Senior HR Lead

Our mission

We're making Africa the first cashless continent.

In 2017, over half the population in Sub-Saharan Africa had no bank account. That's for good reason—the fees are too high, the closest branch can be miles away, and nobody takes cards. Without access to financial institutions, people are forced to keep their savings under the mattress. Small business owners rely on lenders who charge extortionate rates. Parents spend hours waiting in line to pay school fees in cash.

We're solving this by building financial services that just work: no account fees, instantly available, and accepted everywhere. In places where electricity, water and roads don't always work, you can still send money with Wave. In 2017, we launched a mobile app in Senegal for cash deposit, withdrawal, and peer-to-peer and business payments. Now, we have millions of users across 9 countries and are growing fast.

Our goal is to make Africa the first cashless continent and that's where you come in...

How you'll help us achieve it

At Wave Mobile Money, the Senior HR Lead is a business-critical operator responsible for enabling rapid growth across Kinshasa and regional operations.

This role goes beyond traditional HR: you will operate as a business leader responsible for building and scaling the people engine behind Wave’s growth. You will act as a hands-on partner to leadership, ensuring that teams are structured, supported, and performing at a high level in a fast-scaling environment.

In this role, you'll be responsible for:

Strategic Business Partnering

• Partner with country leadership and operational teams (distribution, agents, support functions)

• Translate growth targets into practical People strategy

• Support rapid scaling across Kinshasa and provinces (field teams, agents, support staff)

• Act as a decision enabler by providing recommendations and options to help managers move quickly while managing people risks

Performance & Talent in a High-Growth Environment

• Implement a simple yet effective performance work environment and support the business in promoting talent growth

• Be an HRBP to the leadership and support managers in handling: Underperformance, High attrition roles, Promotions and internal mobility

Be an Ambassador of Wave’s Culture and Wave Ways of Working

• Coach and equip managers to role-model Wave culture in their day-to-day leadership.

• Design and champion initiatives that bring culture to life (e.g., town halls, culture workshops, storytelling etc.)

• Promote a data-driven, fast-paced, and ownership-oriented culture.

• Identify and address behaviors or practices that are misaligned with Wave’s culture.

Office & Employee Experience

• Ensure the Kinshasa office runs smoothly, safely, and efficiently

• Oversee:

• Office administration

• Facilities, security, and logistics

• Staff welfare (canteen, health, working conditions)

• Adapt solutions to local constraints:

• Power reliability

• Transport challenges

• Safety and Security considerations

Budget & Ownership & Cost Discipline

• Own and manage HR and office budgets

• Track headcount costs vs business targets

• Ensure cost-efficient scaling

Employee Relations & Labor Environment

• Manage contracts, payroll coordination, and benefits administration

• Act as the primary point of contact for employee relations issues

• Handle: Conflict resolution, Disciplinary processes and Terminations

• Ensure compliance with DRC labor law, while maintaining operational agility

• Manage relationships with: Unions, Labor inspections and Local authorities (if needed)

Key details

• Location: You'll work from our office in Kinshasa and may travel to field locations.

• Work authorization in Democratic Republic of the Congo.

• This is a permanent position.

• Our salaries are competitive and calculated using a transparent formula.

• We offer generous health insurance for yourself and your dependents.

• We support working parents - we offer 26 weeks of parental leave for mothers and 4 weeks for fathers, in addition to subsidized child care when they return to work.

• Airtime reimbursement.

• Free food and a beautiful office space.

Requirements

• 8–10+ years in HR, including strong HR Business Partnering / People Operations experience

• Experience in:

• Fast-growing companies (startup/scale-up)

• Operational or field-heavy environments

• Experience in Africa (DRC strongly preferred)

• Proven ability to support rapid scaling

• Bachelor’s degree in HR, Business Administration, or related field

• Fluent in French, English and Lingala (mandatory)

You might be a good fit if you

• Operate with a business-first mindset

• Are a does and builder

• Value speed and pragmatism

• Influence without authority

• Are resilient and adaptable

Our team

• We have a rapidly growing in-country team in Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Uganda, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Cameroon plus remote team members spread across the world.

• We're deeply passionate about our mission of bringing radically affordable financial services to the people who need them most.

• We foster autonomy for our employees. You'll own your projects at every stage, from understanding the problem to monitoring your solution in production.

• We raised the largest Series A in Africa in 2021. Our world-class investors, include Founders Fund, Sequoia Heritage, Stripe, Ribbit Capital, Y Combinator, and Partech Africa.

• We are on Y Combinator's top companies by revenue.

How to apply

Fill out the form below, and upload a resume in English and a cover letter describing your interest in Wave and the role.

We review applications frequently and recommend that you apply to the role that most closely aligns with your skills, experience and career goals.

Wave is an equal-opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.