Employee performance at Kenya Forestry Research Institute has been found to be poor, with more than one third of organization’s employees failing to meet deadlines, regarding accomplishing their tasks or organizational targets. This study sought to investigate the effects of job promotion practices on employee performance in Kenya Forestry Research Institute in Muguga, Kenya. The study was anchored on expectancy theory. The study used a positivism philosophy and a descriptive research design. The unit of analysis was Kenya Forestry Research Institute. The target population was all the 178 staff working in Kenya Forestry Research Institute in Muguga. A sample of 121 respondents was selected through stratified random sampling. A semi-structured questionnaire was used in collecting primary data. A pilot study was conducted to ensure the data collection tool is reliable. Analysis of qualitative data was carried out through thematic analysis. Descriptive statistics focused on frequency distribution, percentages, mean and standard deviation. Components of inferential statistics include; Pearson correlation coefficient and multivariate regression analysis. Both descriptive and inferential data was analyzed by the help of SPSS Version 25. The results obtained were presented both in tables as well as figures (pie charts and bar graphs). The study found that job promotion practices have significant effect on employee performance in Kenya Forestry Research Institute. Further, the study found that employees acquire new skills through job promotion. Henceforth, the study recommends that Kenya Forest Research Institute Headquarter should consider leadership abilities, attitude of staff and review past performance when promoting staff so as to improve on their overall competency skills. 
 
 JEL: J01; J81
 
 <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0778/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>