Head of Employee Relations

About the role

Kenya Airways is seeking a Head of Employee Relations to act as the principal architect of the airline's employee relations framework. The role reports directly to the Chief People Officer and partners with the Group Managing Director & CEO, the Executive Committee and line leadership. It covers a multi-union, multi-jurisdictional workforce of over 4,500 employees across 30+ countries, and calls for a leader combining technical expertise in employment law and labour relations with commercial awareness and negotiation skills.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the employee relations strategy, advise the Chief People Officer and CEO on workforce restructuring and change, and run a proactive risk framework covering industrial action, regulatory compliance and reputation.
• Lead collective bargaining negotiations, manage relationships with trade unions, oversee Collective Bargaining Agreements and represent the company in conciliation, mediation and arbitration.
• Ensure compliance with Kenyan employment and labour laws, oversee employment policies, disciplinary and grievance processes, and employment litigation.
• Drive organisational change, culture transformation, DEI and employee wellness programmes.
• Use HRIS and people analytics to track ER metrics, build dashboards and digitise ER processes.
• Build relationships with the Ministry of Labour, trade unions, employer associations and external counsel, and lead a high-performing ER team.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in HR, Law, Industrial/Organisational Psychology, Social Sciences or a related discipline (mandatory).
• Minimum 12 years of progressive HR experience, including at least 7 years in a senior Employee Relations, Industrial Relations or Labour Relations leadership role.
• Proven track record of leading collective bargaining and negotiating CBAs, and of managing large-scale change and restructuring.
• Deep expertise in Kenyan employment law and labour relations, with working knowledge of multi-jurisdictional requirements.
• Experience in the aviation, transport, logistics or other unionised sectors is a distinct advantage.

Required skills

• Professional HR certification such as CHRP (K), CIPD Level 7, SHRM-SCP or equivalent (mandatory).
• Membership of IHRM Kenya in good standing (mandatory).
• People analytics and HRIS use, and mediation, arbitration or dispute resolution certification (distinct advantage).