HR MANAGER – EAST AFRICA

Wanted

Exceptional professionals with 3 to 5+ years of work experience to serve in a career-track position that combines both field and management experience.

Job Location

Rural East Africa (Kenya or Rwanda) first 12 months; French Required

Duration

Minimum two year's commitment, full-time job.

Organization Description

Most of the world's poor are farmers, representing the largest and most uniform group of poor people in the world. One Acre Fund is a start–up non-profit in Kenya, Rwanda, and Burundi that is innovating a new way of helping farm families to achieve their full potential. Instead of giving handouts, One Acre invests in farmers to generate a permanent gain in farm income. We provide farmers with a "market bundle" that includes education, finance, seed and fertilizer, and market access. Our program is proven impactful – every year, we weigh thousands of harvests and measure more than 100% average gain in farm income per acre. We have laser–like focus on generating better lives for the people that we serve.

Job Description

Your primary objective will be to coordinate Human Resources across each of our Countries of operation and strengthen our capacity in all areas to meet this growth, including recruitment, retention, policy, procedures, staff development, team relations, training, compensation and benefits. One Acre Fund is a rapidly-growing organization both in terms of clients and staff numbers. We currently have over 1,400 staff, and in 2014 we are projected to have over 2,000.

Each One Acre Fund Country has a local Human Resources staff that manages HR according to the needs of that Country. You will be responsible for building and managing these local teams to ensure the component areas of HR are fully developed, as well as coordinating efforts in each location to ensure resources are allocated appropriately. You will initially be responsible for directly mentoring the HR manager of each Country who in turn leads teams of up to 8 people. In the next 1-2 years, your team will number more than 25 full time staffers.

Human Resources Manager (East Africa) Duties and Responsibilities:

Each One Acre Fund site (currently Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania) needs HR support in the following areas.

• Hiring, managing, and mentoring of HR Staff: You will establish and train strong teams to build operational capacity, including hiring, training and managing HR Managers in our branches across East Africa. You will be responsible for mentoring your team to ensure their professional development
• Performance measurement:  Develop performance measurement metrics for OAF Human Resources to ensure continual growth via transparent assessments.
• HR Systems Improvements: You will be responsible for implementing and overseeing a variety of HR operations and working through your teams to constantly improve:
  • Recruitment and retention: Co-ordinate and continually improve recruitment and screening systems to allow for a higher capacity of candidate flow, interviews and successful hires. Ensure that we continue to attract world-class applicants through continual outreach and marketing.
  • Staff development training: You will be responsible for standardizing and improving staff development materials across sites (including computer trainings) and ensuring that all staff have the opportunity to enroll in high quality training programs specific to their role and skill level.
  • Policy and Procedures: Ensure that all sites have clearly defined policies and procedures, standardized where necessary and fully communicated to all staff. Develop procedures for leave tracking, equipment request and distribution, staff filing, etc.
  • Staff onboarding: Ensure onboarding documents and schedules are of a high quality, continually updated, and specific to individual roles. Ensure all staff paperwork is appropriately collected and filed.
  • Payroll coordination: Work with our Payroll Coordinator to ensure payroll systems are coordinated across all regions.
  • Employee relations: Ensure that OAF staff satisfaction levels remain higher than any competitor, and ensure that team relations remain one of our strongest points as an organization
  • Compensation and benefits administration: Ensure staff compensation undergoes regular reviews, is in line with market rates, and that benefits are appropriate to the needs of staff and specialized according to regional preferences.
  • Legal compliance: Ensure our policies and procedures are in line with local laws and customs.

Career Growth and Development

One Acre Fund invests in building management and leadership skills. We provide constant, actionable feedback delivered through weekly mentorship and through regular career reviews. We also have regular one-on-one meetings, where we listen to and discuss career goals, and work collaboratively to craft roles that each person can be passionate about. Because of our rapid growth, we constantly have new high-level roles opening up and opportunities in many functions and countries. This results in fast career growth for our staff.

Qualifications

This is an important role within the organization with huge opportunity for impact. The ideal candidate will be able to build and develop processes, systems and teams simultaneously in multiple sites across East Africa. We are seeking exceptional professionals with 3 to 5+ years of work experience, and a demonstrated long-term passion for international development. They will serve in a career-track position that combines both field and management experience. This is a competitive posting for a career-track role with minimum initial commitment of two years. Candidates who fit the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:

• At least 2 years of experience building and developing teams.  HR work desirable but not required.
• Strong work experiences. Examples include a demanding professional work experience, or successful entrepreneurial experience (e.g. starting a field program, starting a business, solid Peace Corps accomplishments).
• Leadership and mentorship experience at work, or outside of work.
• Very Strong self-manager, very well-organized. After an initial period of heavy mentorship, supervision will consist of one weekly check-in. We need someone who is very well-organized and can manage their work independently.
• Humility and personal stability. We have a fantastic and likeable team who don’t have egos or drama. We are looking for passionate professionals that combine strong leadership skills with good humor, patience, and a humble approach to service
• A willingness to commit to living in East Africa for at least two years – this is a long-term, career-track role.
• Language: English and French required, Swahili nice-to-have
• Ability to cook / laugh – desirable

Preferred Start Date

Flexible.

Compensation

Starts very modest. However, this is a career-track role with fast raises for performance, paying a meaningful salary for long-term placement in developing nations.

Benefits

Health cover, immunizations, flight, room and board.

Career Development

Quarterly management consulting-style career reviews and constant feedback. Your manager will invest significant time in your career development.

Sponsor International Candidates

Yes

To Apply

Email cover letter and resume to jobs@oneacrefund.org (Subject line: "HR Manager search" + name of the site that referred you)