Talent Senior Associate

Job Summary

Required Qualifications

• •Sound judgement
• •Ability to independently manage routine and moderately complex Talent matters
• •Ability to proactively identify and mitigate risks
• •Ability to drive continuous improvement across Talent systems and processes
• •Ability to contribute to regional Talent initiatives
• •Ability to support the development of more junior Talent teammates
• •Ability to champion a culture of excellence, accountability, and continuous growth
• •Experience in recruitment and talent acquisition
• •Experience in payroll and benefits administration
• •Experience in government relations and statutory compliance
• •Experience in employee relations
• •Experience in growth and performance management
• •Experience in leave administration
• •Experience in separation management
• •Experience in HR operations and systems
• •Experience in policy development
• •Experience in compliance
• •Experience in reporting
• •Experience in Talent analytics
• •Ability to coach and advise leaders
• •Ability to strengthen manager capability
• •Ability to ensure consistent implementation of Talent policies and processes
• •Ability to use data and insights to improve teammate performance, engagement, retention, and overall organizational effectiveness
• •Ability to work remotely
• •Ability to work in school campuses from time to time
• •Knowledge of applicable employment legislation
• •Ability to partner with hiring managers to understand staffing requirements
• •Ability to develop appropriate recruitment approaches
• •Ability to create and independently run strategic recruitment plans
• •Ability to manage recruitment processes from vacancy approval through to appointment and onboarding
• •Ability to develop recruitment timelines, sourcing strategies, interview processes and candidate assessments
• •Ability to screen applications and conduct interviews for junior and mid-level roles
• •Ability to create recruitment and hiring tools including job descriptions, phone screen questions, performance tasks, final interview tools and reference checks
• •Ability to coordinate candidate assessments, interview feedback and hiring decisions
• •Ability to maintain regular communication with hiring managers and other stakeholders
• •Ability to ensure recruitment processes comply with approved staffing structures, budgets, internal hiring policies and applicable employment requirements
• •Ability to ensure candidates receive timely, professional and thoughtful communication throughout the recruitment process
• •Ability to monitor candidate and hiring-manager feedback and identify opportunities to strengthen the recruitment process and Nova Pioneer employer brand
• •Ability to maintain accurate recruitment records, candidate information and recruitment data within relevant Talent systems
• •Ability to support the preparation and administration of offers of employment and ensure that all required approvals and pre-employment checks are completed
• •Ability to partner with relevant stakeholders to ensure a smooth transition from recruitment into onboarding
• •Ability to coordinate and manage the monthly payroll process
• •Ability to maintain and communicate the annual payroll calendar
• •Ability to collect, review and process approved payroll inputs including new appointments, employee exits, salary changes, allowances, benefits, deductions, leave-related adjustments and other employee changes
• •Ability to verify payroll information against approved contracts, letters, trackers and supporting documentation
• •Ability to maintain accurate employee and payroll information within the payroll system
• •Ability to conduct payroll validation and reconciliation checks
• •Ability to prepare payroll reports, variance analyses, bank-payment information and other required payroll documentation
• •Ability to coordinate the review and approval of payroll in accordance with established payroll controls and approval processes
• •Ability to work closely with Finance to support payroll reconciliations, payroll accounting, general-ledger reporting and the resolution of payroll-related queries
• •Ability to support compliance with applicable payroll legislation, statutory deductions, reporting requirements and submission deadlines
• •Ability to liaise with payroll-system providers, external consultants, statutory bodies and benefits providers
• •Ability to support internal and external payroll audits by maintaining accurate records and providing required documentation
• •Ability to manage employee enrolments, amendments and exits relating to medical, pension and other employee benefits
• •Ability to provide clear and accurate guidance to teammates and managers on payroll and benefits processes
• •Ability to identify payroll risks, control gaps and process inefficiencies and recommend practical improvements
• •Ability to maintain comprehensive payroll process documentation, monthly checklists and audit records
• •Ability to serve as the primary Talent partner for assigned schools on government and statutory compliance matters
• •Ability to ensure adherence to all applicable labour laws, employment regulations, and statutory requirements
• •Ability to maintain positive working relationships with relevant government agencies
• •Ability to coordinate and support interactions with government stakeholders including labour officers, immigration authorities, NSSF, SHA, KRA, and other statutory bodies
