HR Business Partner, SGL South Africa

1. Purpose of the Role

To partner with the Managing Director and business leaders to align people strategies with business objectives, improve organizational performance, strengthen leadership and workforce capability, and ensure sound employee relations and compliance with South African employment legislation.

2. Key Responsibilities

• Business Partnering & Workforce Planning: Advise leaders on workforce requirements, organisation design, headcount and personnel costs, succession, retention and people-related business risks.
• Talent & Performance Management: Support recruitment, onboarding, performance reviews, management of underperformance, career development, succession planning and leadership capability.
• Employee Relations & Labour-Law Compliance: Guide managers on disciplinary matters, grievances, misconduct, incapacity and poor performance. Coordinate fair, legally compliant retrenchment processes under Sections 189 and, where applicable, 189A of the Labour Relations Act.
• Engagement, Culture & Change: Use employee feedback and workforce trends to improve engagement, wellbeing, retention, communication and change management.
• Reward & People Analytics: Support remuneration reviews and internal equity; monitor headcount, turnover, vacancies, absence, performance and personnel costs; provide management reports and recommendations.
• Transformation & Skills Development: Coordinate Employment Equity, diversity and inclusion, skills-development initiatives, statutory reporting and relevant B-BBEE people-related requirements.
• HR Governance & Service Delivery: Maintain effective HR policies, employee records, HR systems, payroll inputs, audit readiness and compliance with applicable South African legislation, including the LRA, BCEA, EEA, SDA and POPIA.
• Health, Safety & Wellbeing: Work with operational leaders to support workplace safety, employee wellbeing and appropriate follow-up on incidents and corrective actions

3. Qualifications, Experience and Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, Industrial Psychology, Business Administration or a related field; recognized HR certification (e.g. SABPP) is an advantage.
• At least 3-5 years of progressive HR experience, including 2–3 years in an HRBP, HR generalist role.
• Practical knowledge of South African labour legislation, employee relations, Employment Equity, skills development and B-BBEE-related requirements.
• Experience in workforce planning, talent and performance management, organizational change and people analytics.
• Strong business acumen, communication, coaching, influencing, analytical and problem-solving skills, with sound judgement and discretion.