Who We Are!
🌍 Africa has the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population. By 2035, the continent is poised to contribute more young people to the global workforce each year than the rest of the world combined.
At Educate! we're obsessed with impact. We leverage iterative learning to build highly scalable youth employment solutions aimed at unlocking the potential of the world’s youngest continent.
Educate! prepares youth in Africa to learn, earn and thrive in today’s economy by:
- Introducing an employment-focused school subject into secondary and
- Delivering livelihood boot camps for out-of-school youth, with a focus on marginalized rural girls and young women.
To date, more than 500,000 youth have been meaningfully impacted across Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania, and along the way, Educate! has become the largest youth employment and skills provider in East Africa.
Educate! is a team of over 300 largely African staff and 300 volunteer youth mentors. We prioritize building an engaging, fulfilling and growth oriented work environment. 50% of our top 30 leaders have been with us for over 5 years, 10+ alumni have started their own organizations, and 6 current or former team members were Acumen Fund East Africa fellows.
We have been backed by top foundations such as Imaginable Futures, Livelihood Impact Fund, Jack Dorsey’s #startsmall, CIFF and Echidna Giving. Educate! won a 2018 Klaus J. Jacobs Prize and a 2015 WISE Award, and has been highlighted by the World Bank’s S4YE's Impact Portfolio, an Al Jazeera documentary, BBC, The Brookings Institution as one of 14 case studies on scaling education, and the Gates Foundation as a Goalkeepers Accelerator. In 2022, we received a catalytic investment from philanthropist Mackenzie Scott to scale our systems change work.
Educate!'s long-term vision is to design solutions that measurably impact millions of youth across Africa each year.
Good to note: To Our Awesome Applicants! 🚀💫
We know that incredible candidates sometimes hesitate to apply if they don’t meet every requirement. If this role excites you, we encourage you to apply!
We’re looking for passionate individuals who believe in our mission and can bring unique perspectives to our team—not just those who check every box. We value diversity and strongly encourage women and individuals from all backgrounds to apply.
Position Overview
Educate! is seeking a detail-oriented and people-focused HR Officer – Administration & Benefits to join our Kenya team. Based in Nairobi and reporting to the Human Resource Manager, this role is central to ensuring seamless HR operations—from delivering excellent onboarding experiences and accurate leave and contract tracking to managing benefits administration and driving timely, service-oriented communication across the team.
This position requires a strong commitment to compliance, employee wellness, and operational excellence. You’ll be at the front line of HR support, helping to maintain a positive employee experience while ensuring that our internal systems and processes remain aligned with our organizational goals.
If you thrive in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment and have a passion for supporting people through systems, this is your opportunity to contribute to a high-impact team working to transform education and livelihoods for youth across Africa.
What You’ll Do 🌟
You will ensure smooth, compliant, and people-centered HR operations for Educate! Kenya by leading onboarding, HR administration, benefits management, and documentation processes. Your work will directly support a positive employee experience while strengthening internal systems and compliance.
Onboarding & Exit process:
- Plan and coordinate comprehensive onboarding experiences for all new hires, including schedule management, orientation meetings, welcome materials, and ensuring timely access to necessary tools and systems.
- Support new hires in setting up and navigating BambooHR profiles.
- Ensure all new team members are enrolled in medical and WIBA insurance by their first day.
- Support offboarding processes including exit survey, interviews, clearance forms, and communication of exit details to relevant teams.
- Ensure knowledge and documentation transfer during offboarding to preserve continuity.
HR Administration & Documentation:
- Maintain up-to-date employee records in BambooHR, including personal information, contract details, leave balances, and any employment changes.
- Conduct regular audits of employee data to ensure accuracy, completeness, and consistency with contract terms and organizational updates.
- Track probation periods and proactively send timely reminders to supervisors.
- Monitor employee leave balances and usage to ensure data accuracy and policy compliance.
- Communicate all staff movements, including new hires, internal transfers, and exits to relevant stakeholders.
- Respond to routine HR administrative queries and escalate complex issues when necessary.
- Draft standard HR communications (e.g., onboarding emails, probation confirmation letters) for review and finalization by the HR manager.
Benefits Administration & Compliance:
- Manage the administration of employee benefits, including medical insurance, WIBA, and other related programs, ensuring timely enrollments, removals, and invoice processing.
- Serve as the primary contact with benefits providers, and lead annual reviews to benchmark offerings and ensure market competitiveness.
- Stay informed on team needs and evolving benefit structures to better support employee wellness and engagement.
- Ensure accurate and timely completion of statutory registrations for all new hires, (citizens and foreign nationals) are completed accurately and on time.
