HR Manager - Malawi

## About the Role
The HR Manager leads the full employee lifecycle for the organization in Malawi, from workforce planning and recruitment to employee relations, pay, development and exit. The role makes sure every people practice complies with Malawian labour law and with the statutory authorities that regulate employers.
## Key responsibilities
Strategic HR leadership
- Partner with senior management to align HR strategy, workforce plans and budgets with business goals.
- Advise leadership on organizational design, restructuring, localisation and succession planning.
- Prepare HR reports and analytics (headcount, turnover, absenteeism, cost of labour) for management and the board.
Recruitment, onboarding and workforce planning
- Manage end-to-end recruitment, including job evaluation, advertising, shortlisting, interviews, reference and qualification checks.
- Issue compliant contracts of employment and written particulars, and run a structured induction and probation process.
- Manage the recruitment of expatriate staff, including work permit and visa applications and the case for localisation.
Employee relations and discipline
- Handle grievances, disciplinary hearings, suspensions, terminations, redundancies and retrenchments fairly and in line with the law.
- Maintain constructive relations with any recognized trade union, including collective bargaining and recognition agreements.
- Represent the organization in conciliation, the Ministry of Labour, and the Industrial Relations Court, working with legal counsel.
Compensation, benefits and payroll
- Design and review salary structures, grading, allowances and benefits against the Malawi market.
- Oversee monthly payroll, with accurate statutory deductions, remittances and filings.
- Administer medical, group life, pension and other employee benefits and manage the related vendors and brokers.
Performance, learning and talent development
- Run the performance management cycle, including goal setting, appraisals, performance improvement plans and calibration.
- Plan and budget for training, in line with the organization's TEVET levy obligations, and track capacity building.
- Lead talent, leadership and succession programmes.
Culture, wellbeing, health and safety
- Promote a respectful, inclusive workplace and handle harassment, gender and disability matters.
- Run wellness, HIV and AIDS workplace and occupational health and safety programmes.
- Lead employee engagement and communication, including surveys and exit interviews.
HR operations, policy and systems
- Develop, review and communicate the HR policy manual, staff handbook and procedures.
- Maintain accurate employee records and an HRIS, protecting personal data in line with data protection law.
- Manage the HR budget, vendors, and the supervision, coaching and performance of the HR team.

## Statutory and compliance duties
The HR Manager owns compliance with the laws and regulators below, keeps registrations and filings current, and reports any exposure to management. Rates and thresholds change, so confirm current figures with each authority before acting.
Employment Act (as amended, including the 2021 amendment)
- Ensure employees have written employment contracts and documented employment particulars.
- Manage probation periods and working hours, including overtime.
- Ensure compliance with leave entitlements, including annual, sick, maternity and family leave.
- Manage notice periods, termination, severance and redundancy processes.
- Prevent forced labour and child labour.
Labour Relations Act (as amended in 2021) and Ministry of Labour
- Manage trade union recognition and collective bargaining processes.
- Handle labour conciliation and employee disputes.
- Ensure compliance with strike regulations.
- Manage cases referred to the Industrial Relations Court.
Minimum Wage Orders (Ministry of Labour)
- Ensure employee salaries meet or exceed the gazetted minimum wage for each job category.
Pension Act 2023 and Reserve Bank of Malawi (Registrar of Financial Institutions)
- Ensure all eligible employees are enrolled in a pension scheme.
- Deduct and remit minimum pension contributions of 10% (employer) and 5% (employee) of pensionable pay.
- Ensure contributions are remitted to a licensed pension administrator by the 14th of the following month.
- Maintain employee life insurance cover.
- Prevent pension contribution arrears and associated penalties.
Taxation Act and Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA)
- Ensure accurate PAYE deductions and monthly remittances.
- Prepare and submit annual employee tax returns.
- Manage fringe benefits tax compliance.
- Maintain employer TPIN registration and relevant tax records.
TEVET Act and TEVET Authority
- Ensure payment of the annual skills levy based on the previous year's basic payroll.
- Complete and submit the Employer Data Form within the stipulated deadline.
Workers' Compensation Act and Workers' Compensation Commissioner
- Ensure employees are insured or covered for work-related injuries and occupational diseases.
- Report workplace accidents.
- Manage and process workers' compensation claims.
Occupational Safety, Health and Welfare Act and Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health
- Ensure workplace registration.
- Establish and maintain a workplace safety and health committee.
- Maintain occupational safety and health records.
- Investigate workplace incidents and accidents.
- Facilitate and support regulatory inspections.
Immigration Law and Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services
- Ensure expatriate employees have valid work permits and visas.
- Manage permit and visa renewals.
- Maintain evidence of compliance with localisation plans.
Data Protection Law and its Regulator
- Ensure lawful collection, processing, storage and retention of employee personal data.
- Obtain consent where legally required.
- Establish procedures for responding to data breaches.
Compliance routines
- Keep a statutory compliance calendar with monthly, quarterly and annual deadlines.
- Run internal compliance checks and prepare for inspections by labour, pension, tax and safety officers.
- Brief management on legislative change and update policies and contracts accordingly.
- Keep personnel files, payroll and statutory returns ready for audit and inspection.

Qualifications and experience

- Bachelor's degree in Human Resource Management, Business Administration, Industrial Psychology, Law or a related field.
- At least 7 years of progressive HR experience, including a senior generalist or HR management role in Malawi
- Master's degree in HR, Business or Law is an added advantage
- Professional HR certification or membership of a recognised body (for example CIPD or SHRM, or a recognised local HR body).
- Experience with an HRIS and payroll software, and with HR analytics.
- Experience in the sector of the organization (NGO, manufacturing, agriculture, banking, retail, etc.) and with multi-site or multicultural workforces
- Proven hands-on experience across recruitment, employee relations, compensation and benefits, payroll oversight, learning and development, and HR compliance.
- Working knowledge of Malawian labour law and the statutory authorities listed above, with experience handling disciplinary cases, terminations or disputes under that law.
- Experience leading and developing a team, and managing an HR budget.
- Strong command of English; Chichewa is an advantage

Skills and competencies

- Legal and regulatory judgement: reads statutes and ministry guidance accurately, applies them to real cases, and knows when to involve legal counsel.
- Employee relations: fair, firm and calm in disciplinary, grievance and union settings; skilled in negotiation and mediation.
- Strategic and commercial thinking: links people decisions to cost, productivity and risk.
- Leadership and influence: advises senior management, coaches managers and builds a high-performing HR team.
- Analytical and numerical skills: comfortable with payroll, pension and tax computations, workforce data and budgets.
- Communication: clear writer and presenter in English, able to explain policy to staff at every level.
- Integrity and confidentiality: handles sensitive personal information with discretion.
- Digital fluency: uses HRIS, payroll, Excel and reporting tools well.
Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply

BURN does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, meeting, processing, training, or any other fees).