Senior People Operations Associate at Ikigai

Who We Are Looking For

The Ikigai Senior People Operations Associate is passionate about supporting others to succeed professionally and thrive personally. You have the ability to strike up conversation with anyone, while also building the rapport and trust needed to be a confidant when the team needs someone to turn to. You have the professional experience and maturity to know when you provide answers and advice, when to just listen, and when to pull others in for support on people-related matters. You understand the importance of consistent and effective work planning, as you excel at keeping track of all the little & big urgent & important tasks related to People Operations. You are excited to be joining a growing team that puts the well-being, growth and development of its people on par with being a successful business that fulfills exciting ambitions.

The Senior People Ops Associate reports to the Interim COO. This job is a mix of supporting the growth and development of the Ikigai team through recruitment and learning & development initiatives, being responsible for key administrative workstreams for the People team, and working closely with the management team to create a work environment where our team thrives. You'd be a fit for this role if you are:

• A passionate team player who emulates Ikigai’s core values and strives to achieve our mission.
• A people-person who thrives in supporting others to thrive professionally and personally.
• An excellent listener with the ability to build rapport with anyone and create strong relationships where people turn to you as a trusted confidant.
• Organized, detail-oriented planner and doer who feels comfortable keeping track of many important tasks, and knows how to balance making progress on both urgent & important workstreams.

Key Responsibilities

Team wellness

• Support communication and implementation of team wellness initiatives
• Make recommendations for team wellness initiatives based on understanding what’s going on with the team and where we can support
• Be a trusted confidant to all Ikigai team members when they come to you with questions, concerns, and personal & professional matters (such as interpersonal conflict in the workplace, family matters, etc.); understand how to appropriately answer, handle, redirect and/or escalate issues in a professional and mature matter with the support of the management team

Recruitment

• Draft job descriptions based on information shared in the hiring manager brief
• Draft recruitment decks including creating a hiring timeline, defining assessment criteria at the different stages based on the job description, and gathering input from the hiring manager to inform the recruitment process
• Support the recruitment process including screening CVs, conducting phone screens, holding first phone interviews for junior roles, scheduling interviews, and conducting reference checks for junior roles
• Make recommendations on whether to proceed candidates through the recruitment process based on information & examples, drawing from previous experience, and always keeping the importance of both culture & technical fit in mind

Training & development

• Draft onboarding and training schedules including coordinating and scheduling sessions
• Support administrative onboarding tasks such as policy briefing, laptop procurement, email set up, etc. using onboarding checklist for all departments; work closely with Interim COO and People Ops Consultant and hiring manager to ensure smooth onboarding process
• Coordinate and communicate with the team for the Buddy Program including aligning with the hiring manager and management to identify the incoming team member’s buddy, ensuring the buddy agrees to the role, sending an email to the buddy with information on the Buddy Program, and connecting the Buddy with the incoming hire
• Incorporate updates to existing training materials based on feedback from trainers, learners and managers
• Develop training materials including PowerPoint decks and Word documents to support the training & development of team members across the organization
• Use learning management system (LMS) to create training plans and ensure materials on the platform are kept updated and align with team’s training & development needs & requests
• Make recommendations to continuously improve training and development at Ikigai

Performance management

• Create performance review templates based on team/individual KPIs and role-specific responsibilities
• Lead peer review survey implementation including ensuring survey is updated, communicating survey timelines to the team and following up to ensure completion, compiling the peer reviews and confidentially sharing with managers

Administrative & systems support

• Ensure every position has an updated job description, each staff has a valid contract and staff records are fully updated with mandatory legal documentation at all times across the organization
• Work closely with the Finance team to drive effective management and administration and of the payroll process ensuring accuracy, efficiency and privacy in the data provided and used to run monthly payroll, and ensure compliance with all statutory and legal requirements when administering the payroll
• Document HR and People-related policies and procedures; keep documentation up to date
• Oversee the organization’s leave management system on the staff portals, and support managers with leave management (tracking using Excel until more robust HRMIS implemented)
• Support with implementation of HRMIS
• Draft and send new contracts upon acceptance of offers; track contract expiration dates and liaise with managers to confirm and issue contract renewals
• Conduct staff surveys and other modes of feedback collection such as eNPS and peer reviews
• Support management with disciplinary matters including drafting warning letters, drafting & tracking progress for PIPs, etc.
• Thoroughly prepare for recurring People team meetings including coming prepared to weekly meeting with manager with updates on progress of current work and projects, People team-related data analysis, and well-prepared insights, ideas & recommendations

Strategic planning support

• Support annual strategic planning and budgeting, as requested; this may include drafting the People team KPI & strategic projects review deck, researching costs related to People team budgeting, etc.
• Conducting research and presenting synthesized findings & recommendations on HR policies and regulations, job descriptions and salary benchmarks for new roles,
• Provide evidence-supported guidance and advice on HR-related matters including staying abreast of changes in HR policies and labor regulations in Kenya

Essential Skills and Competencies

• Passion for and understanding of Ikigai’s mission and values
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, especially when handling sensitive matters
• Highly detail-oriented with strong organizational & planning skills
• Strong problem-solving skills including being solution-driven in your approach to overcoming challenges
• Strong interpersonal skills and able to naturally create rapport that builds trust with anyone
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Demonstrates integrity, dependability, responsibility, accountability, self-awareness, work ethic, empathy, and professionalism

At Ikigai, we are just as interested in how someone fits with our culture, as their ability to get the job done. For anyone joining the People team, we are also interested in whether:

• You show up to work as your true and authentic self. Whether that is having a talent for Lingala dancing, baking, reading, or sleeping in & watching Netflix.
• You enjoy teamwork and collaboration. When you are stuck you ask for help and are a candid communicator.
• You take pride in being detail-oriented and are highly organized. You have excellent work planning & time management skills, and can effectively prioritize both urgent & important tasks when everything is happening at once.
• You hold yourself to the highest standards of personal and professional integrity. You maintain confidentiality when appropriate and you know when & how to professionally pull in support when faced with a challenging people-related situation.

Education and Experience

• 5+ years of experience in HR and people operations in Kenya
• Experience working in organization(s) with a strong people-focused culture where team wellness is a priority
• Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resource Management or related field from a recognized university
• Current membership of Institute of Human Resource Management (Kenya) or equivalent professional membership in HR
• Current HR Practitioner of Kenya certified by the Institute of Human Resource Management (IHRM)