Senior People Operations Associate (AI-Pilled) - Updated

The Opportunity

We are building AI-powered insurance infrastructure across emerging markets. To keep pace with our growth, we need a high-output, systems-thinking People Operations leader who can design and run the people engine that powers the company.

You will architect and execute the core People Ops stack: performance frameworks, competency models, recruitment operations, onboarding, engagement, learning, compliance, and HR analytics, with AI embedded at every step. You will partner closely with leadership across functions to ensure we hire, onboard, grow, and retain high-performing teams across Africa and beyond.

This role blends operator rigor with AI craft: you will use automation, LLMs, and data to move 10x faster, reduce noise for Team Leads, and create a scalable, employee-centric People engine.

What you will own and drive

• **People operating system
  **Design and execute the company’s performance and competency architecture, which includes role scorecards, values and behaviors, AI proficiency levels, and quarterly review and OKR cycles. Leverage AI and analytics to consolidate feedback, surface performance signals, and facilitate transparent performance and calibration forums that drive clarity and accountability across the team.
• **Talent engine
  **Own and drive the talent lifecycle from role definition and interview rubrics to recruiting workflows and collaboration models with hiring managers and external recruiters. Leverage AI and funnel analytics to improve sourcing quality, reduce time-to-hire, and provide weekly hiring health updates to leadership, enabling faster and more informed decision-making.
• **Onboarding and employee lifecycle
  **Manage the entire onboarding process from pre-boarding to probation and internal mobility signals, ensuring new hires are productive quickly and supported throughout their lifecycle. Utilize the internal HR chatbot and automated workflows to address routine onboarding questions, task reminders, and documentation, while focusing on high-touch interventions for smoother transitions.
• **Engagement and culture
  **Run the engagement operating rhythm, including surveys, values "double-click" sessions, all-hands rituals, offsites/retreats, and recognition programs. Use AI to cluster feedback comments, identify key themes and risk areas, and translate engagement data into clear, actionable playbooks for leadership, enhancing employee satisfaction and retention.
• **Learning & development stack
  **Own the curricula (e.g., Talstack, CuraLearn), learning calendar, and capability playbooks for leaders, individual contributors, and emerging leaders. Implement AI and experimentation to refine learning formats such as formal training, peer learning, and AI literacy, measuring the impact of these programs on performance and role readiness for ongoing development.
• **Policies and compliance
  **Maintain a clean, accessible policy stack and employee handbook across all markets, ensuring strong documentation hygiene and process controls. Utilize AI to draft policies, communications, and automate approvals, acknowledgments, and version control, ensuring changes are well-governed while remaining simple and easily understood by employees.
• **HR operations and payroll inputs
  **Ensure data integrity across employee records, movements, and payroll change logs while coordinating payroll inputs and benefits administration with Finance and external providers. Automate recurring HR operations workflows such as reminders, approvals, and notifications to reduce errors, manual effort, and ensure compliance and auditability.
• **People analytics and decision support
  **Manage the core People analytics layer, including dashboards, KPI trees, and experiment logs that track headcount, hiring funnel, performance, engagement, and attrition insights. Use AI to accelerate analysis, segment data, and generate concise monthly People insight packs that provide actionable recommendations to leadership, driving key decisions.
• **People tech stack
  **Own and manage the HRIS/ATS, AI, and automation stack that supports People Operations. Continuously identify bottlenecks in workflows and design automation/AI experiments, documenting successful solutions into scalable playbooks.
• **Office & asset support
  **You will provide light-touch oversight of basic facilities and asset management, including hardware inventory, office readiness, and vendor coordination, ensuring employees have the resources they need to do their best work without unnecessary friction.

What success looks like in 6 months

• Strong alignment with Curacel’s culture and mission, actively contributing to company-wide cultural initiatives and consistently reinforcing company values in People processes.
• Identified and addressed at least 1 process bottleneck or inefficiency across people processes, resulting in improved hiring, onboarding, or performance review cycles that save time and resources.
• Hiring operations: time-to-hire and process SLAs improved on priority roles; clean & reliable ATS and organizational satisfaction ≥ 8/10 on People support.
• Established strong relationships with leadership, contributing to strategy sessions with clear data-backed recommendations on people processes.
• Enhanced communication between teams on People Ops issues, ensuring smooth cross-functional coordination for recruitment, onboarding, performance evaluations, etc…
• All new & updated policies and processes with matching documents & agreements in place.

You might be a fit if you have

• 3–5 years in People Operations / HR generalist / HRBP roles in high-growth startups or tech environments
• Proven track record delivering core People Ops cycles: hiring operations, onboarding, performance management, engagement, and HR administration
• Experience implementing competency frameworks, role scorecards, and performance processes (not just participating in them)
• Strong funnel and people analytics skills: comfortable building and interpreting recruitment, performance, and engagement metrics
• Hands-on exposure to HRIS/ATS platforms, HR documentation, and payroll/benefits coordination
• Demonstrable comfort using AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Claude) and automation platforms (e.g. n8n, Zapier) in day-to-day work
• Good communication skills particularly with engaging in versatile team dynamics and stakeholder management skills across levels and geographies
• High ownership, attention to detail, and ability to operate in ambiguity without losing execution discipline

Nice to have

• Experience supporting teams dispersed across multiple African and/or MENA markets
• Prior work building or running early-talent programs, internships, or graduate programs
• Light technical comfort: Boolean search, basic scripting, or API/automation wiring to stitch tools together
• Background in delivering targeted developmental programs either through design or facilitation.

How we work

Do not apply if you are looking for a slow, low-maintenance HR job. We are looking for someone who is all in on building a high-performance, AI-enabled People engine for a company scaling across multiple markets. Our teams and leaders are passionate and driven, so we need someone ready to fit-in in terms of relatability, drive and capacity.

Our non-negotiable values in this role:

• Passionate Work: You enjoy the craft of People Operations, set ambitious goals, and consistently ship high-quality outcomes.
• Relentless Growth: You are a learning machine—across HR, AI, and business—and you turn feedback and data into upgraded systems.
• Empowered Action: You own outcomes, take initiative, and communicate with clarity; you don’t wait for perfect instructions.
• Sense of Urgency: You move fast with judgment, focus on high-leverage work, and close loops quickly with stakeholders.
• Seeing Possibilities: You stay solution-oriented, optimistic, and persistent, even when solving messy people and systems problems.

Compensation range in Naira per month (500,000 - 700,000)

Our process

• Chat with People Team
• Competency assessment (People Ops & AI usage)
• Chat with functional leaders
• Work trial / simulation
• Chat with CEO / Executive sponsor