Global People Manager

Instiglio

Instiglio

People & HR
Nairobi, Kenya · Kenya · Morocco
Posted on Jan 7, 2026

Who we are

Instiglio’s mission is to build public institutions that truly work for societies and the planet. We exist to unlock the potential of public institutions — not by chasing marginal gains, but by reimagining and rebuilding them from the inside out.

We partner with governments and development actors (e.g., the World Bank, FCDO, Hilton Foundation) to align public funding with measurable outcomes and strengthen the systems, incentives, and capabilities that drive sustained impact. Over the past decade, we have worked in more than 30 low- and middle-income countries, helping institutions design and embed reforms that make every cent of public funding deliver public value.

To scale our impact, we incubated the Government Empowerment Network (GEN) — a globally networked, AI-powered, and government-led reform accelerator designed to empower civil servants to incubate reforms that transform government institutions, strengthen service delivery, and improve citizens’ lives. GEN combines a six-month in-person reform incubator with an AI-enabled learning and collaboration platform, equipping champions to diagnose systemic challenges, design reforms, and strengthen delivery capabilities across ministries. Following a successful first cohort in Uganda with over 30 public servants from six ministries, we recently launched in Colombia, followed by Morocco later this year. In 2026, we plan to consolidate learnings and expand to at least two additional countries in 2026, while continuing to support current countries.

Our team

A core contributing factor to the influence Instiglio has had thus far includes our collaborative, highly skilled and diverse team. We are a team of 80+ people, representing 15+ nationalities, with offices in Colombia, Kenya, Morocco, Mauritius and Uganda. Our team brings together experience from government, management consulting, multilateral institutions, and the social sector; united by a mission to help governments perform better for their people.

How you will make an impact

The Global People Manager is an experienced HR generalist role with both strategic and hands-on operational responsibilities. You will work towards strengthening Instiglio’s people foundations as we grow. This is a senior HR generalist role with real accountability: you will run strong, compliant people operations across countries, embed effective performance and development practices, and help leadership build a healthier operating model.

You will lead a small, globally distributed People team and partner closely with leaders across regions and functions. You’ll be hands-on where it matters, and strategic where it counts. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys building and improving people systems, balancing strategic priorities with operational execution, and partnering with leadership to scale people practices in a values-driven organization.

Key responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

  • Global People Operations
    • Own and continuously improve global HR processes across the employee lifecycle (recruitment, hiring, and talent acquisition; onboarding; performance management; learning & development; offboarding; daily HR operations).
    • Continually drive operational excellence in service delivery of people-related activities: data accuracy, process consistency, timeliness, and high-quality across regions and teams while adapting to local employment requirements.
    • Oversee benefits administration, including managing in country pensions schemes and medical & accidental insurance covers, and exploring updates / renewals to benefits schemes when appropriate to continually deliver the best possible benefits that are right fit for staff and the organization.
    • Serve as a trusted HR partner to managers and leaders, advising on employee relations, performance, engagement, and organizational matters.
    • Ensure compliance with local labor laws and internal policies, in partnership with legal and finance stakeholders.
  • Talent Acquisition & Onboarding Oversight
    • Lead workforce planning with leaders: what capabilities are needed, where, and when.
    • Ensure a consistent candidate experience and high-quality hiring decisions across regions.
    • Build proactive pipelines for priority roles using a mix of channels and approaches.
    • Ensure effective onboarding processes that integrate new hires into Instiglio’s culture, systems, and ways of working.
  • Performance, Learning & Employee Experience
    • Lead implementation and continuous improvement of the revamped global performance management processes.
    • Support staff and team leads through performance cycles, feedback processes, and growth and development planning.
    • Design and oversee staff learning and development initiatives, including career pathways, leadership development, and skills-building programs.
    • Develop and implement wellbeing, engagement, and culture initiatives that support a healthy and inclusive work environment.
    • Monitor organizational climate and engagement data (e.g., bi-annual staff surveys); analyze insights and translate them into actionable people strategies.
  • People data, systems, and decision support
    • Own HR systems and tooling (HRIS, ATS, performance platform), with a focus on data integrity, reporting, and usability. Regularly review systems, platforms, and tools to ensure they efficiently serve People Team and staff needs, strategizing updates if appropriate to streamline workflows.
    • Create practical people dashboards and insights for leadership (headcount, attrition, hiring pipeline, performance signals, engagement themes).
    • Use data to support faster, fairer people decisions and reduce debate-by-opinion.
  • Organizational Development & Strategic People Initiatives
    • Partner with senior leadership on organizational design, talent & workforce planning, and change management initiatives to continually implement and evolve people-related strategies and objectives.
    • Build and maintain systems that support effective collaboration across offices and regions.
    • Lead or contribute to cross-functional projects related to scaling operations, improving ways of working, and strengthening organizational effectiveness.
    • Use data and analysis to inform people decisions and recommendations, especially with our senior staff Leadership Team (including AI-enabled improvements).
  • Team Management & Global Collaboration
    • Manage, mentor, and develop members of the Global People team across time zones (i.e., People Associate based in Colombia and 2 People Analysts based in Kenya and Colombia).
    • Foster a collaborative, high-performing team culture grounded in accountability, learning, and continuous improvement.
    • Coordinate work across regions to ensure clarity of roles, priorities, and handoffs.

