An organized and proactive collaborator to ensure the smooth operation of our Kenya office

About the Position

At Namati, our people are our greatest resource. Our team of more than 150 passionate advocates is spread across six country offices and remote locations around the world, representing different languages, customs, legal systems, and operating environments. As we’ve continued to amplify our impact, our Namati Kenya team has grown to meet the needs of our programmatic work and our global operations. Namati Kenya is home to our Community Land Protection and Citizenship programs, as well as staff from our communications, learning, and Legal Empowerment Network teams.

We are searching for a dynamic leader to oversee operations for Namati Kenya to ensure we’re better, stronger, and more effective in the future. This new position will sit at the intersection of operations, finance, and human resources, ensuring the smooth operation of our Kenya office and taking care of our incredible team . Exceptionally organized, creative, and process oriented, the Operations Manager will partner with Namati Kenya’s program teams in particular to identify, solve for, and address a range of operations needs, while improving our operational infrastructure for all Namati Kenya staff.

The Operations Manager will:

• Collaborate with Namati’s Kenya-based program teams to assist in supporting our local partners, ensure the team’s physical safety and security, & facilitate the procurement of necessary supplies and equipment.


• Develop or update systems & procedures, as needed, to support the programmatic goals and growth of the Kenya office


• Oversee the implementation of our Personnel Manual, ensuring policy compliance and updating policies to reflect changes in law or operations at Namati.


• Collaborate with Head of Office and Senior Finance Officer on benefits administration, where needed


• Liaise with global finance, operations, and people teams as needed on changes or issues that arise regarding Namati Kenya operations


• Keep up-to-date with Kenyan law and regulations and proactively ensure seamless compliance across Namati Kenya operations


• Act as primary contact with law firm on retainer for questions that arise


• Manage Namati Kenya’s petty cash system, ensuring all payments and documentation meet required standards defined by the Accounting Manual


• Oversee the physical office space, including handling vendors for repairs, liaising with building management on any relevant issues, and ensuring the office is well-stocked with needed cleaning and office supplies


• Ensure all office permits or permissions remain current


• Maintain organizational records related to corporate registration, charity compliance, government reporting, and other administrative matters


• Lead on other key administrative and logistical tasks to ensure that Namati Kenya operates as efficiently as possible, while remaining compliant with relevant Kenyan laws

Here’s what you might have tackled last week

• Worked with Namati Kenya’s Senior Finance Officer to dispose of old office equipment and secure two new laptops for program teams


• Met with program teams to ensure upcoming community meetings are safe and secure according to Namati Kenya’s safety protocols


• Finalized a policy concerning the taxation of allowances for paralegal training and partner convenings


• Updated the Namati Kenya personnel manual to reflect recent changes to Namati Kenya’s retirement benefits and collaborated on communicating changes to staff


• Compiled and submitted Namati Kenya’s report to the NGO Board


• Secured a contract for repairs to be completed in the Namati Kenya office

About You

Track record of excellence in operations: You genuinely enjoy, and have multiple years experience working on the operations and administrative side of an organization or company. You’ve demonstrated your ability to build and improve operational policies and systems. You’re comfortable taking ownership and driving projects, and ideally you’ve worked with global or regional partners.

Exceptionally organized and attentive to detail: You’re hyper-organized and you obsess about the details (in a healthy way). You take pleasure in letting no ball drop as you deftly juggle multiple projects and tasks in a fast paced environment.

Process Orientation: You have a track record for building and improving processes. You can pinpoint where the gaps are and provide solutions that optimize organizational practices and get results.

Nimble, creative, problem-solving: Although careful planning and execution define your work, you are positive and graceful when unexpected challenges arise. You quickly reorient and identify the best new course of action.

Sound judgment and integrity: You have the rare combination of being able to make quick decisions with your gut and measured decisions with your head.

Growth oriented: You’re always seeking to better yourself and your work, and you will push yourself to the peak of performance to help fulfill our mission. In service of that growth, you welcome and delight in feedback from supervisors, peers, and anyone else.

About Namati

Namati is dedicated to placing the power of law in the hands of people.

For billions of people around the world, the law is broken. It’s an abstraction—or worse, a threat—but not something they can use to exercise their basic rights.

Namati advances justice by equipping people to know, use, and shape the laws that affect them.

Namati and its partners have supported cadres of community paralegals – sometimes known as barefoot lawyers or grassroots legal advocates – in ten countries. These paralegals equip their communities to protect common lands, enforce environmental law, and secure basic rights to healthcare and citizenship.

In all ten countries, their grassroots work has led to improvements to entire systems: a new anti-bribery policy for the health sector in Mozambique, for example, improved sand-mining regulations in India, and greater protection for women’s rights in Sierra Leonean land law.

Globally, Namati convenes the Global Legal Empowerment Network, more than 2,000 groups from 160 countries who are learning from one another and collaborating on common challenges. This community successfully advocated for the inclusion of access to justice in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

As we move into our next phase, we’re growing our global team of passionate, results-oriented, big-hearted advocates, united by a common mission and a strong culture:

• Our mission is our North Star. It’s why we all wake up every day. We pour our hearts into this work.


• We’re innovators and changemakers. We are a young, energetic social enterprise and we know that our work is urgent. We believe in being nimble and doing what works.


• Our work makes real, tangible, measurable progress in people’s lives. We take abstract concepts – rule of law and human rights – and make them concrete, helping people find solutions that improve their lives every day.


• We walk our talk. Our movement is about legal empowerment and we bring this spirit of empowerment and collaboration to all our partnerships. We hold humility as a core value: we lead when necessary and follow when necessary.


• We are a truly global organization. Our offices are located in Delhi, Freetown, Maputo, Nairobi, Washington DC, and Yangon, and our staff come from all corners of the world. We are united by our common mission.


• We see our people as our most valuable resource. We bring on individuals of the highest caliber and character and we mentor, train, and support our staff.


• We hold one another in the highest esteem. Our work relationships are built on deep abiding respect and love.

For more about what it’s like to work at Namati, please see our Cultural Principles.

Location

Nairobi, Kenya. Please note, you must already be legally authorized to work in Kenya to be considered for the position. Due to COVID-19, Namati remains a remote-first organization for the foreseeable future and until further notice.

Compensation & benefits

The offer range for this position is an annual compensation of 3,500,000 – 4,350,000 KES. Final compensation will be commensurate with the depth of experience that the selected candidate brings. Namati also offers excellent benefits, which include health coverage, generous paid time off, retirement or old-age plan contributions, sick leave, and parental leave— or compensation for the same. All staff also have access to funds for professional development opportunities.