Head of Human Resources

Role Overview

The Head of Human Resources carries full ownership of the people agenda for a large, multi-site manufacturing business, sitting alongside plant and operations leadership to keep production running and the workforce steady. The day-to-day reality is a mix of shop-floor pressures — shift cover, absenteeism, overtime, union dialogue — and the longer game of building management capability, staying audit-ready on social compliance, and holding labour cost within plan. In a labour-intensive operation, people decisions are production decisions: how the workforce is planned, deployed, engaged and governed decides output, quality, safety and the company's standing with customers and regulators.

Key Responsibilities

• Shape and deliver the HR strategy and annual people plan for a multi-site, labour-intensive manufacturing operation, tying every major people initiative to production continuity, workforce productivity, quality, safety and cost discipline, and reporting progress through formal governance routines.
• Direct HR operations across factory, technical, supervisory, administrative and leadership populations so that service quality is consistent across every shift, site and employee category; this includes oversight of support services such as transport, security, accommodation, canteen operations, vendor contracts, general services and emergency preparedness.
• Work with operations leadership on manpower planning, workforce deployment, organisation design, labour utilisation, absenteeism and overtime management, attrition control and labour cost containment required to hit production targets.
• Own the talent pipeline end to end — recruitment, onboarding, deployment and retention — with attention to speed of hiring, quality of hire, workforce readiness and protection of business-critical skills.
• Sustain a stable industrial relations climate through proactive union engagement, collective bargaining, grievance handling, disciplinary processes, dispute resolution and even-handed application of employment policy, while representing the company to labour authorities, regulators, government agencies, industry bodies and community stakeholders.
• Keep the business compliant and audit-ready across Kenyan labour law, occupational health and safety requirements, social compliance standards, buyer codes of conduct and ethical sourcing expectations — leading customer assessments, statutory inspections and remediation plans, and ensuring records, documentation and corrective action closure are disciplined and timely.
• Champion engagement, employee welfare, workplace dignity, inclusion, safeguarding, anti-harassment and wellbeing programmes that lift morale, retention and productivity on the shop floor.
• Build long-term capability through training systems, supervisory development, performance management, succession planning and career progression pathways that create leadership depth and support operational excellence.

Requirements & Qualifications

• A Master's degree in Human Resources, Industrial Relations, Business Administration, Psychology, Law or a closely related discipline.
• A recognised professional HR qualification such as CIPD, SHRM, HRCI, CHRP-K or an equivalent credential.
• Additional study or certification in Industrial Relations, Labour Law or Organisational Development would be advantageous.
• At least 15 years of progressively senior HR experience, of which a minimum of 8 years has been spent in a management role within large-scale manufacturing settings.
• Demonstrated track record in labour-intensive industries and in running HR across more than one manufacturing site.
• Solid hands-on experience in unionised workplaces, including direct involvement in collective bargaining negotiations.
• Exposure to international customers, compliance regimes and export-oriented operations is an added advantage.
• Core competencies: strong stakeholder management and influencing ability; excellent communication, coaching and change leadership skills; a genuinely analytical orientation; high personal integrity; and the resilience, cultural sensitivity and sound judgement needed to operate in a demanding industrial environment.

Why Join This Role

• Real breadth of accountability: a multi-site, labour-intensive remit covering operations, industrial relations, compliance, welfare and administration rather than a narrow functional specialism.
• Direct partnership with operations and executive leadership, where HR judgement visibly shapes production performance and cost outcomes.
• Exposure to international customer relationships, social compliance auditing and export-oriented business practices, which strengthens an already senior HR profile.
• A unionised, high-headcount environment that offers genuine complexity for a leader who wants to influence how a large workforce is managed, developed and protected.