Human Capital Business Partner

Role Overview

This position sits within the Human Capital team at SFA Foundation and works as an embedded partner to a defined set of departments and programmes, acting as the first point of contact for leaders on people matters. Day to day, the role translates the Foundation's Human Capital Strategy into practical decisions — reshaping teams and job descriptions, guiding managers through performance conversations, handling employee relations cases, and keeping reward, policy and payroll processes accurate and compliant. It matters because the Foundation's ability to deliver its mission depends on having the right capacity, in the right structure, supported by fair and consistent people practices that leaders trust and staff can rely on.

Key Responsibilities

• Advise senior leaders and managers as a trusted partner, helping them align team-level people decisions with the Foundation's strategic priorities and taking accountability for how those decisions are implemented.
• Review organisational structures, workload distribution, role requirements and competencies with departmental leaders, then convert those findings into workforce plans, revised job descriptions and practical resourcing options developed alongside Finance and Programmes.
• Guide managers through the full performance cycle — setting measurable objectives tied to departmental and organisational scorecards, running timely reviews, calibrating ratings, and managing underperformance — while coaching them to retain ownership of their people management responsibilities.
• Deliver assigned elements of organisational change and employment transition plans, coordinating employment documentation, service continuity, benefits, payroll migration and permits with the Head of Human Capital, Legal, Finance and external advisers, and tracking milestones, dependencies and risks.
• Contribute to Total Rewards and Recognition work, including periodic salary reviews, internal pay equity and affordability analysis, job evaluation and grading, and implementation of the Promotion Framework, preparing papers and presentations for Management.
• Develop, consult on and roll out Human Capital policies and procedures, monitor adoption, and ensure the Foundation remains compliant with Kenyan employment law and internal controls; provide guidance on disciplinary, grievance and termination matters.
• Investigate grievances, mediate workplace disputes and conduct internal investigations into employee relations matters, including disciplinary cases, in line with policy and legal requirements.
• Run pulse checks and the annual engagement survey, analyse results with managers, agree departmental action plans, communicate outcomes and track progress, including diversity, equity and inclusion measures.
• Maintain accurate employee records and HRIS data, monitor probation and contract-renewal deadlines, coordinate onboarding, employee changes and exits with Human Capital colleagues and ICT, and keep payroll inputs validated against approved employment changes.
• Produce regular people analytics and progress reports covering workforce capacity, turnover, recruitment, performance-review completion, engagement and material people risks, and manage the departmental risk register with owners, mitigation actions and review dates.

Requirements & Qualifications

• A bachelor's degree in human resource management or a closely related discipline from a recognised university; a master's degree is an added advantage.
• A professional human resource qualification such as HND or CHRP, plus current membership of the Institute of Human Resource Management (IHRM).
• At least seven years of relevant Human Capital experience, of which two to three years were spent in an HR advisory or business partnering role within an NGO, international development organisation, consulting firm, education institution or funding agency.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience in organisational development and workforce planning, job evaluation and reward, performance management, and the delivery of organisational change.
• Solid working knowledge of Kenyan labour laws, employment regulations and contemporary HR practice.
• Analytical, data-driven approach, with experience using HRIS tools to keep reliable records, improve processes and turn people data into recommendations management can act on.
• Proven ability to influence leaders and decisions, build strategic relationships across functions, and coordinate delivery through colleagues without direct supervisory authority.
• Strong interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills, sound judgement, high integrity, close attention to detail and adaptability in a fast-moving operating environment.
• A commitment to modelling the Foundation's core values of respect, accountability, excellence, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Evidence of the leadership behaviours this role requires: driving results with urgency and ownership, building structures and capabilities for sustainable growth, applying business and sector insight to decisions, managing projects on time and within scope, and fostering a motivated, inclusive, high-performing team culture.

What We Offer / Why Join

• A values-driven workplace where respect, accountability, excellence, and diversity, equity and inclusion shape how colleagues work together and how decisions are made.
• A genuinely strategic partnering role — you will work alongside leaders across departments and programmes on workforce planning, reward, change and engagement rather than administering transactions from the sidelines.
• Clear scope for influence: the position contributes directly to papers, frameworks and recommendations that reach Management, and it carries real ownership of cases, projects and improvement work within the Human Capital function.
• Support for continuous learning and knowledge sharing across the Human Capital team, including exposure to organisation-wide change programmes and reward and recognition design.