Contracts & Documentation:
- Maintain well-organized, compliant, and easily accessible HR documentation and filing systems.
- Draft standard HR communications (e.g., onboarding emails, probation confirmations) for manager review and finalization.
- Regularly review and update HR Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to reflect current practices and ensure process consistency.
Culture & Employee Experience:
- Support the implementation of culture-building initiatives, including monthly and quarterly team events, recognition programs, and celebrations.
- Support team health initiatives such as wellness check-ins, birthday acknowledgments, and cross-team connection activities.
- Act as a culture champion by facilitating regular feedback loops between the HR team and field/frontline staff, ensuring timely flagging of concerns and tracking actions taken.
Who You Are 🦸♀️🦸♂️
You’re a highly organized, detail-oriented, and service-driven HR professional who thrives in fast-paced environments and takes pride in ensuring smooth operations and exceptional employee experiences. You bring strong systems thinking, a proactive mindset, and a people-first approach to your work. You’re comfortable with data, love creating structure, and are excited to contribute to a mission-driven team.
The ideal candidate has:
- Exceptional organizational skills: You’re confident in managing multiple HR processes at once, whether tracking contract timelines, onboarding logistics, or benefits administration.
- Comfort with data and systems: You have strong Excel/Google Sheets skills and proficiency with HR systems, preferably BambooHR or similar platforms.
- A proactive, self-directed approach: You take initiative, work independently, and know how to prioritize and execute on completing tasks.
- Strong communication skills: You can clearly and respectfully communicate with team members at all levels and draft HR communications that are professional, timely, and aligned with organizational standards.
- Collaborative cross-functional experience: You’ve worked across teams to ensure seamless coordination and follow-through on people-related processes.
- A Bachelor's degree: While a degree is preferred, your skills and experience matter most.
- Relevant experience: You bring 2-3 years of relevant HR, admin, or operations experience, with a demonstrated track record of supporting people and systems.
- Documentation and systems mindset: You’re able to create and maintain clear, user-friendly spreadsheets, trackers, and HR SOPs that support compliance and efficiency.
Terms
This position will be based in Nairobi Kenya
What We Offer 💼
- A vibrant, mission-driven environment with a supportive and fun team.
- Flexibility— Hybrid work environment to empower you in your mode of work.
- Competitive salary based on experience.
- Healthcare coverage for you and your dependents, work laptop, Internet & call stipend
- Learning & growth opportunities
PLEASE NOTE THE ABOVE BENEFITS DO NOT APPLY TO TEMPORARY, CONTRACT OR INDEPENDENT CONSULTANTS.
Application Process: Rolling basis, interviews happening soon!
Our Culture & Tenets(Values) 🌱
We’re ambitious. Are you? Educate! is growing fast, so new opportunities are opening up and expanding all the time. We’re inspired by people with drive, and we love to help them reach their full potential. We expect everyone at Educate! to contribute above and beyond their job description, grow their skills, and advance their careers, and we are committed to supporting our staff members on that journey of their careers, and we are committed to supporting our staff members on that journey.
- We put Youth First, Impact-Obsessed - We are purpose-driven, focused on impact, and prioritize what truly matters. We listen to youth, design our efforts around their needs, and ensure every dollar creates transformative experiences they value.
- We Exceed Expectations - We take pride in going above and beyond to achieve the best results—proactively identifying problems and seeking solutions without waiting or stopping at what's requested.
- We Are Always Learning - We are committed to seeking and applying new knowledge and ideas. We stay open-minded and continuously try new things, experiment, grow, and improve. We invest in learning for ourselves and our teams.
- We are One Team, Many Views - We value all individuals, believe diverse ideas and open dialogue drive excellence, foster a supportive and respectful environment where everyone can freely express themselves. We work as one team and prioritize the organization's mission over personal or team interests.
- We have the Startup Mindset - We innovate relentlessly to grow our impact, we never think “we have arrived” or “we’re done.”We constantly challenge the status quo, embrace change, and move quickly toward our vision. Unafraid of failure, we question anything that hinders progress.
Every person at Educate! — from interns to the executive director — is evaluated by how they live up to these five cultural tenets. They are at the core of how we achieve our mission and why we work as well as we do. Educate is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all who interact in our community. In creating this environment, we encourage people from a variety of cultures, backgrounds and life experiences to join our diverse team.
We’re committed to ensuring all candidates are screened for child and youth safety. As part of the process, you’ll need to provide a Certificate of Good Conduct. Educate! reserves the right to withdraw employment offers if any risks to youth are identified.
