Job title: East Africa Operations Manager
Location: RLRH office at the British Institute in Eastern Africa in Kileleshwa, Nairobi (with occasional travel)
Salary: KSh 3,234,111 – 3,727,222 gross yearly, dependent on experience + benefits
Hours: Full-time (37.5 hours per week)
Contract type: Fixed term until September 2028 with possibility of extension pending funding
Reporting to: BIEA Country Director (formally), and working closely with the RLRH Director of Operations and Strategy (functionally)
Closing Date: 23 November 2026, midday (EAT)
Start Date: 4 January 2027 (desired)
About the Refugee-Led Research Hub
The Refugee-Led Research Hub (RLRH) supports individuals with lived experience of displacement to become leaders in fields related to human rights, forced migration, humanitarian response and development, politics, and law, among other areas. We do so by delivering academic and professional development programming to a global cohort of students who have been affected by displacement – as refugees, asylum seekers, IDPs, stateless, and beyond – supporting access to graduate degrees and advanced career opportunities. RLRH also creates opportunities for researchers with displacement backgrounds to lead primary and secondary research studies, from start to finish.
RLRH’s team is comprised of colleagues who are deeply committed to advancing refugee leadership, the majority of whom have lived experience of displacement. Our network of staff, researchers, students, and other affiliates is made up of 1,400+ individuals across 80+ countries. RLRH has six active offices: our first was established in Nairobi in 2020, we have had an office at the University of Oxford since 2021, and we have since developed physical hubs in Kakuma refugee camp (Kenya), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Kampala (Uganda), and in the Oxfordshire community (UK).
From October 2025, RLRH is funded to serve as a technical partner for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, advancing an ambitious global agenda to support displacement-affected learners to access 1,000+ graduate-level scholarships at partner universities around the world. RLRH provides expert guidance and implements specialised programmes to help these learners enter university, thrive on their courses, and pursue meaningful and enduring careers on completion of their degrees. A complementary, refugee-led research agenda designed by RLRH colleagues produces insights to help partner universities and other stakeholders accelerate positive, long-lasting systems change.
About the role
Overview of the Operations and Strategy Pillar
The Operations and Strategy Pillar (OSP) provides the organisational infrastructure that enables RLRH to deliver high-quality programmes and advance its mission at scale. Working across finance, operations, people, organisational systems, planning, governance, and institutional partnerships, the Pillar ensures colleagues have the support and systems required to deliver meaningful work across multiple countries, institutional contexts, and funding streams.
As a globally distributed organisation operating across the University of Oxford, the British Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA), and a growing network of international offices, RLRH works within a complex operating environment that requires careful coordination, strong financial stewardship, and adaptable ways of working. The Operations and Strategy Pillar helps bring these different contexts together, building consistent organisational approaches while responding to local operational needs.
Beyond supporting day-to-day operations, the Pillar plays a central role in shaping how RLRH works and develops as an organisation. It does this through the continuous improvement of policies, systems, and ways of working that strengthen organisational effectiveness, improve organisational decision-making, support compliance, and enable the organisation to respond to new opportunities and challenges.
RLRH is entering a significant period of growth, with new regional hubs, expanding programmes, and a diversifying portfolio of funding and institutional partnerships. The Operations and Strategy Pillar is helping to turn this ambition into reality, building the foundations for sustainable growth while ensuring RLRH remains resilient, effective, and true to its mission.
Overview of the role
The RLRH East Africa Operations Manager role based at the British Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA) is a mid-career position responsible for ensuring effective and compliant operations in Nairobi and in the broader East African region. The postholder will coordinate office administration, HR, and finance and compliance processes, while also contributing to organisational culture and learning, office expansion, and donor reporting. The role combines managerial oversight of three junior office, admin and finance roles with hands-on operational delivery, requiring a proactive individual with significant experience in non-profit operations in Kenya and/or East Africa.
