’ credit card accounts including but not limited to advising customers on credit limits, continued monitoring of the account activity, processing payments by phone, and passing on new information about the Credit Facility to both existing and potential customers.

Departmental Secretary at Embassy of Japan
  • United Arab Emirates
  • October 2001 to October 2002

*** Observing the political scene and foreign policy of the Republic of Kenya
*** Submit bi-weekly reports on current affairs and interaction with the region and beyond
*** Coordinating on-site preparation and supervision of social events hosted by the Embassy.
*** Coordinating administrative duties including liaising with officers and superiors regarding their office, managing calendars, taking calls and responding to emails
*** Conducting research on all matters touching the Embassy, relations with the Kenyan as well as regional governments
*** Acting as a hostess during official functions to meet and great guests as well as usher them to their table

Intern: Political, Social, Education & Visa Section at Embassy of Kenya
  • United States
  • June 1999 to September 1999

Helped process Bursaries for Kenya students, Visas for foreigners wishing to visit Kenya, passport extensions for Kenyans living in the US and attended meetings with the Political Attache.

Education

Higher diploma, Human Resources
  • at eCornell
  • November 2016

Professional HR Prep Course in preparation to sit the SPHR Exam. By taking and passing this course, I demonstrated commitment and understanding of the HR profession and showed dedication to continuing my education. The curriculum is designed by subject matter experts and covers the most up-to-date HR Certification Institute (HRCI) body of knowledge. The course is 12 weeks long, and extremely intensive. It required me to spend 6-8 hours per week on coursework. covering core knowledge requirements, including: business management and strategy, workplace planning and employment, human resources development, compensation and benefits, employee and labor relations and applicable legislations and laws.

Master's degree, International Business - Global Technology Management
  • at American Intercontinental University
  • May 2002
Bachelor's degree, International Relations & Diplomacy
  • at Schiller International University
  • December 2000
High school or equivalent, IGCSE A-Levels
  • at Hillcrest Secondary School
  • May 1997

Specialties & Skills

Motivation
Strategic Planning
Succession Planning
Coaching Leaders
Employee Engagement
BUDGETING
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
COACHING
CUSTOMER RELATIONS
DIRECTING
DUE DILIGENCE
HUMAN RESOURCES
INVESTOR RELATIONS
LEADERSHIP
RECRUITING

Languages

English
Native Speaker
Swahili
Native Speaker
French
Beginner

Training and Certifications

SPHR Prep Course (Training)
Training Institute:
eCornell
Date Attended:
August 2016
Duration:
100 hours
Change Management - Building A Better MODE (Training)
Training Institute:
Mobile Decisioning Services (MODE)
Date Attended:
August 2015
Duration:
4 hours
OSH Certification (Regulatory) (Training)
Training Institute:
Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS)
Date Attended:
November 2015
Duration:
12 hours
Basic Counseling (Training)
Training Institute:
The Purpose Centre Church
Date Attended:
July 2012
Duration:
12 hours
Innovation Training & Certification (Training)
Training Institute:
Mobile Decisioning Services (MODE)
Date Attended:
March 2016
Duration:
3 hours

Hobbies

  • Mentoring, Community Service and Blogging
    *** I have a passion for Woman through Beautiful Petals, reaching out to women and bring out the Malkia (Queen) in them through various programs *** Pads4Petals provides sanitary towels to women in refugee camps in collaboration with The Kenya Red Cross Society *** Malkia Mentorship Program - uplifting & equipping women / girls *** Blogging - www.beautifulpetals.com/blog