International Planned Parenthood Federation: Delivering Gender-Diverse Staff With The Power To Change Lives

Delivering gender-diverse staff for a flagship programme with the power to change lives

A hugely exciting joint IPPF programme with Marie Stopes had the potential to change the lives of millions of women and girls for the better.

To make it happen, the organisation needed to hire 30 people in 27 countries. Given the nature of IPPF’s work, a key stipulation was a gender-diverse approach and pro-female choice of candidates. By 2019, IPPF had hired all but two of their team.

• Excellent fill rate with Green Park as sole supplier
• Gender-diverse brief fulfilled
• IPPF able to transform lives through one of the biggest programmes in its history

The challenge

According to IPPF, 1.4 billion people across the world live in extreme poverty. Two-thirds of them are women who lack the ability to have control over their own bodies and ultimately, their future. Unsafe sex is a major risk factor for death and disability in low and middle-income countries¹, yet many women aren’t able to protect themselves from STIs, unplanned pregnancies or gender-based violence.

In 2017, IPPF delivered 208.6 million sexual and reproductive health services and contributed to 146 policy and legal changes in support of sexual and reproductive health and rights. In 2018, led by IPPF and Marie Stopes International (MSI) consortia, a flagship new programme was launched to educate and empower women about sexual and reproductive health across Africa and South Asia - WISH (Women’s Integrated Sexual Health) to Action.

However, the programme could only succeed with a skilled and carefully selected team. IPPF asked Green Park’s People Solutions Practice to recruit over 30 positions for the WISH programme. Each hire would be helping to expand integrated healthcare expansion in one of 27 countries across Africa and South Asia.

Our project

Delivering roles in countries such as Uganda, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Tanzania, required a culturally responsive, adaptable and astute approach to the attraction and acquisition of candidates. Given the nature of the WISH programme’s missions, a key stipulation of the IPPF was a gender-diverse approach and pro-female choice of candidates.

Green Park has a commitment to (and track record in) delivering, developing and nurturing diverse talent, both in the UK and internationally. Our People Solutions Practice offers a uniquely agile and adaptable approach to talent attraction, retention and management processes, with specialist knowledge of the large-scale delivery of international people strategies. These factors were crucial in IPPF’s decision to ask Green Park to design, plan and project manage this complex and unique international NGO project.

Green Park has placed over 700 roles across a broad range of functions across the UK, Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East and North and South America. Yet despite a vast track record delivering international placements, the partnership with IPPF would require total remote recruitment – a first for the business.

The results

Fast forward to 2019 and the project has been driven to almost successful completion, with all but two roles filled.

Success is partly down to Green Park’s scalable business model, which gave the team the agility to work across a vast array of complex and varying client needs.  

The team, led by Senior Consultant Rachel Kaur, played a strategic collaborative role, drawing on extensive international experience. They also used Green Park’s understanding of diversity & inclusion as a powerful tool to leverage collective difference. At all stages, the team was careful to consider the cultural, ethical and social and political environments of the candidates. As a result, IPPF has achieved their recruitment goals with Green Park as the sole supplier, including an excellent fill rate and gender split rate.

Commended by candidates on Green Park’s responsiveness and professionalism throughout the recruitment process, Don MacIntyre, Director, Global Business Development/Transition Executive Director, WISH Programme, commented:

“This was no small task; we were looking at building a team to handle one of the largest programmes in IPPF history. We needed 30+ international development professionals with specialised experience able to manage a complex commercial project operating in 15 countries. The talent pool Green Park was able to deliver was more than we could have expected and allowed us to ensure that we operate with highly qualified and dynamic staff who will not only deliver on our programmatic commitments, but enhance our services across IPPF. I cannot compliment the team at GP enough”.

Rachel Kaur, Senior Consultant at Green Park, commented: 

“It’s been an honour to work with an organisation that’s positively impacting lives all over the world and whose values are so aligned to our own. Throughout the course of the recruitment process we have had the pleasure of getting to know individuals from varying walks of life, all with a passion to make a difference. It is this drive and motivation which inspires our team and we look forward to continuing our successful partnership with IPPF and the WISH Programme.”

1. IPPF: https://www.ippf.org/our-priorities/women-girls