HR Operation Manager (Payroll & Compensation)

Our client is a fast-growing, large-scale agricultural and aquaculture organization operating across Kenya and East Africa, with a workforce of over 8,000 employees. They are one of the most rapidly scaling operations in the region, with a strong footprint in rural Kenya and an ambitious growth trajectory across the continent.

They are looking for a HR Operations Manager (Payroll & Compensation) at Group level to lead and oversee Payroll Operations, Compensation Administration, HR Master Data Governance, HR Systems, HR Analytics, Data Privacy, Audit Readiness, and Statutory Compliance across their operations in Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania.

You will serve as the Group subject matter expert for payroll, compensation, HR systems, employee records, and statutory compliance — ensuring adherence to local labor laws, tax regulations, social security obligations, pension requirements, data privacy legislation, and reporting obligations across all operating countries. You will partner closely with Country HR Teams, Finance, Internal Audit, Legal, Technology, and Executive Leadership to deliver best-in-class HR operations at scale — driving standardization, automation, and continuous improvement across the Group.

This is a full-time, onsite role based at the organisation's farm operations in Homa Bay County, with some travel to other country offices across the Group.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Payroll management & governance

• Lead end-to-end payroll operations across Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania — ensuring accurate, on-time execution within agreed monthly timelines.
  

• Establish and enforce Group payroll calendars, controls, approvals, reconciliation procedures, and SLAs ensuring 100% on-time payroll execution across all countries.
  

• Oversee timely processing of all payroll inputs — new hires, promotions, salary adjustments, overtime, allowances, bonuses, deductions, and separations — including expatriate and cross-border arrangements.
  

• Review and approve payroll variance reports, investigate discrepancies prior to payroll closure, and act as the primary escalation point for payroll queries.
  

• Drive payroll process automation and continuous improvement initiatives across the Group.
  

Statutory compliance & regulatory reporting

• Ensure full compliance with payroll, employment, tax, pension, social security, and labour law requirements across all operating countries.
  

• Ensure accurate calculation, reconciliation, deduction, remittance, and reporting of all statutory obligations within prescribed legal timelines — with zero late filings or penalties.
  

• Monitor legislative changes and proactively implement required payroll and HR process updates; manage relationships with statutory authorities and regulatory bodies.
  

• Coordinate payroll compliance audits, support internal and external audit requirements, and provide periodic statutory compliance reports to Group HR and Executive Leadership.
  

Compensation & benefits administration

• Administer and maintain Group compensation structures, salary bands, grading frameworks, and compensation policies — monitoring internal pay equity across all countries.
  

• Support annual salary reviews, compensation benchmarking, and market competitiveness assessments; provide insights and recommendations to business and HR leadership.
  

• Oversee administration of employee benefit programmes — medical insurance, life insurance, pension schemes, and wellness initiatives — ensuring local regulatory compliance.
  

• Support compensation planning during annual budgeting and workforce planning cycles.
  

HR systems, master data & records management

• Own the governance, integrity, and quality of HR master data across all Group entities — ensuring completeness, accuracy, and security within ERPNext and other HR platforms.
  

• Establish standard operating procedures for employee data management, HR system administration, and employee records governance.
  

• Lead HR systems enhancements, testing, upgrades, and automation projects; promote standardisation and consistent system utilisation across countries.
  

• Ensure employee records, organisation structures, reporting lines, and contracts are maintained accurately and in line with data privacy and information security requirements.
  

Audit readiness, controls & data privacy

• Serve as the Group owner for payroll, compensation, employee records, and HR operations audit readiness — ensuring processes remain audit-ready at all times.
  

• Establish and maintain a robust HR controls framework with proper segregation of duties, approvals, reconciliations, and access governance; coordinate internal, external, labour, and tax audits.
  

• Act as Group HR custodian for employee data privacy — ensuring all employee information is collected, processed, stored, and disposed of in accordance with applicable data protection laws across all countries.
  

• Partner with IT, Finance, Internal Audit, Legal, and Risk to strengthen cybersecurity and data protection controls; investigate and manage HR data breaches and privacy incidents.
  

• Monitor audit findings, management action plans, and remediation activities to ensure timely closure; lead continuous improvement arising from audit and compliance reviews.
  

HR analytics & reporting

• Develop and maintain Group HR dashboards, payroll reports, workforce analytics, and operational KPIs to support decision-making across Group and Country leadership.
  

• Produce monthly payroll, headcount, compensation, turnover, and statutory compliance reports; conduct payroll trend analysis and identify cost optimisation opportunities.
  

• Support workforce planning and employee cost forecasting through accurate analytics and reporting.
  

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resource Management, Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, or a related field.
  

• Professional HR qualification (CHRP, CIPD, SHRM, HRCI, or equivalent) preferred; payroll certification or demonstrated payroll management expertise is highly desirable.
  

• Minimum 8–10 years of progressive HR Operations and Payroll experience, with at least 5 years managing payroll and HR operations in a multi-site or multi-country environment.
  

• Strong understanding of payroll taxation, statutory deductions, labour laws, pension regulations, and social security frameworks in Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania.
  

• Strong knowledge of HRIS, ERP, and payroll systems — ERPNext experience is an advantage.
  

• Advanced Excel, financial reconciliation, and HR analytics capabilities.
  

• Strong project management, process improvement, and stakeholder management skills.
  

• Excellent attention to detail, governance mindset, and high standards of confidentiality and integrity.
  

Benefits

Why Us:

This is a high-impact, regional leadership opportunity within one of Africa's fastest-growing aquaculture companies. You will operate at the centre of the Group's HR function — with direct visibility into Executive Leadership and meaningful influence over how payroll, compensation, and HR operations are governed across Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania. For the right person, this is not a maintenance role — it is an opportunity to drive genuine transformation through automation, standardization, and operational excellence at scale.