Human Resource Officer - Uganda

Who We Are! 

🌍 Africa has the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population. By 2035, the continent is poised to contribute more young people to the global workforce each year than the rest of the world combined. 

At Educate! we're obsessed with impact. We leverage iterative learning to build highly scalable youth employment solutions aimed at unlocking the potential of the world’s youngest continent. 

Educate! prepares youth in Africa to learn, earn and thrive in today’s economy by: 

1. Introducing an employment-focused school subject into secondary and 
2. Delivering livelihood boot camps for out-of-school youth, with a focus on marginalized rural girls and young women.

To date, more than 500,000 youth have been meaningfully impacted across Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania, and along the way, Educate! has become the largest youth employment and skills provider in East Africa.

Educate! is a team of over 300 largely African staff and 300 volunteer youth mentors. We prioritize building an engaging, fulfilling and growth oriented work environment. 50% of our top 30 leaders have been with us for over 5 years, 10+ alumni have started their own organizations, and 6 current or former team members were Acumen Fund East Africa fellows. 

We have been backed by top foundations such as Imaginable Futures, Livelihood Impact Fund,  Jack Dorsey’s #startsmall, CIFF and Echidna Giving. Educate! won a 2018 Klaus J. Jacobs Prize and a 2015 WISE Award, and has been highlighted by the World Bank’s S4YE's Impact Portfolio, an Al Jazeera documentary, BBC, The Brookings Institution as one of 14 case studies on scaling education, and the Gates Foundation as a Goalkeepers Accelerator. In 2022, we received a catalytic investment from philanthropist Mackenzie Scott to scale our systems change work.

Educate!'s long-term vision is to design solutions that measurably impact millions of youth across Africa each year.

Good to note: To Our Awesome Applicants! 🚀💫

We know that incredible candidates sometimes hesitate to apply if they don’t meet every requirement. If this role excites you, we encourage you to apply! 

We’re looking for passionate individuals who believe in our mission and can bring unique perspectives to our team—not just those who check every box. We value diversity and strongly encourage women and individuals from all backgrounds to apply.

Position Overview 

Educate!, a fast-growing and award-winning social enterprise, is seeking an enthusiastic and self-driven Human Resource Officer to support the Human Resource operations in Kampala, Uganda. We’re looking for someone who has non-profit experience, delivers results while handling multiple projects, is willing to learn at a faster rate and able to handle change management processes.

The HR Officer will  directly and report to Educate! Human Resource Manager. You will be under the Uganda HR department supporting Talent acquisition/recruitment, Employee benefits admin + GPA Policy Support, Staff Records & Filing & filing, HR Logistics & Events.

The ideal candidate is; a proactive and detail-driven HR professional who excels at managing people, processes, and data while fostering a positive and engaging workplace culture.

What You Will Do:

Benefits administration and Compliance (35%)

• Manage the administration of employee benefits, including medical insurance, GPA, and other related programs, ensuring timely enrollments, claims processing, removals, and invoice processing.
• Serve as the primary contact with benefits providers. 
• Lead employee benefits awareness by ensuring all staff are informed about available perks, entitlements, and any policy changes.
• Coordinate and provide guidance on the eligibility and the application of scholarship requests, ensuring timely and accurate submission of necessary documentation. 

Talent acquisition/recruitment (25%)

• Support the HR coordinator with the recruitment process for field roles during high volume season.
• Ensure that all field recruitment activities align with the organization’s policies and procedures, maintaining consistency and compliance throughout the process.
• Lead and coordinate the recruitment process from role posting to offer acceptance, ensuring a positive experience for all candidates and hiring managers.
• Support in planning and coordinating a comprehensive onboarding experience for all new hires, including schedule management, orientation meetings, welcome materials, and ensuring timely access to necessary tools and systems.

