Senior HR Officer – Zambia

About BURN

BURN Manufacturing designs, manufactures and distributes clean cookstoves, with operations in ten African markets. In Zambia our work runs through employees, including staff on fixed-term and project-based contracts, and a network of commission-based sales agents engaged directly and through agencies.

About the role

You will be BURN's HR lead in Zambia. You will run the full employee lifecycle for our staff and keep us compliant with Zambian law. You will also own the people side of our agent network, making sure every agent is onboarded on the right terms, documents and systems before they start selling.

Duties & Responsibilities

Employee HR operations

- Run in-country recruitment end to end, from approved hiring requests to adverts, shortlisting, interviews, references and offers.

- Issue contracts and job descriptions from approved templates; track probation, fixed-term and project-based contract end dates, renewals and gratuity due.

- Prepare monthly payroll inputs (joiners, leavers, changes, leave, attendance) and check payroll with Group Payroll before sign-off.

- Run induction, probation reviews and the performance cycle with line managers.

- Handle grievances, disciplinary cases and exits fairly and on the record, working with Legal and external counsel on complex cases.

- Keep personnel files complete and audit-ready, and employee data accurate in BURN's ERP and HR systems.

Agent workstreams

- Approve agent onboarding. Before any agent is activated, confirm verified identity, a signed contract on an approved template, the right engagement route (direct or agency) and verified mobile money details. Hold any onboarding that falls short.

- Review new or changed commission schemes for HR and legal risk before launch, with Commercial.

- Apply the Employment Code Act's presumption of employment to agent and team-leader arrangements: spot terms that look like employment and escalate them.

- Reconcile agency headcounts and invoices against BURN records every month, and keep agency agreements and reconciliations on file.

- Support the in-country rollout of the agent onboarding platform: train sales teams and agencies, test it and report issues.

- Handle agent offboarding, disputes and complaints in line with their contracts.

Compliance in Zambia

- Employment Code Act 2019: written contracts, fixed-term and project-based contracts, gratuity, leave, notice and termination.

- Industrial and Labour Relations Act and the Labour Office: grievances, disputes, union matters and labour inspections.

- Minimum wage statutory instruments: pay at or above the minimum for each category.

- Zambia Revenue Authority: PAYE and the Skills Development Levy.

- NAPSA and NHIMA: register employees and remit contributions on time.

- Workers' Compensation Fund Control Board and occupational health and safety law: cover, accident reporting and claims.

- Data Protection Act 2021: keep BURN's registration with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner current and handle employee and agent data lawfully.

- Keep a statutory compliance calendar and keep files ready for inspection.

Policy, culture and reporting

- Roll out and localise BURN HR policies, including harassment, whistleblowing, grievance and gender, and track employee acknowledgements.

- Report monthly on headcount, agents onboarded, turnover, open cases and compliance status.

- Support engagement surveys, check-ins and training.

What we're looking for

Essential

- Registration with the Zambia Institute of Human Resource Management (ZIHRM) and a valid practising certificate. This is a legal requirement for the role.

- Degree in human resource management, business, law, psychology or a related field.

- At least 5 years of HR generalist experience, including 2 or more at senior officer level or above in Zambia.

- Hands-on payroll and statutory compliance experience in Zambia (PAYE, NAPSA, NHIMA).

- Employee relations experience under the Employment Code Act: disciplinary hearings, grievances and terminations.

- Experience managing a large non-employee workforce (sales agents, casuals, contractors or outsourced staff) and its classification risks.

- Strong data discipline: Excel, HR or ERP systems and accurate records.

- Fluent written and spoken English.

Desirable

- Experience administering fixed-term and project-based contracts and gratuity.

- Experience with digital onboarding, e-signature or mobile money payments.

- Experience in manufacturing, distribution, FMCG, energy or field sales.

- Experience with Microsoft Dynamics NAV or Business Central.

Can speak / read Nyanja or Bemba.

Qualified Female Candidates 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) .