People Programs Manager

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 

We've built a Cross-Departmental Rotation Program, an Undergraduate Internship Program, and a growing number of Short Term Assignment (STA) and Long Term Assignments (LTA) deployments across our Opcos. 

These programmes span multiple countries, stakeholders and employee populations. They already exist, and now, we’re looking for someone to own them fully by re-designing, improving, and scaling them as Wave grows. You need to figure out how to make them better without having direct authority over everyone involved.

This is a role for someone who can operate independently and thinks about the people's experience behind every process. You'll be the person who makes sure rotators are set up for success, interns have a meaningful experience, and employees on assignment are thriving.

What you'll own

Rotation Program

• Run end-to-end cohort management for our Cross-Departmental Rotation Program across SN, CI, The Gambia, and new markets as we expand
• Manage the full cycle - role canvassing, applications, interviews, onboarding, monthly check-ins, evaluations, and outcomes
• Maintain scoring consistency and fairness across cohorts
• Continuously improve the program based on feedback and what the data tells you

Internship Program

• Own our Undergraduate Internship Program across Opcos - from department liaison and hiring, through onboarding, guardian management, and offboarding
• Make the intern experience genuinely great - immersive, structured, and worth their time
• Track and report on productivity impact and intern feedback

STA & LTA Deployments

• Make assignments something people actually want - from offer alignment and benefits, to deployment logistics and check-ins
• Work with People Partners in ensuring employees on assignment are properly supported and that we're applying policies consistently across markets
• Flag gaps, edge cases or policy questions early and propose solutions

Program Design & Improvement

• Keep program guidelines current and documented
• Identify new program opportunities and own the expansion of existing programs as they grow eg; new levels, new markets, new cohort structures 
• Run design review sessions with stakeholders to stress-test program changes before they go live
• Partner with Employer Branding and Talent to amplify programs

What we're looking for

• 6+ years of experience in a HR, Project Management or Recruiting role or a similarly relevant role - ideally with exposure to projects or programs
• Independently owned and improved a complex programme or portfolio of programmes and can demonstrate improvements they’ve driven
• Great interpersonal skills - can engage senior leadership and understands cultural dynamics and work across multiple teams
• Clear, direct communicator - written and verbal
• Structure and follow through - you close loops and know where everything stands at any given time
• Comfortable with ambiguity - these programs will always evolve and you'll need to make judgment calls on scope and span
• Fluency in English and French is a strong requirement
• Based in one of Wave's operating markets 

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.