People Shared Service Specialist

Cisco; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 240,000 - 420,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco is seeking a People & Communities Representative in South Africa to ensure efficient HR operations, compliance with local labor laws, and a seamless employee experience. You will coordinate benefits, onboarding, and data governance while partnering with P&C and external vendors.

You will drive local HR programs, use HR IT tools to streamline processes, and collaborate with Procurement on vendor SLAs, contributing to continuous improvement in a fast-paced corporate environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in HR, local labor law, business administration or similar discipline.
• 2–3 years of HR operations, administration or client-facing support experience.
• Foundational knowledge of SA labor laws, compliance and HR admin processes.
• Strong data management and process coordination capabilities using HR tech.

Responsibilities

• Oversee benefits lifecycle coordination with vendors and internal teams.
• Support onboarding and employee life transitions, including escalations.
• Ensure accurate local labor data collection and compliance from day one.
• Provide local expertise to support P&C programs and employee engagement.
• Leverage HR IT and self-service platforms to automate processes.
• Collaborate with Procurement for vendor management and SLAs.

Skills

Customer service

Data management

Process coordination

HR tech platforms

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in HR, Local Labor Law, or Business Administration

Tools

HR IT platforms

Job description

MEET THE TEAM

Join our People Support team in Middle East & Africa to provide country support in our Africa countries, where we deliver efficient, streamlined, and high-impact services to employees across the region.

We are dedicated to operational excellence, driving standardized processes, and leveraging cutting-edge HR technology and self-service platforms to reduce manual work and elevate the employee experience.

As a People & Communities Representative, you will act as a trusted partner and primary point of contact for employee inquiries, collaborating closely with stakeholders, P&C Consulting partners, and external vendors. If you are passionate about customer service, compliance, continuous improvement, and creating "moments that matter" for employees during key life transitions, this is the team for you.

YOUR IMPACT

Role

As a People & Communities Representative based in South Africa, your role is pivotal in ensuring that our People operations are executed efficiently, effectively, and in full compliance with local labor laws and internal policies. You will drive a seamless employee experience and operational excellence across the following key areas:

• Benefits Lifecycle Management: Provide an outstanding employee experience by coordinating (directly or indirectly) the entire benefits lifecycle—including medical/life insurance, pension, and more—in partnership with our global and local vendors.
• Onboarding & Employee Support: Support new employee onboarding to ensure a successful, compliant start, and assist employees through complex life transitions and escalations, connecting them and their families to the most appropriate benefits or policies.
• Data & Local Compliance: Oversee employee data collection based on local South African requirements for benefits and compensation from day one. Proactively maintain compliance calendars, audit schedules, and associated local P&C data to minimize risk and satisfy legal requirements, driving employee-action communications to 100% completion.
• HR Programs & Engagement: Provide local expertise to support a variety of programs conceived and driven by P&C, primarily focused on enhancing employee engagement.
• Process Improvement & Technology: Leverage HR IT and self-service platforms to innovate, automate, and streamline processes. Regularly assess operational efficiency, monitor service delivery KPIs, and participate in continuous improvement and change implementation projects to reduce manual work and costs.
• Vendor & Stakeholder Collaboration: Partner with Procurement for vendor management to ensure external partners meet contractual obligations and Service Level Agreements (SLAs), while aligning P&C services with business and employee needs.
• Portfolio & Project Management: Drive the execution of planning and forecasting for portfolio/budget management, and oversee project coordination, production, and logistics for service delivery.

Minimum Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in relevant fields such as Human Resources, Local Labor Law, Business Administration, or a similar discipline.
• Experience: 2-3 years of related professional experience in HR operations, administration, or a similar client-facing support role (or equivalent related work experience).
• Compliance & Local Knowledge: Foundational understanding of local labor laws, compliance regulations, and HR administrative processes relevant to South Africa.
• Operational Skills: Demonstrated capability in data management, process coordination, and utilizing HR technologies/self-service platforms.

Preferred Qualifications

• Customer-Centric Approach: Proven track record of delivering empathetic, high-quality customer service and support in a fast-paced corporate environment.
• Continuous Improvement Mindset: Experience participating in continuous improvement, process optimization, or change management initiatives.
• Vendor & Stakeholder Management: Familiarity working with third-party vendors, benefits providers, or cross-functional stakeholders.
• Analytical Skills: Experience tracking service delivery KPIs and using data to identify trends, report on metrics, and drive operational improvements.

Why Cisco?

At Cisco, we're revolutionizing how data and infrastructure connect and protect organizations in the AI era - and beyond. We've been innovating fearlessly for 40 years to create solutions that power how humans and technology work together across the physical and digital worlds. These solutions provide customers with unparalleled security, visibility, and insights across the entire digital footprint.

Fueled by the depth and breadth of our technology, we experiment and create meaningful solutions. Add to that our worldwide network of doers and experts, and you'll see that the opportunities to grow and build are limitless. We work as a team, collaborating with empathy to make really big things happen on a global scale. Because our solutions are everywhere, our impact is everywhere.

We are Cisco, and our power starts with you.