People & Culture Manager

We are seeking an experienced People & Culture (P&C) Manager to partner with our business units and operational leaders in South Africa. This is a strategic and hands-on role responsible for delivering exceptional People & Culture support across multiple operational sites, ensuring business objectives are achieved through effective people practices, strong labor relations, and operational excellence.

As the P&C Manager, you will lead the implementation of People & Culture strategies, drive employee engagement, support organizational growth, and provide trusted HR partnership to leaders while ensuring compliance with South African labor legislation and company policies

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• Key Responsibilities:
• Partner with business and operational leaders to develop and implement People & Culture strategies aligned with business objectives.
• Provide strategic HR support across multiple remote and operational sites, with regular travel to sites.
• Lead workforce planning, recruitment, onboarding and talent acquisition to ensure critical positions are filled with high-caliber talent.
• Drive performance management, talent development, succession planning and employee engagement initiatives.
• Provide expert guidance on organizational design, change management, remuneration and workforce planning.
• Lead all employee and labor relations matters, including disciplinary processes, grievances, poor performance management, incapacity processes and dispute resolution.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with recognized unions and employee representatives.
• Represent the business a t CCMA conciliations and arbitratio ns, while ensuring compliance with th e Labor Relations Act (LRA), Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), Employment Equity Act (EE A) and other applicable employment legislation.
• Partner closely with Plant Managers and operational leadership teams to proactively manage labor relations risks and support business continuity.
• Oversee HR operations including payroll governance, employee lifecycle processes, leave management, HR administration and compliance.
• Ensure accurate employee records are maintained withi n SAP SuccessFacto rs, while driving continuous improvement of HR systems and processes.
• Coach and develop leaders to strengthen people management capability and foster a high-performance culture.
• Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders, external service providers and relevant government authorities where required.

Requirements and Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in Human Resources, Industrial Psychology or a related discipline.
• 8–15 years' progressive HR experience, including significant experience in a strategic HR Business Partner or P&C leadership role.
• Proven experience supporting multiple remote or geographically dispersed operations within an industrial, energy, utilities, mining, manufacturing or engineering environment.
• Demonstrated site operations experience, partnering closely with operational and plant leadership teams.
• Extensive experience managing labor relations within a unionized environment, including collective bargaining, disciplinary processes, grievance management and CCMA representation.
• Strong working knowledge of South African employment legislation and HR best practice.
• Hands-on experience with SAP SuccessFactors and HR reporting systems.
• Strong business partnering, coaching, negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building abilities across all organizational levels.
• Willingness and ability to travel regularly to operational sites across South Africa.