Head of Employee Relations

Location: Durban, KwaZulu-Natal

We are looking for an experienced and commercially minded Head of Employee Relations to lead and strengthen our Group Employee Relations function.

This is a senior role for an ER leader who can operate beyond reactive case management. You will establish consistent ER standards across the organisation, provide expert guidance on complex and high-risk matters, strengthen the capability of HR and operational leaders, and use data and trends to proactively reduce employee relations risk.

You will need to combine deep South African labour relations expertise with sound commercial judgement, understanding that the best ER solution must be legally defensible, fair and practical within an operational environment.

Education Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Industrial Relations, Labour Law or a related field – required.
• Postgraduate qualification in Labour Relations, Labour Law, Human Resources or Business Administration – advantageous.
• Professional HR / Employee Relations certification such as SABPP, CIPD or equivalent – advantageous.

Experience Requirements

• 8–10 years’ progressive Employee Relations / Industrial Relations experience, with at least 3 years in a senior ER, IR or Labour Relations leadership capacity.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex disciplinary, grievance, incapacity, investigation and dismissal matters across a large workforce.
• Strong track record representing employers at the CCMA and/or bargaining councils, including complex arbitration matters.
• Experience operating within a large, multi-site, high-volume environment, ideally within retail, logistics, FMCG, hospitality or a comparable sector.
• Proven experience advising senior executives and operational leaders on sensitive, high-risk and precedent-setting employee relations matters.
• Experience leading and developing ER / HR practitioners and building labour relations capability within line management.
• Demonstrated ability to analyse ER trends and case data, identify root causes and implement preventative interventions.
• Experience supporting restructuring, consultation and organisational change from an Employee Relations perspective.
• Track record of improving ER governance, case quality, turnaround times and consistency across multiple business units.