Senior Associate, People Operations

Department: People & Culture

Position: Senior Associate, People Operations

Reporting to: Head of People & Culture

About SunCulture
Founded in 2012, SunCulture's Vision is to build a world where people take control of their environment in rewarding and sustainable ways. SunCulture does this by developing and commercialising life-changing technology that solves the biggest daily challenges for the world's 570 million smallholder farming households. We are the largest distributor of solar water pumps / solar irrigation for smallholder farmers in Africa and were selected by Fast Company as one of the World's Most Innovative Companies in 2021. Here is a good explainer video recently made by CNBC. Over the last 5 years, the company has grown significantly and now employs 400+ people around the world.

About The Role
As the Senior Associate, People Operations for SunCulture Kenya Limited your core role will be to provide support and collaboration to the most valued resource at SunCulture and thus the employees. This role majorly entails developing and implementing people programs that reinforce company culture, support employees and organization performance and drive professional growth. The role requires you to understand, identify and drive value added initiatives that will increase productivity and employee engagement levels.

Responsibilities
Onboarding & Offboarding

• Oversee smooth onboarding of new joiners, ensuring they receive work tools, orientation, and access to HR systems.
• Ensure offboarding processes are compliant, well-documented, and aligned with exit procedures.

Human Resource Information System

• Ensure all data in the HRIS system is up to date and access rights given to all parties in charge
• Optimize data and reporting through the system; identify synergies and other opportunities for enhancement of the current system in order to improve efficiency, quality, timeliness and accuracy of HR functions.
• Generate all HR reports (Monthly, Quarterly and annual reports) via the HRIS system in place.

Team Collaboration

• Ensure that SunCulture's culture is replicated in all regions where SunCulture is present as the company grows
• Manage, coach, inspire, and grow the peoples team as we scale
• Collaborate with team members to initiate and implement all employee wellness events and initiatives to support all employees and promote a happy and healthy workplace.
• Lead diversity teams in making SunCulture's culture codes something that they believe in and build a best place to work in.
• To be a dynamic communicator able to engage with audiences from diverse cultures, at different levels and in multiple locations in order to create team cohesion.
• Ensure clear communication on all policies and changes to ensure transparency and accountability across the organization
• Collaborate with the training team to ensure all training needs identified are actioned on.

Compliance & HR Governance

• Ensure compliance with all statutory and regulatory employment requirements, including contracts, insurance, and labor laws.
• Maintain and regularly audit employee documentation to ensure accuracy, completeness, and compliance.
• Update and standardize HR policies, ensuring they are accessible, up to date, and well-communicated across the organization.
• Partner with managers to ensure compliance with internal processes, ethical standards, and People policies.
• Support internal and external audits through preparation of HR documentation and compliance reports.

Performance Management

• Coordinate the end-to-end performance management cycle.
• Provide guidance and coaching to managers and employees on effective performance management and feedback practices.
• Track completion rates of appraisals and ensure timely submission and follow-up.
• Support calibration sessions and generate performance insights to inform talent decisions, promotions, and development plans.
• Partner with Learning & Development to address training needs identified through performance reviews.

HR Systems & Reporting

• Ensure all employee data in the HRIS is accurate, up to date, and aligned with the organization's structure.
• Optimize HRIS functionality to improve efficiency, reporting, and decision-making.
• Generate accurate and timely HR reports (monthly, quarterly, annual) covering headcount, turnover, performance, and compliance metrics.

Employee Relations

• Support investigations, disciplinary process and grievance handling in line with company policy and legal requirements.
• Advise managers and employees on disciplinary processes, conflict resolution, and policy interpretation.
• Promote a culture of trust, transparency, and accountability through proactive communication and coaching.
• Monitor employee engagement trends and recommend interventions to maintain a positive workplace climate.
• Any other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• High emotional intelligence level with ability to keep confidential information
• Hands on, detail oriented with strong execution skills
• Strong communication skills and should ensure Information communicated is clear and timely.
• Futuristic and have the ability to solve complex problems
• Independent thinker able to thrive in a fast paced dynamic environment.
• Have the ability to handle pressure and meet deadlines
• Skill in prioritizing and triaging obligations
• Be organized and be an expert in time management
• Thrive in resources constrained environments
• Have discretion in using budgetary allocation for the department
• A proven record of ability to achieve through others
• Ability to handle multiple projects at the same time.

Education And Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field required.
• At least three years of demonstrated experience in the field of human resources/talent management, is preferred
• IHRM membership.