Fractional Human Resources & Operations Leadership
Supporting small, impact-driven teams behind the scenes.
I design systems for limited capacity, finite resources, and shifting priorities —practical, adaptable structures that hold as organizations evolve, without becoming brittle or overly complex. Built to last, even after I'm gone.
How I can help
I work with clients to build systems that are sustainable - easy to use, and easy to hand over.
HR Foundations & People Systems
Setting up the structures that keep a team running well: role clarity, fit-for-purpose policies, and practical HR systems that hold as teams shift and grow, including for remote and distributed contexts.
Operations & Ways of Working
Clarifying how work flows, decisions get made, and ownership is held — then building the policies and norms to make it sustainable.
Recruitment & Hiring
End-to-end recruitment support from role design and job postings to CV screening, structured interviews, offer management, and onboarding. Including building the systems and processes behind it so hiring is repeatable and consistent.
Learning & Team Development
Designing practical workshops and resources that help teams work better, whether that's strengthening existing onboarding, building new team norms, or supporting a transition to a new way of operating.
Fractional Leadership
Stepping in as a fractional HR or operations lead at moments of transition, growth, or strain. Providing strategic oversight without the overhead of a full-time hire.
Alison Roadburg
Hi, I’m Alison.
I support small, impact-driven teams by leading the people and operations systems that keep work running smoothly behind the scenes. My approach is deeply informed by a 20-year career working at the intersection of field-level delivery and the internal systems that make sustained impact possible.
I’ve spent much of my career working with social impact and international development organizations. I lived and worked in Ghana, West Africa for ten years, leading program delivery and organizational operations in fast-changing, resource-constrained environments.
After returning to Canada, I spent seven years leading people, HR, and operations within a global social impact organization. I supported distributed teams and partner organizations across multiple countries and time zones, building the internal systems that allowed the work to function consistently - from recruitment, onboarding, and people policies to risk management, internal controls, finance-adjacent processes, and day-to-day operational workflows.
When I stepped away from that role, the organization chose not to replace the position immediately. The systems I had built were designed for that reality - and they held.
That experience continues to guide my work today: strong people and operations systems should create clarity and continuity, and reduce reliance on any single individual to keep things moving.
I hold an MA in Participation, Power and Social Change from the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, UK, along with a certification in HR Management from George Brown College, Toronto, Canada.
Client Testimonials
“Collaborating with Alison is a true pleasure - she is a solutions-oriented and reliable presence on any team. She brings a strong balance of strategic insight and attention to detail, moving seamlessly between big-picture thinking and practical execution. Her approach is grounded in the realities of capacity-limited teams.”
— Ellen Martin, Co-Founder, SoJo (Canada)“Alison brings a super power mix of operational efficiency and empathy to her work in recruitment and operations leadership. She's a strong communicator, and is not afraid of stepping back and adapting something that is no longer working.”
— Rhea Simms, Senior Project Manager, Youth Challenge International (Canada)“Alison’s dedication to clear processes and accountability was invaluable as we scaled. She consistently delivers results—coordinating international partnerships, leading large-scale events like Social Impact Week, and strengthening our operational foundations and systems.”
— Fiifi Baidoo, Co-Founder, ISpace Foundation (Ghana)How we’d
work together
The work is collaborative and flexible. I work with teams on a project, advisory, or ongoing fractional basis, stepping in where structure or dedicated oversight is most helpful.
As needs evolve, my involvement can shift - always with the goal of leaving teams with tools and processes they can confidently use on their own.
Recent Work
A sample of the people, operations, and program infrastructure I’ve led across global nonprofit and mission-driven environments.
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HR Leadership: Led the HR function for a distributed international nonprofit, overseeing the full employee lifecycle for teams across Canada, East Africa, and West Africa.
Employee Handbook & Policy Design: Developed a comprehensive employee handbook for a Canadian-based organization, aligning legal requirements with human-centered team norms.
International Recruitment & Placement: Directed the end-to-end selection and placement of Canadian professionals with social enterprise partners in Ghana, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Equity, Safety & Inclusion Policies: Wrote and implemented policy frameworks covering Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, anti-harassment, and Health, Safety, and Security for global staff and program participants.
Performance & Feedback Design: Initiated and designed annual review cycles, including custom manager guidance and structured feedback tools to improve team alignment.
Pre-Departure & Thematic Training: Facilitated training programs for fellowship cohorts preparing for international placements, covering program content, thematic areas, and on-the-ground readiness.
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Digital Systems Implementation: Led the organizational transition from manual spreadsheets to centralized digital systems, including a custom CRM and recruitment database.
Grantmaking Operations: Built the internal workflows and decision-making structures needed to manage and scale international grant programs.
Distributed Team Coordination: Developed workflows, documentation standards, and communication protocols for teams working across multiple countries and time zones.
Financial Process Design: Wrote practical financial process manuals tailored to the compliance and logistical needs of remote, international workforces.