Bridge International Academies is Hiring!

1. Warehouse Manager (Re-Advertisement)

Preferred Skills and Qualifications

Minimum of 8 to 10 years’ experience as a Warehouse/Inventory manager or Supply Chain services preferably for a large fast growing service or trading organization with multiple locations and diverse requirements in particular Hospitality, Universities, Emergency Relief Services and Hospital backgrounds preferred.

Bachelor’s Degree in business, economics or other Social Science or related discipline or the equivalent

Professional qualifications in Warehouse/Logistics/Supply Chain will be a key requirement

Expert knowledge in Warehouse/Inventory and Logistics

Those who had applied previously need not apply.

2. Procurement Officer (Three Posts)

Requirements

Minimum of 6 to 8 years’ experience in procurement of various goods and services preferably for a large service organization with multiple procurement requirements.An expert level of knowledge in procurement including, but not limited to sourcing, pricing, contracts, relationship management and due diligence on suppliers and contractorsProfessional qualifications in purchasing and supplies management such as CIPS is a mustBachelor’s Degree in business, economics or other Social Science or related disciplineMust be able to manage competing demands, accept criticism and constructive feedback, while being extremely efficient, adaptable and flexibleThose who had applied previously need not apply.3. Kiswahili, Math and English Writers

We are looking for Kiswahili, Math and English writers to develop lesson plans, assessments and other curriculum materials for our schools.

Preferred Skills and Qualifications

You are an excellent writer, especially in English and/or Kiswahili.You enjoy receiving feedback and making continuous revisions to ensure the best possible product.You meet every deadline without fail.You have 3-5 years of experience as a primary school teacher (preferred).You have 3-5 years of experience writing curriculum/instructional materials. (preferred)You function well in a fast-paced informal environment where constant change is the norm and the bar for quality is set high.Bachelors or Master’s Degree in relevant studies.

Few people know the identity behind the administrator of career point. I tried coming out in the open once and my inbox was flooded with job request. Not that I mind, it’s only that I cannot help all of you. As such I choose to remain faceless and even some of my closet friends and immediate relatives don’t know that I manager career point (with another dedicated team)

Another reason is that I haven’t being lucky referring relatives and friends to jobs. They just disappoint and at the worst time possible. And you know what, when they mess up wherever i have sent them it reflects badly on me. And by messing i mean theft, being disorganized, immoral conduct and some other messy stuff.

My policy now is to avoid recommending friends and relatives for jobs and I just want to hear of your experiences too.

Here is my reasoning. Whether you are in human resources or management position or you own your own business, at some point a friend or family member may come to you seeking employment. Before making the decision to hire this person, it is important to note and consider a few of the disadvantages that will come along with hiring him or her:

Automatic Expectations of Favoritism and Nepotism
Despite the fact that you have informed your friend or family member of company policies and no matter how many times this person tells you to treat him or her like any other employee, an automatic expectation of favoritism is absolutely guaranteed. Regardless of promises made, in the back of this person’s mind, he or she is thinking that this is a pretty sweet gig and that they are likely to get away with much more than fellow employees. Whether it be pay rate, scheduling, or following strict guidelines, this person will believe that you will put their needs ahead of those of other employees.

Personalization
You will very likely encounter situations in which your friend or family member will use your knowledge of his or her personal circumstances in order to get ahead of others, such as asking for all of the overtime hours because you know how rough things have been lately.

Getting Too Personal
If your friend or family member enjoys chatting with co-workers, your name is bound to come up in conversation eventually. Employees may even attempt to learn more about your personal life by digging for information through your unknowing friend or relative.

Negative Changes in Your Relationship
As all adults are already aware, disagreements happen – and unfortunately, all of the promises in the world simply can not prevent this from happening. Disagreements at work will negatively affect your relationship with this person, and may even affect your relationships with mutual friends or family members via word of mouth. Imagine how uncomfortable and absolutely obnoxious it would be for a mutual friend or family member to confront you about your professional responsibilities and decision-making skills.

All in all, hiring and at times recommending a friend or family member is just not a good idea. Problems such as disagreements will quickly arise, affecting your relationships and reflecting poorly on you as a professional.

So the next time you find yourself in a situation in which a friend or family member turns to you in need of employment, politely explain that it is against company policy to hire a family member or personal acquaintance – whether or not it actually is, as a small white lie is quite understandable in this situation.

Instead of offering employment, volunteer to be a personal reference in order to help this person in their current job hunt. But whatever you do, do not hire him or her!

What is your experience in hiring or recommending a friend for a job? Comments below.

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Forgive Them Gladys

Turn to page three of today’s Daily Nation and there in is the story of Gladys Tarus whose chance to serve the Kenyan army come to end because she couldn’t afford the K’sh 300,000 bribe. Someone else had the money and their daughter is already in the army uniform as I write this.

We can make all the noise and committee s will be set up to investigate what appears to be a straight forward case of corruption but Grace will not be joining the army any time soon. Actually she has no chance at all after exposing the sham that was the recruitment exercise.

I am totally mad this morning because Gladys case is no special. I know you’re looking at today’s advert from parastatals and government ministries and rushing to do the applications. My dear job-seeker, the harsh reality is that someone somewhere already has the appointment letter. It’s an open secret that many government institutions employ on tribalism, nepotism and outright corruption. You might have all the right papers but in seven cases out of ten, what really carries the day are other things apart from your competence and diplomas or degrees.

And the sad part is that gifted candidates like Gladys will never get a chance to break from the poverty cycle. Obviously, if you can afford to pay a bribe of k’sh 300, o00, it means you could have afforded to open a salon for your daughter who couldn’t complete a 5km race. People like Gladys don’t have the means and you get shocked when the likes of Mungiki attract members in droves? Sooner or later the youth will feel pushed to the wall and this will lead to the social anarchy we are witnessing in Kenya. Ask any carjacker victim and they will tell you that the criminals are mostly in their twenties and well spoken.

So my dear friend, your wish might be to work for the government or a certain parastatal but if you haven’t attained this dream despite sending  1001 application then you need to stop being ‘naïve’ and understand how government departments work. You will save yourself from a lot of stress.

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