We're making Africa the first cashless continent.
In 2017, over half the population in Sub-Saharan Africa had no bank account. That's for good reason—the fees are too high, the closest branch can be miles away, and nobody takes cards. Without access to financial institutions, people are forced to keep their savings under the mattress. Small business owners rely on lenders who charge extortionate rates. Parents spend hours waiting in line to pay school fees in cash.
We're solving this by building financial services that just work: no account fees, instantly available, and accepted everywhere. In places where electricity, water and roads don't always work, you can still send money with Wave. In 2017, we launched a mobile app in Senegal for cash deposit, withdrawal, and peer-to-peer and business payments. Now, we have millions of users across 9 countries and are growing fast.
Our goal is to make Africa the first cashless continent and that's where you come in...
Wave is rapidly expanding across Africa, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a key market in our next phase of growth. As we scale our operations, we’re looking for a mission-driven Senior Recruiter to lead hiring efforts in DRC. You’ll play a critical role in attracting, assessing, and closing top talent while helping us build scalable, data-driven recruiting practices in a fast-growing environment.
You’ll be part of a globally distributed People team and will help shape how we hire as we launch and grow new teams in-country.
In this role, you’ll;
- Own full-cycle recruitment for a wide range of roles (from sourcing to offer), with a strong focus on leadership and business-critical hiring in DRC.
- Build and execute sourcing strategies tailored to the Congolese market, while contributing to regional (multi-country) pipelines.
- Partner closely with hiring managers to understand team needs, define hiring strategies, and deliver high-quality hires quickly in a scaling context.
- Deliver an exceptional candidate experience, acting as a strong ambassador of Wave’s mission and culture.
- Continuously improve recruiting processes, proactively identifying bottlenecks and implementing scalable solutions.
- Use data and analytics to track pipeline health, optimize hiring funnels, and inform decision-making.
- Ensure high-quality data management in our ATS (Greenhouse) to enable accurate reporting and insights.
- Design and drive inclusive hiring strategies to build diverse and high-performing teams.
- Uphold a high hiring bar, ensuring every hire reflects Wave’s values and long-term ambitions.
- Mentor junior recruiters and contribute to building a strong, collaborative Talent function in the region.
- The location is primarily based in Kinshasa, with some travel.
- Work authorization in DRC is required.
- Our salaries are competitive and calculated using a transparent formula.
- We support working parents - we offer generous parental leave policies (26 weeks for mothers and 4 weeks for fathers) and subsidized child care when you return to work.
- We help you live your fullest life now- we subsidize gym memberships and fitness classes.
- Airtime reimbursement
- 6+ years of experience owning end-to-end recruitment processes.
- 3+ years of in-house recruiting experience in Africa, ideally in high-growth or scaling environments.
- Strong experience hiring for field and office roles.
- Deep understanding of local talent markets in DRC (Kinshasa and beyond).
- Fluency in French and English (required).
- Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
- Strong analytical mindset (comfortable working with metrics, KPIs, and spreadsheets).
- Ability to operate with autonomy in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment.
- Thrive in high-growth, build-from-scratch environments.
- Are passionate about financial inclusion in Africa.
- Take a data-driven approach to problem-solving and decision-making.
- Love building networks and engaging talent communities.
- Are highly adaptable and comfortable navigating complex, evolving environments.
- Enjoy experimenting and improving processes rather than maintaining the status quo.
- Are tech-savvy and interested in leveraging tools/automation in recruiting.
- Are a strong negotiator and closer.
- Can independently lead projects with minimal oversight.
- Are excited by launching new markets and scaling teams from the ground up.
- Are open to travel within the region as needed.
- We have a rapidly growing in-country team in Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Uganda, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Cameroon plus remote team members spread across the world.
- We're deeply passionate about our mission of bringing radically affordable financial services to the people who need them most.
- We foster autonomy for our employees. You'll own your projects at every stage, from understanding the problem to monitoring your solution in production.
- We raised the largest Series A in Africa in 2021. Our world-class investors, include Founders Fund, Sequoia Heritage, Stripe, Ribbit Capital, Y Combinator, and Partech Africa.
- We are on Y Combinator's top companies by revenue.
Fill out the form below, and upload a resume in English and a cover letter describing your interest in Wave and the role.
We review applications frequently and recommend that you apply to the role that most closely aligns with your skills, experience and career goals.
Wave is an equal-opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
Skills Required
- 6+ years of experience owning end-to-end recruitment processes
- 3+ years of in-house recruiting experience in Africa, ideally in high-growth or scaling environments
- Strong experience hiring for field and office roles
- Deep understanding of local talent markets in DRC (Kinshasa and beyond)
- Fluency in French and English
- Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills
- Strong analytical mindset
- Ability to operate with autonomy in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment
What We Do
We're making Africa the first cashless continent. In 2017, nearly 60% of adults in sub-Saharan Africa had no bank account. That's for good reason—the fees are too high, the closest branch can be miles away, and nobody takes cards. Without access to financial institutions, people are forced to keep their savings under the mattress. Small business owners rely on lenders who charge extortionate rates. Parents spend hours waiting in line to pay school fees in cash. We're solving this by building financial services that just work: no account fees, instantly available, and accepted everywhere. In places where electricity, water and roads don't always work, you can still send money with Wave. In November 2017, we launched a mobile app in Senegal for cash deposit, withdrawal, and peer-to-peer and business payments. In 2019, we expanded to Cote D'Ivoire. Now, we have millions of users and are growing fast. Our goal is to drive financial inclusion and make Africa the first cashless continent
