Head of HR
HR
KwaZulu Natal – South Africa
Head of HR | Durban
An exciting opportunity exists for an experienced and commercially astute Head of HR to lead the people strategy for a dynamic, multi-site operation. This role is responsible for partnering with executive leadership to drive organisational performance through effective people management, talent development, culture enhancement, employee relations, and compliance.
The successful candidate will combine strategic leadership with hands-on HR execution, ensuring that people practices support business objectives, operational excellence, and sustainable growth.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic People Leadership
- Develop and implement people strategies aligned to business goals and growth objectives.
- Partner with executive leadership on workforce planning, organisational design, succession planning, and talent management initiatives.
- Provide coaching and guidance to senior leaders on leadership effectiveness and people-related matters.
- Lead and support organisational change, transformation, and restructuring initiatives.
Employee and Industrial Relations
- Manage complex employee relations matters including disciplinary processes, grievances, investigations, and dispute resolution.
- Ensure fair, consistent, and legally compliant people practices across the organisation.
- Foster constructive relationships with employee representatives, unions, and relevant stakeholder groups.
- Monitor employee engagement trends and proactively address retention and workforce risks.
Talent Acquisition and Retention
- Develop and oversee recruitment strategies to attract and retain top talent across operational and corporate functions.
- Drive employer branding initiatives that strengthen organisational reputation and talent attraction.
- Ensure effective onboarding and induction programmes that support employee integration and success.
Learning, Development and Performance Management
- Lead performance management processes and support managers in driving accountability and high performance.
- Identify organisational capability gaps and implement learning and development interventions.
- Support leadership development programmes and succession planning initiatives.
- Promote a culture of continuous improvement, professional growth, and employee development.
HR Operations, Compliance and Reporting
- Ensure compliance with employment legislation, industry regulations, and internal policies.
- Oversee HR policies, procedures, governance frameworks, and payroll processes across multiple jurisdictions.
- Manage HR metrics and reporting, providing insights and recommendations to support strategic decision-making.
- Monitor key workforce indicators including turnover, absenteeism, recruitment effectiveness, employee engagement, and training outcomes.
- Support compliance reporting relating to Employment Equity, B-BBEE, Workplace Skills Plans (WSP), Annual Training Reports (ATR), and other statutory requirements.
Key Requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Industrial Psychology, or a related field.
- Postgraduate qualification or executive leadership development programme advantageous.
- Minimum of 5 years’ experience in a senior HR leadership role, operating at Executive or near-Executive level.
- Proven experience as a trusted advisor to CEOs and executive leadership teams.
- Demonstrated success in developing and implementing people strategies that support business performance and transformation.
- Strong experience leading organisational change, culture initiatives, and workforce design projects.
- Experience managing geographically dispersed and multi-site operations.
- Track record of influencing executive decision-making and delivering measurable business outcomes.
- Strong commercial and business acumen with the ability to align people strategy to organisational objectives.
- Exceptional stakeholder engagement and influencing skills across all organisational levels.
- Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship-building capabilities.
- Ability to operate effectively in complex, fast-paced environments with competing priorities.
- High levels of integrity, professionalism, discretion, and sound judgement.
- Strong HR systems, analytics, and technology proficiency, including exposure to AI-enabled tools.
- Resilient, self-motivated, and solutions-focused leadership style.
- Valid driver’s licence and willingness to travel as required.
This is an opportunity to play a key leadership role in shaping organisational culture, developing talent, and driving business performance. The position offers significant exposure to executive leadership and the chance to influence strategic decision-making while contributing to the long-term success and growth of the organisation.