Senior Human Resource Business Partner

About Imagine Worldwide

All children have immense potential, but hundreds of millions don’t have access to the learning they need. Imagine Worldwide’s mission is to empower millions of children across Sub-Saharan Africa with the literacy and numeracy skills they need to reach their full potential. We provide an innovative education technology solution and implementation model to the global literacy/numeracy learning crisis using the onebillion application and various toolkits and systems to support implementation. Nine Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) across multiple countries and settings have shown dramatic learning gains, increased school attendance, and gender parity, all for less than $7 per child per year.

Imagine Worldwide partners with governments, organizations, and communities to provide child-directed, tablet-based learning that is accessible, effective, and affordable. We are a California-based (United States) nonprofit organization operating across seven Sub-Saharan African countries. Learn more on our website.

Role Overview

The Senior HR Business Partner will serve as the primary Human Resources Business Partner across Imagine’s African country portfolios of Malawi and Tanzania, delivering end-to-end human resources leadership and support, partnering closely with Country Directors and functional leaders to enable organisational growth, workforce effectiveness, and a strong people experience. 

Reporting to the Executive Head of People, the Senior HR Business Partner will operate as a strategic and operational HR Business Partner, leading HR delivery across multiple countries. The role will ensure consistent implementation of the global people strategy, creation and implementation of country people plans, compliance with local labour laws, effective talent management practices, and alignment with organisational values and performance standards.

The Senior HR Business Partner will work to provide high-quality, proactive HR partnership to country leadership teams; ensure effective execution of end-to-end HR processes across multiple countries; strengthen organisational culture, engagement, and performance across diverse, multicultural teams; and translate global People strategy into practical, locally compliant implementation.

Key Responsibilities

The Senior HR Business Partner will report to the Executive Head of People and work closely with Country Directors, functional leaders, and the broader People team. Responsibilities will include, but will not be limited to the following:

Strategic HR Business Partnering

• Serve as the primary HR partner to designated country portfolios, advising leadership on workforce strategy, structure, and people-related risk;
• Translate organisational and People strategy into actionable country-level plans;
• Provide guidance on organisational design, workforce planning, reporting structures, and operating model alignment;
• Support change management initiatives and transformation efforts within country teams;
• Use HR metrics, dashboards, and workforce data to inform decision-making and drive continuous improvement;
• Escalate strategic risks and complex matters appropriately to the Executive Head of People.

Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning

• Partner with country leadership to conduct workforce planning aligned to growth projections;
• Lead and coordinate recruitment processes for country portfolios, ensuring quality, diversity, and alignment to competency frameworks;
• Support hiring managers in structured selection, interviewing, and decision-making processes;
• Oversee onboarding to ensure effective integration of new hires into the organisation and culture;
• Ensure consistent application of job architecture, grading frameworks, and role clarity standards.

Employee Relations & Compliance

• Act as a trusted advisor on employee relations matters, including performance concerns, disciplinary processes, investigations, and conflict resolution;
• Ensure compliance with local labour legislation in each supported country, working with local legal advisors, PEOs, or Employers of Record where required;
• Provide guidance on employment contracts, policy interpretation, and HR risk mitigation;
• Support grievance management processes and ensure fair, consistent application of policy;
• Oversee offboarding processes, including exit interviews and compliance requirements;
• Maintain accurate, confidential HR documentation and records.

Performance Management & Capability Development

• Drive implementation of the organisation’s performance management framework across country portfolios;
• Coach and equip managers to set objectives, provide feedback, and manage performance effectively;
• Support development planning, coaching interventions, and targeted capability-building initiatives;
• Partner with the Executive Head of People on succession planning and identification of high-potential talent;
• Foster a high-performance culture rooted in accountability, clarity, and continuous improvement.

Culture, Engagement & Organisational Effectiveness

• Champion organisational values and culture across supported countries;
• Support employee engagement initiatives and feedback mechanisms;
• Facilitate cross-country collaboration and team effectiveness initiatives;
• Identify organisational climate trends and recommend appropriate interventions;
• Promote inclusive practices and equitable people processes across geographies.

Compensation & HR Operations

• Provide input into compensation benchmarking aligned to global frameworks and local market standards;
• Support salary review cycles and incentive processes at the country level;
• Coordinate effectively with payroll providers, PEOs, or Employers of Record;
• Contribute to the development and refinement of HR policies, SOPs, and toolkits;
• Prepare HR reports, workforce analytics, and board-ready summaries as required.

Requirements

• Honours Degree or Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resources, Organisational Psychology, Industrial Psychology, or related field. Master’s Degree preferred.
• Minimum of 8–10 years’ HR experience, with at least 5 years operating at a senior HR Business Partner or HR Lead level;
• Demonstrated experience providing end-to-end HR leadership across multiple business units or countries;
• Experience working across multiple African countries or emerging markets preferred;
• Experience in high-growth or scaling organisations advantageous;
• Experience working with remote or hybrid teams across multiple countries;
• Experience in non-profit, social impact, education, or development sectors is advantageous.

Specific skills (required)

Exceptional people skills and proven experience that include:

• Strong generalist HR capability across organisational design, talent management, employee relations, performance management, and compliance;
• Ability to operate both strategically and hands-on;
• Strong influencing and stakeholder management skills;
• High cultural intelligence and ability to work across diverse environments;
• Strong conflict resolution and mediation capability;
• Ability to interpret HR data and translate insights into practical solutions;
• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail;
• High level of adaptability, resilience, and ability to manage competing priorities;
• Ability to handle sensitive information with discretion and professionalism.

Compensation & Benefits

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience.

Location

The role is fully remote but must be based on the African continent. International travel to field sites will be required at least every second month, or up to once a month.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis

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Imagine Worldwide is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.