What success looks like (first 6-9 months)

  • People data is reliable, and leadership can answer basic workforce questions quickly.
  • Performance cycles run on time with better-quality feedback and less last-minute chaos.
  • Managers know what “good” looks like and feel supported to handle performance, development, and difficult conversations.
  • Key people processes are simplified, documented, and consistently followed across locations.
  • Hiring is more proactive, with clearer forecasting and fewer fire drills.

Who you are

We are building a team of thoughtful, driven professionals who are motivated by our mission and excited to grow with the organization. An ideal candidate will have:

  • Education:
    • Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Industrial Engineering, Psychology, or related fields.
    • Master’s or other postgraduate degree in human resources administration, change management or related fields would be an added advantage.
    • Professional HR accreditation (local or international, such as IHRM, CIPD, SHRM, or HRCI) is strongly preferred.
  • Experience: At least eight (8) years of relevant work experience as an HR generalist and/or specific experience in talent acquisition, training, development and performance management processes.
  • Knowledge and specific experience:
    • Proven experience supporting organizations through growth, change, or scale-up phases.
    • Experience working in and leading multicultural teams.
    • Experience working in an international/global organisation
    • Experience in consulting or international development organizations is desirable.
  • Knowledge in software: Strong working capability with HR systems (HRIS, ATS, performance tools). Experience with BambooHR, Greenhouse, Lattice and Google Workspace is a plus.
  • Languages:
    • Professional working proficiency in English (C1).
    • Working proficiency in French is required for Moroccan candidates.
    • Working proficiency in Spanish would be an added advantage.
  • Skills:
    • Strong strategic thinking paired with hands-on execution capability.
    • Highly process-oriented, with excellent attention to detail and follow-through.
    • Strong execution and process management with impeccable attention to detail and follow-through.
    • Strong structured thinking and analytical skills.
    • Team management skills and ability to collaborate effectively with other stakeholders in the organization.
    • Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, including the ability to handle sensitive matters with discretion and empathy.
    • Ability to manage competing, high-priority demands in a fast-paced environment. Ability to manage teams and workstreams across multiple time zones (e.g., Colombia, Morocco, Kenya, Mauritius).
    • Willingness to learn and grow.
  • Mindset & Culture Fit
    • Practical, calm under pressure, and happy to be close to the work.
    • Values fairness, discretion, and clarity.
    • Comfortable operating in a matrix where accountability and decision-making need strengthening.
    • Values purpose over spotlight.

How you will grow with us

Every day, your work will aim for impact, while you thrive in a dynamic culture of inclusion, collaboration and high performance. You will get to support teams managing impactful projects, be exposed to a wide range of methods, the international environment, room for taking responsibility and a chance to collaborate with our diverse teams.

Managers at Instiglio have a chance to develop a variety of skills, lead internal initiatives, with the guidance of more experienced senior staff. Instiglio has a strong feedback culture, with all staff receiving bi-annual formal, structured reviews, in addition to real-time feedback. Additionally, a mentorship system and development plans are in place to ensure that staff receive proper support in their professional development.

Working model and benefits

Instiglio has adopted a hybrid working model (i.e., minimum of two (2) days a week at the office for face-to-face connections). Instiglio offers generous benefits, which include personal days, remote work days, travel and health insurance, pension, a company end-of-year holiday additional to vacation, and parental leave, among others.

Join Us

To apply, please submit your CV in English and answer the application questions listed. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.

Instiglio is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fairness, inclusion, and giving everyone a chance to thrive.