Senior HR Officer - Maternity Cover at World Resources Institute (WRI)

Job Highlight:   

• As the Senior Human Resources Officer - Maternity Cover, you will provide seamless HR operational support to WRI staff and managers. You will support the delivery of core People & Culture services, including HR administration, recruitment coordination, onboarding, employee lifecycle support, HR policy guidance, employee relations, and Workday data management. This six-month role requires a detail oriented, discreet, and service-driven HR professional who can work independently, collaborate across a regional and global matrix, and maintain accurate HR information and processes during the maternity cover period.

You will report to the Senior Regional People & Culture Manager, WRI Africa.

What you will do: 

HR Operations and Administration (45%)

• Provide day-to-day HR administration, including employee records, personnel files, leave administration, benefits coordination, and contract documentation.
• Prepare employment contracts, contract extensions, offer letters, promotion letters, confirmation letters, and other HR correspondence as required.
• Coordinate onboarding, changes, transfers, contract renewals, and offboarding documentation in line with WRI policies and country-specific requirements.
• Liaise with medical, pension, benefits, legal, consultant, and Employer of Record partners where applicable, ensuring timely follow-up and accurate documentation.
• Maintain confidentiality and ensure accurate, complete, and up-to-date HR documentation.
• Serve as the focal point for Workday-related employee lifecycle processes, including new hires, job changes, transfers, compensation updates, contract changes, terminations, and employee data corrections.
• Maintain accurate HR data in Workday and ensure transactions are completed on time, routed correctly for approvals, and aligned with internal HR processes.

Regional Coordination and Stakeholder Support (30%)

• Collaborate effectively with regional People & Culture colleagues, Operations, Finance, Talent Acquisition, global HR teams, and country teams.
• Support remote and multi-country HR service delivery, ensuring consistent communication and timely follow-up with stakeholders.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of HR processes, tools, templates, and documentation during the maternity cover period.

HR Policies, Compliance and Employee Relations (15%)

• Provide first-line guidance to employees and managers on HR policies, procedures, benefits, leave, and employee lifecycle processes.
• Support the implementation and communication of HR policies and procedures.
• Support employee relations matters by providing timely, accurate, and confidential HR support, escalating complex cases appropriately.
• Monitor contract, probation, leave, and compliance timelines and support follow-up actions with managers and employees.
• Support alignment with applicable labor laws and internal policies across the supported countries.

Talent Acquisition and Onboarding (10%)

• Support recruitment processes for Kenya roles, including job posting coordination, candidate screening, interview scheduling, documentation, reference checks, and offer preparation.
• Work closely with the Talent Acquisition team and hiring managers to ensure timely recruitment processes and a positive candidate experience.
• Coordinate new hire onboarding, orientation logistics, HR policy briefings, documentation, and system updates.
• Support internship hiring processes.

What you will need: 

• Education: You have completed a bachelor's degree in HR, business or non-profit management, public administration, or related field with HR qualification at a diploma level or a professional HR qualification 
• Experience: You have 5+ years of relevant professional experience working in Human Resources administrative roles, ideally within an international non-profit matrixed organization.
• Experience in the development of HR related new systems and policies to improve efficiency and effectiveness 
• Experience in HRIS systems preferably WorkDay 
• Strong familiarity with labor laws especially for Kenya
• Ability to handle confidential information discretely 
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint) 
• Experience working with proprietary software applications