Employee Experience Manager

Woolworths Financial Services; Wes-Kaap; On-site; ZAR 600 000 - 800 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services company in South Africa seeks an Employee Experience Manager who will design and enhance the employee experience throughout the lifecycle. This role involves strategic collaboration, operational excellence, and driving engagement initiatives aligned with culture and business objectives. Candidates should have significant HR and change management experience, complemented by a strong understanding of cultural dynamics. Join a vibrant team committed to improving the employee journey.

Qualifications

• 5 - 8 years HR experience.
• 3 – 5 years Change Management experience.
• 3 - 5 years’ experience in Culture or Employee Experience initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Design and improve employee experience across the lifecycle.
• Collaborate with senior leaders on cultural and engagement initiatives.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives to deliver employee experience outcomes.

Skills

Employee Experience design and measurement

Change management methodologies

People process design and optimisation

People management

High emotional intelligence

Strategic thinking

Education

Post-Graduate Degree in Behavioural Sciences

Relevant Master’s degree

Job description

MAIN PURPOSE

The Employee Experience (EX) Manager is accountable for designing, embedding, and continuously improving the end-to-end employee experience across the employee lifecycle, ensuring alignment with the WFS culture, EVP, and business strategy.

The role acts as the ‘eyes and ears” of the People & Culture function, operating as an internal consultant and integrator — translating employee insights, business needs, and cultural intent into practical, scalable, and high-quality employee experiences.

The role ensures employees experience WFS consistently and positively across physical, digital, cultural, and emotional touchpoints, while enabling leaders through well-designed, efficient people processes

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Employee Experience Strategy and Design and Monitoring:

• Define what “quality Employee Experience” means at WFS, including standards, principles, and success measures.
• Develop and articulate a clear, insight-led Employee Experience strategy aligned to WFS business objectives, culture, and EVP.
• Design segmented EX approaches that respond to diverse employee needs across roles, life stages, and working models.
• Ensure people processes and policies across the employee lifecycle consistently reinforce the desired employee experience.
• Identify trends, risks, and opportunities using employee insights and data, taking action aligned to business constraints and priorities.
• Ensure seamless transitions across key lifecycle moments, including onboarding, role changes, mobility, and exits.

Culture and Employee Integration:

• Embed WFS culture, values, and EVP across all employee experience touchpoints.
• Run a structured New Starter Culture Immersion Programme (induction), including a six-month integration and experience review.
• Own and continuously improve the end-to-end onboarding and induction experience, including:
  • Day-1 readiness
  • Tools, systems, and access enablement
  • Relocation and transition support
  • Cultural integration and belonging
• Partner with senior leaders to design and deliver initiatives that strengthen culture, engagement, and inclusion.
• Use appropriate tools and measures to assess cultural integration and employee experience outcomes.
• Support the roll out and activation of Transformation, Equity & Belonging initiatives as an enabler of our culture.

Operational Efficiency & Enablement

• Drive operational excellence across employee experience processes, ensuring they are simple, scalable, and consistently executed.
• Identify inefficiencies, duplication, and friction points across the employee lifecycle and lead continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ensure EX-related processes, tools, and systems are:
  • Clearly defined and documented
  • Fit-for-purpose and user-centric
  • Easy for employees and leaders to navigate
• Partner with People & Culture COEs and enabling functions to improve service quality, turnaround times, and experience consistency.
• Embed governance, service standards, and clear ownership across EX touchpoints.
• Balance experience design with operational practicality, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness.
• Support org design and structuring activities to develop core competencies aligned to business requirements.

Stakeholder Management & Collaboration

• Partner with enterprise and enabling functions to deliver a seamless employee experience through clearly defined SLAs and service expectations.
• Work cross-functionally with Physical and Technical Experience stakeholders to ensure alignment across environments.
• Collaborate closely with People & Culture stakeholders to co-create and embed EX solutions.
• Act as a central integrator across EX touchpoints, influencing across multiple stakeholder groups to drive alignment with enterprise objectives.

Reporting, Analytics & Insights

• Design and implement mechanisms to measure, analyse, and report on employee experience across the lifecycle.
• Track and monitor key EX metrics, with onboarding and early-tenure experience as priority focus areas.
• Provide EX insights and inputs into Board, Exco, and People & Culture reporting.
• Lead the annual Employee Experience survey, including design, execution, analysis, and action planning.
• Use data to inform decisions, highlight risks, and guide continuous improvement.

Decision Making & Problem Solving

• Act decisively and pragmatically when addressing employee experience challenges.
• Consider downstream impacts, risks, and dependencies through a strong understanding of the business and WIH context.
• Balance speed, quality, and stakeholder alignment in decision-making.

Leadership & Delivery

• Lead cross-functional initiatives and teams to deliver defined EX outcomes.
• Translate strategy into practical, measurable actions.
• Coordinate internal and external contributions to support business objectives.
• Maintain accountability for delivery quality, impact, and timelines

Requirements

KEY COMPETENCIES

• Employee Experience design and measurement
• Change management methodologies
• People process design and optimisation
• People management
• Strong understanding of People & Culture systems, tools, and governance
• Business and financial services acumen

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION

• Post-Graduate Degree or equivalent in Behavioural Sciences
• Relevant Master’s degree is an advantage

EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

• 5 - 8 years HR experience
• 3 – 5 years Change Management experience
• 3 - 5 years’ experience in Culture or Employee Experience initiatives
• Employee Experience management (advantageous)
• Financial Services experience (preferred)

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS REQUIRED

• Strategic thinking with strong execution discipline
• High emotional intelligence and stakeholder influence
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving capability
• Employee-centric yet operationally grounded mindset
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic environment
• Strong facilitation, communication, and presentation skills
• Detail-oriented with a continuous improvement orientation

Closing Date: 28 January 2026