• •Ability to ensure timely submission of required documentation and effective resolution of compliance matters
• •Ability to partner with school leaders to ensure ongoing compliance with employment legislation, statutory reporting requirements, workplace regulations, and government policies
• •Ability to proactively identify and mitigate compliance risks
• •Ability to support government inspections, audits, and compliance reviews
• •Ability to ensure accurate employment records, personnel documentation, statutory filings, and Talent processes are maintained in accordance with legal and organizational requirements
• •Ability to monitor changes to employment legislation and statutory requirements
• •Ability to advise school leaders and the Regional Talent team on emerging compliance obligations
• •Ability to support the implementation of updated policies, procedures, and practices across assigned schools
• •Ability to build trusted relationships with School Leaders, Deputy School Leaders and managers
• •Ability to provide proactive guidance across the full teammate lifecycle
• •Ability to partner with school leadership teams to proactively identify Talent priorities, risks and opportunities
• •Ability to ensure Talent strategies support school improvement plans and organizational goals
• •Ability to attend regular leadership meetings with assigned schools
• •Ability to provide Talent insights, advice and support on people-related matters
• •Ability to use Talent data and trends to proactively identify emerging issues
• •Ability to recommend practical solutions that improve teammate experience, retention and performance
• •Ability to act as the first point of contact for school leaders on Talent matters
• •Ability to provide managers with practical guidance on the consistent application of employment policies, procedures and applicable labour legislation
• •Ability to advise managers on routine employee relations matters including attendance, conduct, performance concerns, grievances, workplace conflict and policy violations
• •Ability to conduct fair and objective fact-finding processes and employee relations investigations including interviews, evidence review and preparation of clear and factual reports
• •Ability to support and facilitate disciplinary, grievance, probation, performance-management and mediation processes
• •Ability to prepare and review employee relations documentation including notices, warnings, outcome letters, meeting records and related correspondence
• •Ability to ensure employee relations matters are managed fairly, consistently, confidentially and in accordance with organisational policy and legal requirements
• •Ability to maintain accurate and confidential employee relations records and case trackers
• •Ability to monitor agreed actions and ensure appropriate follow-through and closure of employee relations matters
• •Ability to identify matters involving significant legal, employee, operational or reputational risk and escalate these promptly to the Talent Lead
• •Ability to support managers to strengthen their capability and confidence in managing employee matters fairly and consistently
• •Ability to liaise with legal advisors or other external partners where required and under the guidance of the Talent Lead
• •Ability to oversee assigned employee lifecycle processes from onboarding through to offboarding
• •Ability to ensure a consistent and positive teammate experience
• •Ability to prepare and review employment contracts, contract amendments, employee letters and other employment documentation
• •Ability to ensure all employment documentation is accurate, appropriately approved and issued within required timelines
• •Ability to maintain accurate and up-to-date employee information across HR, payroll and benefits systems
• •Ability to monitor employee-data quality and regularly reconcile information across systems and trackers
• •Ability to ensure employee files are complete, accurate, secure and maintained in accordance with organizational and legal record-keeping requirements
• •Ability to manage escalated teammate and manager queries
• •Ability to monitor employee movements including appointments, transfers, promotions, contract changes, probation outcomes and exits
• •Ability to prepare regular reports relating to headcount, employee movements, leave, contracts and other Talent metrics
• •Ability to identify inefficiencies, risks or recurring issues within HR processes and recommend improvements
• •Ability to develop, document and improve Talent standard operating procedures, workflows, templates, checklists and guidance materials
• •Ability to support the implementation and effective use of Talent systems and technology
• •Ability to train and support Talent Coordinators, Associates and other relevant teammates in HR systems, processes and administrative standards
• •Ability to protect the organisation's value by maintaining strict confidentiality and handling employee information with appropriate care and discretion
• •Ability to partner closely with School Leaders, Deputy School Leaders, and managers to ensure the consistent, high-quality implementation of Nova Pioneer's Growth and Performance Management framework
• •Ability to build manager capability in driving teammate performance and development
• •Ability to lead and support the end-to-end Growth Map process
• •Ability to coach managers to develop meaningful, measurable, and development-focused Growth Maps
• •Ability to monitor completion and quality of Growth Maps throughout the year