Head of HR Operations

BURN designs, manufactures, and distributes aspirational fuel-efficient cooking products that save lives and forests in the developing world. The company has revolutionized the global cookstove sector by proving the business case for selling high-quality, locally manufactured, and unsubsidized cookstoves.

BURN is seeking a Head of HR Operations to lead its HR functions, focusing on operational excellence, compliance, and employee experience across its diverse markets. The ideal candidate will possess extensive experience managing large HR portfolios, demonstrating a strong understanding of the financial and legal aspects of HR. This role requires a systems-first approach, viewing HR as an interconnected engine that ensures data integrity, adheres to localized labor laws, and facilitates smooth logistics to support the company's global impact. The successful candidate will also be deeply committed to the well-being of BURN's employees, building trust by prioritizing people.

1. Manage the People Helpdesk, serving as the primary contact for employee and manager HR queries, with tracking, response standards, and escalation routes.
2. Define operational training needs in collaboration with the Learning & Development team.
3. Ensure accurate HR data at the source, working closely with the Data & Systems team.
4. Provide accurate inputs for payroll processing.
5. Lead the HR Operations Team, fostering a collaborative and high-performing environment.
6. Work with Learning & Development to ensure that every new or changed policy is accompanied by appropriate training.
7. Maintain the HR policy suite and its country-specific annexes, overseeing policy sign-off for all employees.
8. Ensure compliant engagement of casual workers, including contract forms, duration limits, and statutory obligations.
9. Guarantee statutory employment compliance across all ten markets, coordinating with Payroll on statutory deductions.
10. Prepare BURN for labor inspections and audits, including those related to ISO management systems and lender environmental and social requirements.
11. Oversee employee relations, disciplinary, and grievance cases, escalating complex disputes to in-house legal and external counsel.
12. Ensure performance processes, including check-ins and annual reviews, are delivered on time with clean data.
13. Maintain accurate and complete employee records and documentation in every market.
14. Manage the entire employee lifecycle, including contracting of new employees, onboarding, probation, contract management, leave management, and offboarding.
15. Standardize in-country HR practices, replacing market-by-market approaches with a unified group process set, using country annexes only where local law differs.

1. Bachelor's degree or HND, Professional Certificate in Human Resources, law, business, or a related field.
2. Minimum of 8 years of experience, including at least 4 years in a leadership position.
3. Proven experience running a large HR portfolio at scale, managing complex architectures (e.g., for 1,000-5,000+ people).
4. Ability to understand and articulate financial and legal aspects of HR, such as payroll, audit footprints, and multi-country compliance risks.
5. Demonstrated systems-first thinking, viewing HR as an interconnected engine for data integrity, localized labor laws, and smooth logistics.
6. Deep care for employees and a track record of earning trust through prioritizing people.
7. Strong data discipline, proficiency in Excel, and insistence on accurate employee records.
8. IHRM membership (Kenya) is essential.
9. Experience in a social enterprise or high-growth company is desirable.
10. Experience implementing an HRIS or migrating HR processes onto digital platforms is desirable.
11. Experience with ISO management systems or lender environmental and social requirements is desirable.
12. Fluent English and willingness to travel occasionally.
13. Experience leading a team spread across several countries is desirable.
14. Experience designing and rolling out standard HR processes across multiple countries is desirable.
15. A track record of successfully handling labor inspections, HR audits, and complex employee relations cases is desirable.
16. Experience with manufacturing, factory, or other large shift-based workforces, including casual and fixed-term workers, is desirable.
17. Deep knowledge of Kenyan employment law and working knowledge of employment law in other African markets is desirable.
18. Knowledge of when and how to leverage AI tools to automate processes and enhance output is desirable.
19. French or Portuguese language skills are desirable.