Organisation Background

The Science for Africa Foundation (SFA Foundation) is a non-profit, public charity organisation that supports strengthens and promotes science innovation in Africa. The goal of the SFA Foundation is to address the continent’s most pressing developmental needs by generating scientific knowledge that solves problems and informs decision-making.

We serve the African research ecosystem by funding excellent research and innovation ideas; enabling interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers, building and reinforcing environments that are conducive for scientists to thrive and produce quality research that generates new, locally relevant knowledge.

The SFA Foundation takes a holistic approach to the development of science. Our programmatic initiatives are crafted to cater to the entire science ecosystem and span across the value chain from early discovery sciences to translation sciences and target cross-cutting gaps.

Our commitment to strengthening the entire research ecosystem is reflected in the creation of major science and innovation programmes implemented through a well-established grant-making scheme, advocacy and promotion of scientific excellence, emphasis on intra-Africa collaboration and evidence-based policy-making mechanisms.

Position Overview

The Human Resource Officer is responsible for the implementation of staff development programs, performance monitoring; coordination of recruitment and employee relations matters. The incumbent provides support to the Head of Human Capital & Business Support by acting as the first point of liaison in the delivery of human resource services to line managers and employees; maintaining accurate employee records and processing HR transactions and staff welfare across the SFA Foundation.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

Human Resource Information Management

• Oversee the human resource database and ensure that system records are accurately recorded;
• Maintain custody of updated and accurate employee and general HR records in a confidential and secure manner, in full compliance with statutory requirements and regulations. 
• Enter new hire information in the human resource system database and ensure that staff files, contracts and other employee information are maintained and updated;
• Prepare monthly reports regarding terminations, transfers, and new hires.

Employee Relations

• Monitor daily attendance and investigate causes for staff absences and recommend solutions on how to resolve attendance issues.
• Monitor scheduled absences such as holidays or travel and coordinate actions to ensure the staff absence has been adequately covered to ensure continuity of services.
• Inform affected staff of unexpected absences from work and coordinate actions to ensure the continuity of services.
• Monitoring prompt claims settlement within agreed SLA timelines for medical, pension, Group Life Assurance, GPA and WIBA if applicable to ensure in line with the SLA with the medical provider; 
• Undertaking the monthly review of all staff joiners and leavers to ensure service providers are duly updated
• Lead in employee health and safety initiatives within the organization
• Drive the social calendar for staff initiatives that include sports programs and social activities 

Staffing

• Provide advice and assistance to supervisors on staff recruitment and ensure they are conducted in accordance with the SFA Foundation’s talent acquisition policy;
• Facilitate the assessment and interview process. Invite selected applicants for interview, prepare the interview materials and manage the overall logistics. Send regret letters to unsuccessful interviewed candidates. 
• Work with line managers to document a comprehensive induction program. 
• Drive the confirmation process for each new employee within the probation period. 
• Develop advertisements for vacant positions and support in screening applications and scheduling interviews;
• Participate in applicant interviews, ensure reference checks are collected on possible candidates and communication is sent to unsuccessful applicants

HR Operations and Service Delivery

• Perform staff orientation through proper planning of the staff onboarding process to ensure new staff members are comfortable in their workstations.
• Provide assistance during staff performance evaluations including assisting with preparations for disciplinary and grievance hearings as necessary;
• Organize staff training sessions, workshops and activities.
• Facilitate the process of employee separation and conduct exit interviews.
• Comply with approved human resource management policies and procedures, workflows and templates and provide guidance to line managers on the same. 
• Timely, accurate, efficient and effective processing of HR transactions. 
• Compute and record payroll data as scheduled and maintains payroll records in compliance with state regulations;
• Track payroll errors and resolve any identified errors by ensuring all necessary adjustments and corrections are made.

Person Specifications

Academic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in human resource management or a Business-related field;

Professional Qualifications

• Higher National Diploma in Human Resource Management and/or CHRP
• Member of Institute of Institute of Human Resource Management (IHRM).

Experience and Knowledge

• At least 5 years HR generalist experience in a busy human resources department.
• Working knowledge of the general fields of human resource management, including but not limited to organizational development, learning/training, recruitment, performance management, employee engagement and Kenya Labour Laws.
• Working knowledge in working with integrated HR information systems and/or ERP systems.
• Intermediate level proficiency in MS Office applications i.e. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, MS Project, Outlook, etc.

Key Competencies

• Communication: Communicates effectively and uses tact and discretion in dealing with sensitive information or while resolving delicate issues. In consultation with the supervisor, keeps staff informed of decisions, presenting them in a manner that generates understanding and acceptance.
• Teamwork: Works as a supportive team member, and acknowledges the contribution of other team members. Counsels team and individual employees on how to improve collaborative efforts.
• Planning and Organizing: Proactively plans to take into consideration interrelationships between various activities and probable obstacles; optimally organizes workload across the team, sets up review mechanisms for the team and provides guidance to resolve any obstacles affecting the plan.
• Achieving results: Proactively identifies and exploits opportunities to exceed goals, and recovers from setbacks quickly. Drives excellence within the team. 
• Leading and Supervising: Takes initiative in supervising staff members under their own responsibility; clarifies roles, plans and reviews work.
• Knowledge sharing and learning: Gives adequate feedback on team performance with appropriate coaching and developmental advice.
• Judgement/Decision making: Seeks out relevant information and considers alternative options in order to make appropriate decisions.
• Change management: Contributes ideas and proposes changes to processes/methods to overcome identified issues. Accepts conditions of uncertainty and remains productive in difficult situations
• Resilience: Remains calm and focused during challenging periods. Participates fully and encourages others to engage in change initiatives.

HOW TO APPLY

Should you meet the above requirements, please submit a cover letter and a current Curriculum Vitae not exceeding five (5) pages including three professional referees to [email protected] with the name of the vacancy as the e-mail subject.

The cover letter should be no more than two pages long and explain why you are interested in this post and how your skills and experience make you a good fit.

The documents should be saved in MS Word or PDF in the following format: Your First Name-Your Last Name-Document Name-Date (mmyy) e.g., Deus-Wan-CV-092022-SFA Foundation or Deus-Wan-CoverLetter-092022 -SFA Foundation.

APPLICATIONS WILL BE REVIEWED ON A ROLLING BASIS.

SFA Foundation has a commitment to safeguarding people and our environment and this forms part of our background checks.