Deputy Director, People Operations at Youth Development Labs: (Deadline 18-07-2026)
Deputy Director, People Operations
Operations & Finance - Remote
ABOUT YLABS
YLabs is a leading global design and research organization
designing technologies that amplify youth power, agency, and opportunity.
Founded in 2014 at the Harvard Innovation Lab, YLabs partners with young people
to co-create inclusive digital products and services that improve their lives.
Our design process opens spaces where young people’s ideas can become a reality
– where they are the architects of the solutions to their most pressing
challenges.
YLabs multidisciplinary team delivers youth-driven
innovation and impact at scale. Our team combines expertise in youth-driven
design with adolescent health, climate, livelihoods, digital product design,
behavioral science, and epidemiology. With headquarters in Rwanda and the USA,
we’ve worked in 18 countries to date on projects spanning three focus areas:
optimum health and wellness, improved economic opportunity, and increased
climate resilience.
Find out more about our projects here: https://www.ylabsglobal.org/work
JOB SUMMARY
YLabs is seeking a senior leader to build and guide our
global HR and operations function for our next phase of growth. You will
function as a department head: setting the strategic direction for how YLabs
attracts, levels, compensates, and retains a globally distributed team. You
will establish and refine the systems, structures, and compliance
infrastructure that make this possible as YLabs grows. You will partner with
the Senior Leadership Team on organizational strategy, ensuring our people and
operations are supported in a way that is caring, compliant, and well-run.
Key areas of leadership include redesigning our global pay
equity structure, modernizing our leveling and performance management practice,
and building the hiring and compliance infrastructure for our Pan-African and
Asian expansion.
JOB TYPE
This is a full-time, fully benefited position. The initial
contract term for this role is 12 months.
LOCATION
This is a remote role open to global candidates, with a
preference for someone based in Africa.
ABOUT YLABS’ COMPENSATION
YLabs adheres to Project Fair’s principles and
standards to establish equity in pay with the overriding principle of
“equal pay for work of equal value” outlined in the Sustainable Development
Goals. All salary ranges are based on level within the organization and are
competitive to regional and national salary benchmarks, based on the respective
office location.
PAY RATE
The pay range for this position is $50,000–$61,818 USD
annually (gross), commensurate with experience [payable in local currency].
This range is regionally benchmarked for a P6-level position in the YLabs
Kigali office. YLabs pays full-time staff salaries in the local currency of the
staff member’s permanent work location.
YOU WILL
Global People Strategy
- Develop
and implement a global pay equity system and salary bands grounded in
regional and national benchmarking, designed for a geographically
dispersed international nonprofit
- Evolve
YLabs' internal leveling framework to match industry standards and the organization's
trajectory, and strengthen our performance management and feedback culture
Talent Acquisition
- Establish
international recruitment strategy and policies for employees and
contractors alike, mapping talent against current and projected needs and
positioning YLabs as an employer of choice
Global Policy Development
- Map,
plan, and guide in the development of policies and protocols to govern our
global operations, prioritizing and owning the work plan.
- Review
and address policy shortcomings for an organization with a largely
geographically dispersed workforce. Craft new policies that keep us
compliant, support our scaling, and operationalize our values, including
equity.
Legal & Global Compliance
- Design
YLabs' global compliance strategy, advising leadership on country-level
engagement models (entity registration, Employer of Record, contractor
arrangements) and ensuring compliance in every geography where we work,
including our US and Rwanda entities.
Team Leadership
- Supervise,
mentor, and develop the HR & Operations team, building
people-operations capacity across the organization
HR Operations
- Oversee
core HR operations, including payroll, benefits, our global HRIS, and the
sensitive handling of personnel matters, while strengthening the business
processes that keep the organization running well
Learning, Development & Employee Experience
- Shape
YLabs' learning and development strategy, including employee progression
frameworks and succession planning for key roles
- Together
with the People Operations team, guide the employee experience
portfolio: wellness initiatives, the annual staff survey, and engagement
programming
YOU ARE:
- A
systems builder who establishes structures that outlast any single project
and thinks beyond their own team to the whole organization
- An
emotionally intelligent people leader: you mentor team members and set the
tone for wellbeing and trust across an organization
- Skilled
in hard conversations; you deliver candid feedback with care and help
managers do the same
- Culturally
fluent, modeling equitable and inclusive ways of working across diverse,
distributed teams
- At
ease with autonomy and high-stakes judgment: you make complex decisions
independently and advise leadership on the ones that shape organizational
success
- A
champion of YLabs' vision and values who owns departmental goals and
brings data to every recommendation
YOU HAVE:
- 10+
years of progressive experience in people operations, HR, or talent
management, including senior or leadership roles
- Experience
leading people operations and compliance work at an INGO, especially with
a substantial footprint in Africa
- Demonstrated
experience designing or implementing compensation structures, salary
bands, or pay frameworks across multiple countries and continents
- Working
knowledge of international employment compliance and multi-country
employment models (direct employment, Employer of Record, contractor
engagement)
- Experience
supervising and developing staff across distributed, multicultural teams
- Experience
crafting policies for an INGO
- Fluency
in written and spoken English
DESIRABLE:
- A
track record of supporting an organization through a period of growth or
transition
- Familiarity
with pay equity frameworks such as Project Fair
- Degree
in human resources, business, law, or a related field, or equivalent
professional experience; HR certification (e.g., CIPD, SHRM, CHRP) is an
asset
APPLICATION PROCESS
To apply, please visit our careers page at
ylabsglobal.org/careers and submit your application through the online portal.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
YLabs recognizes the effort that goes into submitting an
application; all applications received during the posting period will be
reviewed, and all candidates will be notified of their application status once
the hiring process begins. All YLabs offers of employment are conditional on
satisfactory background check and criminal record clearances. All your
information will be kept confidential in accordance with applicable privacy and
employment regulations.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
YLabs is committed to building teams and policies that
promote equity, justice, and belonging at work. We strongly encourage people
from all cultures, races, educational backgrounds, socio-economic classes,
sexual orientations, age, gender, and physical abilities to apply. We do not
discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race,
color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability,
familial status, marital status, caregiver status, or any other category
protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
How to Apply
Interested candidate should submit their application no
later than 18th July 2026. Please click on the “Apply” button to
complete your application.
CLICK HERE TO
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