Senior Manager, People Operations

About the role

GiveDirectly's People Operations team owns global payroll, employee lifecycle, HR data and total rewards delivery for a workforce spread across more than 20 countries. The Senior Manager will lead a small team of three Associates and Coordinators and own end-to-end payroll delivery, the ticketing system, the employee lifecycle, HRIS data quality, the annual compensation cycle and mobility transactions. The role is hands-on and builder-like, setting the operating model and acting as the first point of contact for country HR teams.

Key responsibilities

• Lead, coach and develop the team, define escalation paths and set the operating model (cadence, controls, service standards)
• Own global payroll: calendar, approvals, controls, reconciliation with Finance, payroll providers, annual bonus administration and statutory compliance
• Own the ticketing system (triage, SLAs, reporting), onboarding, offboarding, transfers and role changes, and fix root causes of recurring issues
• Own HRIS operations and data quality, the people systems roadmap, the audit and reporting cycle and the reporting used by leadership
• Run annual compensation cycles, benefits administration, compensation analysis (benchmarking, compa ratio, cost modelling) and mobility transactions
• Take part in cross-functional initiatives and perform other duties assigned

Required profile

• 6+ years in People Operations, HR operations or global payroll, including at least 2 years managing a team
• Demonstrated multi-country payroll and people operations experience, preferably including Sub-Saharan Africa and employer of record arrangements
• Experience owning an HRIS, including implementation, migration or a major data quality turnaround
• Proficient English; remote liaison across cultures and stakeholder management
• Ability to work with incomplete guidance and shifting priorities; travel about 3-4 times a year to a country of operation
• Non-profit, international development or mission-driven company with an Africa presence preferred

Required skills

• Systems and process mindset, with examples of automated or simplified workflows
• Knowledge of employment and statutory requirements across jurisdictions
• Compensation and cost modelling, advanced spreadsheet ability
• Aptitude for learning tools such as Slack, BambooHR, Jira and Asana, and AI-assisted tools