Hiring Manager

About Onja
Onja trains underprivileged youth into world-class software developers. Our organisation is unified by a common mission: give life-changing work through sustainable social enterprise.

We are recognised for our innovative model that finds exceptional talent where opportunity is scarce, invests in its development, and connects it directly to the global tech economy. Through an intensive two-and-a-half-year program, we co-create pathways to long-term social and economic stability that prioritise self-reliance.

We operate as one integrated organisation, where education, hiring, and partner collaboration work together to deliver high-performing tech talent with lasting social impact. Onja developers invest in their own futures and in their nation’s development, while ensuring Onja remains self-funding and scalable, paying forward opportunities to the next generation.

Onja is located in Toamasina, a lively city with beautiful beaches, nice restaurants, and with plenty to do and see. Toamasina is Madagascar’s second largest city (population 300,000) yet is surrounded by plenty of natural beauty, and even has a national park nearby. 

About the Role
At Onja, we believe our mission's success depends on the strength of our team. As Hiring Manager, you will own end-to-end hiring across key functions, identifying and securing top talent capable of driving meaningful impact. You will build robust talent pipelines, strengthen our hiring processes, and make critical decisions that shape the future of our organization.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Lead on talent operations and strategy, and position Onja effectively to mission-aligned, high-caliber candidates
• Partner with managers across departments to define success criteria and design effective assessment processes
• Own end-to-end hiring processes for multiple concurrent hiring rounds across several departments
• Track and analyze hiring metrics to identify bottlenecks and recommend data-driven improvements to sourcing channels and interview processes
• Build scalable hiring systems to improve consistency and accuracy
• Continuously test new sourcing strategies and stay current on recruiting best practices and market trends.

Requirements

• Twelve month commitment (this ensures sufficient time to make a truly meaningful impact) with potential to renew/extend.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills
• Analytical thinking, with comfort using data to evaluate effectiveness and inform decisions
• Ability to manage multiple priorities without sacrificing quality or attention to detail
• Strong candidate judgement and assessment capabilities
• Strong interviewing skills

Why work with us

• Do impactful work:  Working with Onja gives you the ability to make a real tangible difference with your work, and have a deep sense of purpose in your every-day.  Our mission is to nurture talented, underprivileged youth to lead impactful careers in tech, unlock opportunities for others and accelerate Madagascar's development.

• Grow your skills fast: As a young fast-growing startup we are all in “over our head” and this is a great place to grow.  You will be challenged but you’ll also be part of a very supportive team and caring environment. Our social model is innovative with exciting potential to scale, so there is a great opportunity for you to grow your career along with us.

• Work with very talented individuals who are very socially inclined:  At Onja you’ll join a community of talented and passionate people from around Madagascar and the world. 

What you can expect

• You’ll join our tight-knit, committed team in Toamasina, Madagascar. 
• We know it’s a big move so we will look after you and make sure you are secure and settled. 
• We’ll provide secure, comfortable, beachfront accommodation and food. 
• We are able to offer a good local salary – enough to live comfortably and have plenty left over for holidays travels. 
• Unlimited annual leave. We recommend between 30 and 35 days as a guide to give you time to explore the wonders of Madagascar
• We also offer 25% remote work, for when you are keen to get some city vibes in Madagascar.
• We’ll provide optional weekly Malagasy lessons to bring you up to speed with the language.
• Your visa will be sponsored.
• Sponsored flights

How Onja Works

Onja is a social enterprise with a sustainable model:

1. Search for brilliant minds who would otherwise be limited to low-paid, unfulfilling careers.
2. Students receive two years of English and software development instruction. Meet a developer here: https://onja.org/blog
3. Graduates earn (and continue learning) at our outsourcing enterprise. 
4. All profits are used to train the next wave of students and the cycle begins again. 
   We want our recruitment process to be fair and inclusive, so please do let us know if there are any reasonable adjustments we can make. For example, if you identify as neurodivergent, we can accommodate and discuss modifications to our hiring process with you.