Lead People Partner

LEAD PEOPLE PARTNER M-KOPA is seeking an experienced Lead People Partner to drive our people strategy across Kenya, our largest and most established market. As we continue scaling toward serving millions more customers across Africa, we need a strategic HR leader to ensure our growing team has the infrastructure, culture, and development opportunities to sustain this expansion. THE ROLE You'll serve as the primary people advisor to Kenya's leadership team, owning the full scope of people strategy for the market. Your responsibilities will include designing organizational structures, leading workforce planning and succession strategy, managing talent reviews and performance calibration, and resolving employee relations matters. You'll also spearhead organizational change initiatives as the business matures, ensuring all decisions align with Kenyan labor law and regulatory requirements. This is a high-impact position with real influence over how we build, retain, and develop the teams powering financial inclusion for everyday earners across the continent. You'll have direct access to senior leaders and the autonomy to shape people decisions at scale. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR You'll have at least eight years of progressive HR and people partnership experience, with three to six years or more advising director-level and senior executives within fast-growth, matrixed organizations. You must have working knowledge of Kenyan labor law and the regulatory environment, including hands-on experience managing employee relations escalations from start to finish. Demonstrated experience designing and executing organizational design, workforce planning, or succession strategy frameworks is essential. You should bring evidence of having built these frameworks from the ground up, not simply implemented existing ones. WHY JOIN M-KOPA M-KOPA has reached ten million customers, unlocking over two billion dollars in credit and onboarding ten thousand new customers daily. We've earned recognition as a TIME 100 company and ranked among Africa's fastest-growing companies for five consecutive years. Our 2,300 employees and 35,000 agents form the backbone of our mission to deliver financial inclusion at continental scale. This role offers genuine scope beyond a standard people partner position. You'll own the people agenda for our most complex market with room to expand as organizational needs grow. If you've spent years advising senior leaders and want broader ownership within a well-resourced, high-visibility function, this is the opportunity. LOCATION AND WORKING ARRANGEMENT This full-time, hybrid position is based in Kenya. You'll work directly with Kenya's leadership team while collaborating with our global people team across Africa and Europe. We offer professional development, coaching partnerships, family-friendly policies, flexible working arrangements, and comprehensive well-being support. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT M-KOPA is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer committed to building a diverse workforce. Women, minorities, and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. We do not collect recruitment fees at any stage of our hiring process. Pre-employment background checks, including criminal records verification, identification verification, academic qualifications, employment dates, and employer references, are part of our standard recruitment process. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and we reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a suitable candidate is selected.