People Operations Associate

Job Summary

The People Operations Associate administers company HR policies, updates internal records using HRIS platforms, and leads employee onboarding initiatives. This professional supervises local office staff, coordinates domestic and international travel logistics, tracks facilities budgets, processes work permits for expatriates, and oversees daily office safety, utility, and procurement needs.

Key Roles & Operational Responsibilities

1. People Operations & Employee Lifecycle Management

• System Integrity: Implement, monitor, and enforce Wave's standardized HR policies, procedures, and internal administrative frameworks across the Uganda team.
• Culture Integration: Design and execute comprehensive onboarding journeys for incoming hires, embedding them directly into Wave’s mission-driven corporate culture.
• Record Architecture: Maintain real-time employee data profiles—including compensation adjustments, benefits packages, health insurance logs, performance review folders, internal transfers, and termination paperwork.
• Compliance & Immigration: Manage the end-to-end administration of legal work permits for international employees, liaising with local immigration authorities when necessary.
• Business Partnering: Act as the primary on-site focal point and trusted internal partner for employee relations, administrative inquiries, and HR support.

2. Comprehensive Office Management & Infrastructure

• Facility Governance: Direct the daily operations of Wave's Kampala facility, ensuring excellent, safe, and hygienic working conditions in compliance with occupational health and safety laws.
• Workspace Control: Supervise front-desk workflows, incoming/outgoing correspondence, utility consumption, security teams, office equipment maintenance, and supply inventory levels.
• Real Estate Expansion: Coordinate the identification, acquisition, and fit-out logistics for new physical office spaces or field stations as the company expands upcountry.

3. Team Leadership, Budgets & Corporate Event Logistics

• Personnel Supervision: Supervise, mentor, and track the daily task allocations of general office support staff, driving productivity and professional growth.
• Fiscal Stewardship: Manage local office operational budgets, approve purchase orders, and execute corporate procurement cycles efficiently.
• Travel Coordination: Direct complex domestic and international travel configurations, including flights, hotel bookings, vehicle rentals, and visa validation logs.
• Event Architecture: Plan and execute corporate event experiences, including local team-building activities, happy hours, regional staff retreats, and larger operational conferences.

Foundational Capabilities & Prerequisites

Required Technical Profile & Experience

• Academic Foundation: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional training in Business Administration, Human Resource Management, or a related commercial discipline.
• Experience Baseline: Minimum of five (5) years of progressive, verifiable experience in a hybrid HR, people operations, or office administration role—ideally within a fast-paced, international corporate environment or scaling technology firm.
• HRIS Technicality: Functional, practical knowledge of modern Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS), with a strong preference for BambooHR or Workday.
• Software Fluency: Advanced working proficiency within digital productivity ecosystems, specifically Google Suite (Docs, Sheets) or Microsoft Office.
• Work Authorization: Valid, unconditional legal authorization to work in Uganda is mandatory.

Desired Behavioral Profiles & Attributes

• Autonomy & Tenacity: Proven capacity to function independently with minimal directive guidance, establishing new operational systems and driving tasks through to completion.
• Spatial Awareness: A thoughtful approach to how physical environments, office designs, and workspace layouts directly impact and lift team morale and culture.
• Adaptable Communication: Comfort defaulting to clear over-communication across distributed, multicultural teams, with strong negotiation and interpersonal skills.
• Problem-Solving Paradigm: Highly analytical, detail-oriented, and solution-driven mindset, with the agility to pivot quickly when operational priorities shift.
• Flexibility: Absolute readiness to adjust to changing schedules or work irregular hours when high-priority projects or events require support.

What Wave Mobile Money Offers

• Impact-Driven Mission: Work directly within an elite Y Combinator top-revenue fintech team reshaping financial inclusion across the African continent.
• Formula-Driven Equity: Highly competitive compensation packages calculated via a transparent, formulaic model that eliminates standard corporate bias.
• Elite Care Framework: Access to premium health insurance for yourself and your dependents, plus a parent-focused leave policy providing 26 weeks of paid parental leave for mothers and 4 weeks for fathers.
• Workspace Perks: Access to subsidized childcare support, direct airtime reimbursements, daily free food provisions, and a modern, collaborative office design.

Skills Required:

• Sales / Marketing / Business / Management