Head of HR Operations

Our ideal candidate brings: 

• Battle scars: You’ve run a large portfolio at scale, with a complex architecture. You know what breaks at 1,000 people, 5,000 people, and beyond - because you've lived through it. 
• The ability to speak "Finance" and "Legal": You don't just speak HR. You can sit across from our CFO to debate payroll, audit footprints, and multi-country compliance risks without skipping a beat. 
• Systems-first thinking: You don't look at HR as a series of administrative tasks. You see it as an interconnected engine where data integrity, localized labor laws, and smooth logistics directly unlock our global impact. 
• Trust and care: You care deeply about the humans at BURN, and you earn the trust of everyone around you through putting people over results.

Key responsibilities: Owned directly 

• People Helpdesk. Run a single front door for employee and manager HR queries, with tracking, response standards and escalation routes. 
• Recruitment sits with Talent. 
• Training content is built by Learning & Development; this role defines what operational training is needed. 
• HR data architecture and systems sit with Data & Systems; this role keeps records accurate at source. 
• Payroll processing sits with Payroll; this role provides accurate inputs. 
• Commission-based agents sit with the Agents team. 

What this role does not cover 

• Clear boundaries keep this role focused on employees and casuals. 
• Experience in a social enterprise or high-growth company. 
• Experience implementing an HRIS or moving HR processes onto digital platforms. 
• Experience with ISO management systems or lender environmental and social requirements. 

Desirable 

• French or Portuguese. 
• Fluent English and willingness to travel occasionally. 
• Experience leading a team spread across several countries. 
• Experience designing and rolling out standard HR processes across countries. 
• A track record of handling labour inspections, HR audits and complex employee relations cases. 
• Experience with manufacturing, factory or other large shift-based workforces, including casual and fixed-term workers. 
• Deep knowledge of Kenyan employment law and working knowledge of employment law in other African markets. 
• Knows when and how to leverage AI tools to automate processes and enhance output.  
• Strong data discipline: confident in Excel and insistent on accurate employee records. 
• 8+ years of experience, including 4+ years in a leadership position. 
• IHRM membership (Kenya). 

Essential 

• Degree in HR, law, business or a related field. 
• Ensure markets without a dedicated HR officer still receive full HR coverage. 

Team leadership 

• Lead the HR Operations Team. 
• Work with Learning & Development so every new or changed policy comes with training. 

Policy and documentation 

• Maintain the HR policy suite and its country annexes, and run policy sign-off for all employees. 
• Engage casual workers compliantly: contract form, duration limits and statutory obligations. 
• Ensure statutory employment compliance across all ten markets, working with Payroll on statutory deductions. 
• Keep BURN ready for labour inspections and audits, including ISO and lender environmental and social requirements. 

Employee relations and compliance 

• Oversee employee relations, disciplinary and grievance cases, escalating disputes to in-house legal and external counsel. 
• Performance processes, including check-ins and annual reviews, delivered on time with clean data. 
• Accurate, complete employee records and documentation in every market. 

Employee lifecycle 

• Contracting of new employees, onboarding, probation and contract management, leave management and offboarding. 
• In-country HR standardisation. Replace market-by-market practice with one group process set, with country annexes only where local law differs.