Group Talent Acquisition & HR Development Manager

The HR Development & Talent Acquisition Manager - Group is responsible for leading recruitment operations, onboarding, training, and talent development across the Lapaire Group's footprint (currently 10 countries). The role is expected to build and lead the Group's Talent function across both Francophone and Anglophone Africa. 

Reporting to the HR Director, he/she drives the operational rollout and structuring of HR initiatives, supervising the Talent Acquisition & Onboarding (Pillar 1) and L&D / Talent Management (Pillar 2) teams. He/She collaborates closely with the Operational Excellence team (L&D), Support Departments, and Country Managers. He/She manages a team of Recruiters and HR Development Assistants based in Abidjan and Kampala.

• Partner with Country Managers and functional leaders to anticipate key recruitment and capability needs.
• Supervise and optimize recruitment operations (Ops & Support profiles) across all countries to ensure fast, qualitative, and structured hiring processes.
• Guide recruiters in sourcing strategies, talent pipeline building, and employer branding initiatives (in collaboration with Communication).
• Ensure daily optimization and team usage of the recruitment platform (ATS).
• Drive and monitor the standardized Group onboarding framework (welcome kits, probation period tracking, 30-60-90 day reviews, culture integration).

• Lead the implementation of performance review cycles (via HRIS) and assist managers in tracking performance improvement plans (PIPs), conduct regular talent reviews.
• Drive internal mobility, build talent pools & succession planning in anticipation of group expansion from 10 to 20 countries.
• Collect training needs from country teams and Support departments, ensuring the execution of development plans.
• Coordinate with Ops Excellence Team and Country Trainers to review, optimize, and track job-specific training paths (opticians, sales representatives, branch managers etc.).
• Draw and implement employee engagement initiatives (eNPS surveys and action plans).

• Manage, coach, and support Recruiters, HR Development Assistants & Ops Excellence Team in their daily tasks, tracking key HR metrics (time-to-hire, retention, onboarding completion, training progresses, training retention & impact, E-NPS score) etc.
• Ensure seamless coordination and communication between Francophone and Anglophone team members.
• Review, structure and optimize HR processes and workflows to prepare the scaling from 10 to 20 countries.
• Contribute actively to the deployment of new HR IT Tools.

• Bachelor's degree (Bac+3) or Master's degree (Bac+5) in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field.

• 6 to 8 years of overall HR experience, with solid practice in Recruitment, Onboarding, and L&D / Talent Management.
• At least 2 to 3 years of experience managing or leading an HR team.
• Proven experience in a multi-site, fast-growing, or international environment (Retail, FMCG, Distribution, or Services).

• Proven leadership, coaching skills, and process-oriented mindset.
• Excellent communication, listening, and interpersonal skills.
• Structured, pragmatic, and comfortable in a fast-paced scale-up environment.
• Strong command of HR software (ATS, HRIS, LMS) and Google Suite.

• Full professional fluency in English and French is MANDATORY (spoken and written) to interact seamlessly with regional teams.