Responsibilities
Operational Management (20%)
- Serve as the focal point for East Africa operations, liaising with RLRH colleagues in Oxford and Africa, and British Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA) counterparts on human resources, finance, logistics, legal and compliance.
- Oversee daily operations of the RLRH Nairobi office, including administrative systems, office resources, equipment, and facilities.
- Maintain and update office and operations manuals, safeguarding and finance policies, and employee handbooks relevant to the RLRH Nairobi office.
- Monitor local operational risks (legal, financial, and security) and staff safety issues in Nairobi/East Africa, escalating concerns to the Director of Operations and Strategy.
- Support implementation of organisational knowledge management practices and digital security protocols, ensuring local compliance and staff uptake.
- Support the management and coordination of operational activities at the current and future RLRH satellite hubs in Kakuma, Kampala and any other future African locations.
- Support fieldwork safety and security procedures, including local risk assessments, practical safety arrangements, incident reporting and escalation, in collaboration with programme teams and relevant security focal points.
Human Resources (20%)
- Draft, process and follow up on staff and consultancy contracts with BIEA and Employer of Record partners (organisations that legally employ staff on RLRH's behalf). Oversee records of all contracts in budget and financial planners and the RLRH HR system (BambooHR).
- Coordinate HR processes, including recruitment, onboarding, offboarding, leave tracking, and performance monitoring.
- Support the development, updating, and rollout of HR policies and the staff handbook (leave, code of conduct, safeguarding, anti-harassment, etc).
- Provide staff training and onboarding support on operational systems and tools.
- Act as a staff wellbeing focal point and mediator, ensuring staff have access to wellbeing and DEI resources (training to be provided).
- Track and support the acquisition of visa, permit, and other legal documentation necessary for staff to perform their work (eg. Class M permits, Convention Travel Documents) and, where necessary, conduct in-person follow-ups with relevant authorities.
- Support the implementation of accessible accountability and complaints mechanisms by ensuring staff know how to raise concerns, understand the available reporting channels, and can access relevant procedures.
Finance and Compliance (20%)
- Line management of the RLRH East Africa Finance Officer, overseeing financial operations related to East Africa activities while ensuring high-quality deliverables and professional development.
- Liaise with BIEA finance focal point, BIEA Kenya Country Director, and RLRH Finance Officer to ensure timely approvals and processing of payments.
- Ensure RLRH East Africa financial processes are compliant with implementing partner and RLRH finance policies.
- Approve and manage payments, procurement approvals, reimbursement confirmations, petty cash reconciliations, and planned spending tracking for East Africa operations.
- Oversee reconciliation of transaction lists and provide oversight of payments and financial reporting.
- Support needs during annual financial audits and ensure compliance with legal and donor financial reporting requirements.
Partnerships, Grants and Programmes (15%)
- Support disbursement and processing of research and fellowship grants alongside the Research and Professional Placements teams, liaising with BIEA HR and finance colleagues for award approvals and grant disbursement.
- Work with external organisational partners to establish and manage subcontracts, research partnerships, and collaboration agreements for paying out funds.
- Alongside BIEA legal & compliance manager, draft and manage MOUs with external organisational partners, including financial and logistical terms.
- Support programme teams in identifying and resolving operational challenges affecting the timely delivery of academic programmes, outreach events, research, placements, training and other activities across East Africa.
Office Management (15%)
- Manage team of three direct reports (the Finance Officer, the Administrative Assistant, and the Office and Events Assistant), and any additional operations colleagues or trainees. This includes day-to-day oversight, quality of work, and professional development.
- Create a healthy and supportive work environment for all RLRH Nairobi office colleagues, ensuring accountability and a positive office culture.
- Oversee the effective day-to-day management of RLRH office spaces, ensuring they are safe, functional, accessible, and fit for purpose as the organisation grows.
- Plan physical space across the Nairobi, Kampala and Kakuma hubs, identi...