Contracts and documentation, (20%) 

• Maintain up-to-date employee records in both the HR shared drive and BambooHR.
• Conduct regular audits of employee data to ensure accuracy, completeness, and consistency with contract terms and organizational updates.
• Maintain a process for disposing of outdated or irrelevant staff records in line with company retention policies and applicable laws.
• Track and manage leave, ensuring timely and accurate documentation of each leave type in line with the HR Policy manual.
• Track and review leave reports monthly to ensure that they are accurately recorded in BambooHR

HR Logistics & Events (20%)

• Oversee the timely processing and tracking of work permits, special passes, and NGO permits for staff, ensuring full compliance with local labor laws and regulations.
• Lead the planning, coordination and implementation of team-building activities and events.
• Coordinate and manage recognition and support initiatives to boost staff morale in a timely manner.
• Act as a culture champion by facilitating regular feedback loops between the HR team and field/frontline staff, ensuring timely flagging of concerns and tracking actions taken

Who You Are 🦸‍♀️🦸‍♂️
You’re a highly organized, detail-oriented, and service-driven HR professional who thrives in fast-paced environments and takes pride in ensuring smooth operations and exceptional employee experiences. You bring strong systems thinking, a proactive mindset, and a people-first approach to your work. You’re comfortable with data, love creating structure, and are excited to contribute to a mission-driven team.

The ideal candidate has:

• Exceptional organizational skills: You’re confident in managing multiple HR processes at once, whether tracking contract timelines, onboarding logistics, or benefits administration.
• Comfort with data and systems: You have strong Excel/Google Sheets skills and proficiency with HR systems, preferably BambooHR or similar platforms.
• A proactive, self-directed approach: You take initiative, work independently, and know how to prioritize and execute on completing tasks.
• Strong communication skills: You can clearly and respectfully communicate with team members at all levels and draft HR communications that are professional, timely, and aligned with organizational standards.
• Collaborative cross-functional experience: You’ve worked across teams to ensure seamless coordination and follow-through on people-related processes.
• A Bachelor's degree: While a degree is preferred, your skills and experience matter most.
• Relevant experience: You bring 3 years of relevant HR, admin, or operations experience, with a demonstrated track record of supporting people and systems.
• Documentation and systems mindset: You’re able to create and maintain clear, user-friendly spreadsheets, trackers, and HR SOPs that support compliance and efficiency.

Terms

This position will be based in Kampala Uganda

What We Offer 💼

• A vibrant, mission-driven environment with a supportive and fun team.
• Flexibility— Hybrid work environment to empower you in your mode of work. 
• Competitive salary based on experience.
• Healthcare coverage for you and your dependents, work laptop, Internet & call stipend
• Learning & growth opportunities

PLEASE NOTE THE ABOVE BENEFITS DO NOT APPLY TO TEMPORARY, CONTRACT OR INDEPENDENT CONSULTANTS. 

Application Process: Rolling basis, interviews happening soon!

Our Culture & Tenets(Values) 🌱

We’re ambitious. Are you? Educate! is growing fast, so new opportunities are opening up and expanding all the time. We’re inspired by people with drive, and we love to help them reach their full potential. We expect everyone at Educate! to contribute above and beyond their job description, grow their skills, and advance their careers, and we are committed to supporting our staff members on that journey of their careers, and we are committed to supporting our staff members on that journey. 

1. We put Youth First, Impact-Obsessed - We are purpose-driven, focused on impact, and prioritize what truly matters. We listen to youth, design our efforts around their needs, and ensure every dollar creates transformative experiences they value.
2. We Exceed Expectations - We take pride in going above and beyond to achieve the best results—proactively identifying problems and seeking solutions without waiting or stopping at what's requested.
3. We Are Always Learning - We are committed to seeking and applying new knowledge and ideas. We stay open-minded and continuously try new things, experiment, grow, and improve. We invest in learning for ourselves and our teams.
4. We are One Team, Many Views - We value all individuals, believe diverse ideas and open dialogue drive excellence, foster a supportive and respectful environment where everyone can freely express themselves. We work as one team and prioritize the organization's mission over personal or team interests.
5. We have the Startup Mindset - We innovate relentlessly to grow our impact, we never think “we have arrived” or “we’re done.”We constantly challenge the status quo, embrace change, and move quickly toward our vision. Unafraid of failure, we question anything that hinders progress.

Every person at Educate! — from interns to the executive director — is evaluated by how they live up to these five cultural tenets. They are at the core of how we achieve our mission and why we work as well as we do.  Educate is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all who interact in our community. In creating this environment, we encourage people from a variety of cultures, backgrounds and life experiences to join our diverse team. 

We’re committed to ensuring all candidates are screened for child and youth safety. As part of the process, you’ll need to provide a Certificate of Good Conduct. Educate! reserves the right to withdraw employment offers if any risks to youth are identified.