HR Lead, DRC

HR Lead

About the company:

The mining industry has steadily become worse at finding new ore deposits, requiring >10X more capital to make discoveries compared to 30 years ago. The easy-to-find, near-surface deposits have largely been found, and the industry has chronically under-invested in new exploration technology, relying on the manual techniques of yesteryear – even as demand accelerates for copper, lithium, and other metals to build electric vehicles, renewable energy, and data centers.

KoBold builds AI models for mineral exploration and deploys those models—alongside our novel sensors—to guide decisions on KoBold-owned-and-operated exploration programs. Since our founding in 2018, KoBold has become by far both the largest independent mineral exploration company and the largest exploration technology developer. Our data scientists and software engineers, who come from leading technology companies, jointly lead exploration programs with our renowned exploration geologists.

KoBold has proven its first discovery with materially less capital than the industry average and found one of the best copper deposits ever discovered: the copper is far more concentrated than the global average of copper mines, and this asset alone is expected to generate meaningful revenue for decades. KoBold has a portfolio of more than 60 other projects, each of which has the potential for another high-quality discovery.

KoBold is privately held; investors include institutional asset managers T. Rowe Price and Canada Pension Plan Investments; technology venture capitalists Andreessen Horowitz, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, BOND Capital, and Standard Investments; and natural resources companies Equinor, BHP, and Mitsubishi.

About The Role:

A year ago, KoBold had no employees and no ground in the DRC. Today we are running one of the largest lithium exploration campaigns in the country's history, more than 3,000 km² across a growing portfolio of research permits in Haut-Lomami,Tanganyika and Haut-Katanga provinces. Our work is centered on the high-grade pegmatites of the Manono region and the Central African Copperbelt, supported by over $50 million in committed funding through early 2027.

We are seeking an HR Lead to help build and run the people function for KoBold Exploration DRC as the operation continues to scale. Based in Lubumbashi and partnering closely with country leadership and the regional and global HR teams, you will be the senior people practitioner in-country: establishing HR systems and processes, ensuring full compliance with DRC labour law, supporting recruitment and onboarding, managing employee relations, and overseeing payroll support and immigration. The successful candidate will bring proven experience shaping and implementing an organisation's Reward, Payroll, Performance Management, Talent Management, Employee Engagement, and Wellbeing strategies. This strategy and its execution must thoughtfully account for KoBold's ethos, the diverse cultural backgrounds of our team, and the responsibilities of the people who work at KoBold.

To be successful, you must first establish a deep understanding of science and business along with how we work together. There are no shortcuts to learning KoBold. To be effective in this role, you must be genuinely curious and eager to learn about the wide range of activities, disciplines, and pursuits that drive our work. The ideal candidate is highly engaged, relationship-oriented, and motivated to understand what enables both our people and our business to thrive.

Responsibilities:

• Serve as the first point of contact for all employee relations and people-related matters across KoBold's DRC operations, spanning the Lubumbashi office, Manono and other field sites.
• Ensure full compliance with the DRC Labour Code (Code du travail) and all statutory obligations including CNSS (social security), INPP (professional training levy), ONEM (employment office), and IRPP remittances to the DGI with returns filed accurately and on time.
• Lead labour-inspection readiness and remediation including job classification, working-hour schedules, the employee handbook, and employment-contract compliance and manage relationships with the Labour Inspectorate and relevant provincial labour offices.
• Support immigration matters.
• Provide support to the recruiting team including recruitment onboarding, offer management, and new-hire documentation, contracts, and induction.
• Support payroll administration.
• Coordinate performance management processes with line managers and provide guidance and support to employees on performance-related matters.
• Support Workday administration and adoption, including compliance, time and attendance, data management, and user support.
• Maintain accurate employee records and promote disciplined, efficient use of HR systems and processes.
• Foster and maintain a positive industrial-relations environment, managing disciplinary, grievance, and dispute-resolution processes in accordance with DRC labour legislation.
• Identify training and development needs and coordinate learning initiatives across the operation.
• Contribute to the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of core People programs, including compensation, performance management, onboarding, and employee development.
• Support organisational change initiatives through effective communication, stakeholder engagement, and transition planning.
• Identify opportunities to streamline and automate HR processes, reducing manual administrative work and improving efficiency.
• Analyse HR data and metrics to generate actionable insights and support informed decision-making.
• Partner with country and site leaders to proactively address people and management challenges and implement effective solutions.
• Ensure HR practices remain compliant with company policies, legal requirements, and industry best practices.

Qualifications:

• 7+ years in HR operations or HR generalist/management roles, preferably in mining, exploration, or other science- or engineering-based environments.
• Strong, current knowledge of the DRC Labour Code and statutory framework (CNSS, INPP, ONEM, IRPP/DGI, and the Labour Inspectorate).
• Practical experience managing expatriate work permits, work cards, and immigration processes in the DRC.
• French and English fluency required.
• First-principles thinker who can reference best practices without defaulting to them.
• Intellectual curiosity and eagerness to learn about all aspects of mineral exploration, particularly in the geology domain.
• Excitement about joining a fast-growing, early-stage company, comfort with a dynamic work environment, and eagerness to take on an evolving range of responsibilities.
• Nice to have: hands-on Workday experience; experience standing up or scaling an HR function.

KoBold Metals is an equal opportunity workplace and an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunities for people of any race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, age, citizenship, disability, or veteran status.

This position is a full-time contract.

At this time, we are only accepting applications from Congolese nationals.

Location: Lubumbashi