Senior Manager - People Operations

Talentsafari

Nairobi, KE

On-siteCareer-pivot friendly

Who this role is best for

Aimed at senior HR professionals with fintech or high-growth experience who can balance strategic HR leadership with hands-on operations.

Best fit for

Senior HR professionals with fintech or high-growth startup exposure.
— “Fintech, financial services, or high-growth tech/startup environment exposure strongly preferred.”
HR leaders capable of acting as Head of People & Culture when required.
— “stepping in as acting Head of People & Culture when required.”
Candidates with deep Kenyan employment law expertise and compliance focus.
— “Deep Kenyan employment law knowledge and proactive risk management.”

Things to consider

Role involves high-stakes people decisions and complex employee relations cases.
— “Manage disciplinaries, grievances, restructures, and complex ER cases”
Expect to support 50%+ headcount growth with org design and workforce planning.
— “org design, headcount planning, and team restructures that support 50%+ headcount growth.”

How to stand out

Highlight specific HRIS implementation or optimization experience in your resume.
— “Hands-on experience in vetting, improving, implementing or managing an HRIS”
Prepare examples of coaching senior leaders through difficult people decisions.
— “Coach senior leaders on performance management, difficult conversations”
Demonstrate process-building skills through metrics-driven HR operations examples.
— “Builds processes from scratch, owns outcomes, and uses data to drive decisions”

Pace · SteadyCollaboration · HighAutonomy · HighDecision Impact · TeamLevel · Senior

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

100% compliance with Kenyan labour laws
High-volume recruiting with a target time-to-hire under 30 days
95%+ completion rates for onboarding

Typical background

5-7 years in HR/People & CultureBachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, Psychology, or a related field

Skills & requirements

Required

HR OperationsTalent AcquisitionEmployee RelationsWorkforce PlanningHRIS ManagementCompliance

Preferred

Fintech ExperienceDISC Framework

Stack & domain

Hr OperationsHris ToolsFintechFinancial ServicesHigh-growth Tech/startup EnvironmentStrategic PartneringRisk ManagementEmotional IntelligenceTech-fluentResilient Under PressureHuman Resources

About the role

Original posting from Talentsafari via Ashby

ABOUT THE COMPANY
Mogo is Kenya's fast-scaling fintech - part of Eleving Group, a global financial services platform operating across 16+ countries. We are redefining access to vehicle financing, microfinance, and smartphone financing for everyday Kenyans. Our mission is simple: make progress accessible.
We're growing fast, and we need the people infrastructure to match. That's where you come in.
ABOUT THE ROLE
Mogo is seeking a Senior Manager, People Operations to lead a broad scope across HR operations, talent management, employee relations, and workforce planning.
You will work closely with the Country Manager and department heads, supporting HR operations, talent management, employee relations, and workforce planning - stepping in as acting Head of People & Culture when required.
WHAT YOU WILL DO
People Operations & Compliance
Manage end-to-end HR operations: contracts, onboarding, offboarding, payroll liaison, benefits administration, and employee records.
Ensure 100% compliance with Kenyan labour laws, including the Employment Act (2007), Data Protection Act, OSHA, and NSSF/NHIF obligations.
Own policy development, HR audits, and documentation to maintain zero material compliance risk.
Digitise and maintain HR records using HRIS tools; build monthly People dashboards tracking headcount, turnover, engagement, and hiring velocity.
Talent Acquisition & Onboarding
Lead high-volume recruiting across functions - from sourcing strategy to offer negotiation - with a target time-to-hire under 30 days.
Own onboarding frameworks and 90-day integration plans that drive engagement and 95%+ completion rates.
Build talent pipelines for critical and hard-to-fill roles in fintech, technology, and commercial operations.
Performance & Leadership Development
Drive annual and mid-year performance cycles: calibration, feedback processes, MBO alignment, and development plans.
Coach senior leaders on performance management, difficult conversations, and high-stakes people decisions.
Implement leadership capability tools - including DISC and other frameworks - to improve team dynamics and management effectiveness.
Employee Relations
Manage disciplinaries, grievances, restructures, and complex ER cases with fairness, speed, and legal rigour.
Act as a trusted, confidential advisor to employees at all levels - balancing employee advocacy with business risk.
Organisational Design & Workforce Planning
Partner with the Head of P&C, COO and Country Manager on org design, headcount planning, and team restructures that support 50%+ headcount growth.
Build structures for scale: clear reporting lines, accountability frameworks, and role levelling architecture.
WHAT YOU HAVE
Must-Haves (Required)
5-7 years in HR/People & Culture with at least 2–3 years in a senior HRBP, HR Manager, or equivalent leadership role.
Proven track record in managing disciplinaries, restructures, high-volume hiring, and Kenyan labour law compliance.
Hands-on experience in vetting, improving, implementing or managing an HRIS (BambooHR, Hibob, Sage HR or similar).
Fintech, financial services, or high-growth tech/startup environment exposure strongly preferred.
Education
Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, Psychology, or a related field.
Relevant local HR certification is a strong advantage.
Skills & Competencies
Strategic partnering - Aligns HR to business goals, shapes org design, and coaches leaders at the C-suite and HOD level.
Execution excellence -Builds processes from scratch, owns outcomes, and uses data to drive decisions.
Compliance mastery - Deep Kenyan employment law knowledge and proactive risk management.
Emotional intelligence - Exceptional EQ for ER, coaching, and navigating sensitive stakeholder dynamics.
Tech-fluent - Comfortable in HRIS, ATS, Google Workspace, and people analytics tools.
·Resilient under pressure - Steady in ambiguity, high-growth chaos, and high-stakes delivery.
WHAT WE OFFER
An excellent well-being program:
Health insurance (after probation period)
Pension scheme (after probation period)
Bonuses and awards for the great work

Source: Talentsafari careers (Ashby)