IN SHORT: A number of Facebook posts claim that Vivo Energy Kenya is recruiting for several positions. The company has denied this and warned job seekers to use its official careers page and avoid scams that collect personal information or charge fees.
A job ad posted on Facebook claims that Vivo Energy Kenya is recruiting for a wide range of positions, from pump attendants and support staff to machine operators, storekeepers and accountants.
Vivo Energy is an energy company with operations in 28 African countries, including Kenya, Uganda, Ghana and Morocco. It specialises in the distribution and marketing of fuels and lubricants under the Shell and Engen brands.
The ad also mentions opportunities for students through part-time or full-time internships. Interested candidates are asked to apply by sending their names to a phone number via WhatsApp. It promises salaries starting at KSh15,000 (US$115).
Finding a job is a challenge for many Kenyans. More than 800,000 young people enter the labour market each year, but only a fraction secure formal employment. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, young people aged 20 to 24 continue to have the highest long-term unemployment rate, at 9.9%.
Similar posts advertising jobs at Vivo Energy's various brands have been posted here, here and here.
But did Vivo Energy advertise these jobs? We checked.
Ignore fake job ads
These offers raise several red flags. First, we were unable to find any such jobs advertised on Vivo Energy's career portal on its official website or on its social media platforms.
Legitimate companies typically advertise job opportunities through formal channels, not informal messages or WhatsApp numbers.
In addition, the job ad contains poor grammar and random capitalisation, which undermines its credibility.
The use of WhatsApp as the sole application method is another warning sign, as scammers often exploit this method to collect personal information or demand fake registration fees from unsuspecting applicants.
Via its official X account, Vivo Kenya has issued a public notice warning the public to be wary of fraudulent job advertisements.
“Vivo Energy Kenya wishes to alert the public about fraudulent job adverts in circulation falsely using the company name. We advise job seekers to be cautious and to verify all job opportunities directly through our official website www.vivoenergy.com,” wrote Vivo.
It added that job openings were posted on its official careers page www. vivoenergy.com/en/careers.
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