Fractional Senior People Advisor

Educate! is an organization dedicated to transforming education in Africa by equipping youth with skills in leadership, entrepreneurship, and workforce readiness. They provide mentorship to help students start businesses, delivered through trained teachers and youth mentors.

Educate! is a growing organization with over 300 staff across Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania. This senior, part-time advisory engagement focuses on addressing complex people challenges related to managing growth across multiple countries, applying policy and employment law effectively, and ensuring strong communication to engage staff in key decisions. The role involves advising the executive team on high-stakes situations, rather than managing the day-to-day people function, which is handled by the Global People & HR Director.

1. Partner with the executive team on critical people decisions, acting as a senior business partner to the CEO.
2. Provide an independent perspective on organizational design, team composition, and succession planning as the organization scales.
3. Challenge decisions before they are finalized and identify potential risks.
4. Interpret global policies and country-specific employment laws to offer practical options for the executive team, considering commercial, legal, and trust implications.
5. Advise on significant cases such as restructures, exits, performance management, grievances, and investigations across all operating countries.
6. Determine when global standards should apply versus when local context requires a different approach.
7. Identify policy areas that hinder business or people outcomes and suggest improvements.
8. Coach individual team members through interpersonal and cross-cultural dynamics within a matrixed, multi-country structure.
9. Design and facilitate sessions to help teams overcome challenges.
10. Shape messaging for restructures, policy changes, and leadership transitions.
11. Edit and review internal communications for clarity, honesty, and consistency.
12. Advise on communication strategy, including what to say, what to withhold, and timing.

1. Minimum of 8 years of experience in senior HR, people, or organizational development roles, including experience as a startup people leader, HR business partner to an executive team, or advisor to a CEO.
2. Strong writing skills, capable of transforming complex people decisions into clear and acceptable communications.
3. Comfortable acting as an independent voice, being direct with leaders, discreet with sensitive information, and unattached to execution responsibilities.