People Specialist (Corporate, Central Services & TH Developments)

Tongaat Hulett; oThongathi; On-site; ZAR 550,000 - 850,000; Full time

Job summary

Tongaat Hulett is seeking a People Specialist to serve as the HR business partner for Corporate Office, Central Services and Developments. You will support end-to-end people management across the employee lifecycle, align people strategies with business goals, and lead the local People team to deliver a world-class employee experience.

You will drive engagement, talent development and organisational effectiveness while ensuring compliance with labour law and company policies, and manage data

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Human Resources Management or equivalent.
• 5 to 7 years of relevant Human Resources experience.

Responsibilities

• HC Business Partnering: act as trusted advisor to line managers and employees.
• Support leaders in achieving operational and strategic objectives through effective people management.
• Identify people-related risks and opportunities and recommend interventions.
• Provide coaching on HC policies, procedures and best practices.
• Recruitment and Talent Acquisition: own recruitment processes for Bands A to D and manage onboarding and exits.
• Performance & Success Management: lead implementation of performance processes and annual reviews.
• Learning & Development: conduct TNAs and partner with L&D teams to implement training interventions.
• Employee Relations: manage disciplinary, grievance, and performance management processes and unions interactions.
• Talent Management & Engagement: implement talent reviews and PBS processes.
• HC Operations & Governance: ensure integrity of master data and analytics of workforce metrics.

Skills

HC best practices

Performance management

Employee relations

Labour relations

Talent management

Learning & development

Recruitment & selection

HC analytics & reporting

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Human Resources Management

Job description

The People Specialist is the primary HR business partner for Corporate Office, Central Services & Tongaat Hulett Developments, responsible for ensuring that people management practices support operational and business objectives. The role serves as a trusted advisor to managers and employees across the entire employee lifecycle, driving employee engagement, talent management, recruitment, performance management, learning and development, employee relations, and workforce planning.

Key Purpose of the Role

• Providing end-to-end HC support to the operation.
• Aligning people strategies with business and operational goals.
• Leading and managing the local people team.
• Delivering a world-class employee experience through the Tongaat Hulett People Way.
• Driving employee engagement, talent development, and organisational effectiveness.
• Ensuring compliance with labour legislation, company policies, and HC best practices.
• Managing employee data integrity and HC reporting.
• Supporting operational leaders in making effective people decisions.

Key Responsibilities

• HC Business Partnering
• Act as the trusted advisor to line managers and employees.
• Support business leaders in achieving operational and strategic objectives through effective people management.
• Identify people-related risks and opportunities and recommend appropriate interventions.
• Provide coaching and guidance on HC policies, procedures, and best practices.
• Recruitment and Talent Acquisition
• Own recruitment processes for Bands A to D.
• Manage recruitment, selection, onboarding and exit processes.
• Ensure quality hiring aligned with diversity and inclusion objectives.
• Reduce time-to-fill vacancies to minimise operational disruption.
• Collaborate with Talent and Capability specialists for senior-level recruitment.
• Performance and Success Management
• Lead implementation of Success Management processes.
• Facilitate annual goal setting and performance reviews.
• Coach managers on performance management and improvement plans.
• Monitor compliance with performance management timelines and standards.
• Learning and Development
• Conduct Training Needs Analyses (TNAs).
• Identify capability gaps and developmental needs.
• Maintain employee training records.
• Partner with Learning & Development teams to implement training interventions.
• Employee Relations and Labour Relations
• Manage disciplinary, grievance, and performance management processes.
• Support line management in progressive discipline practices.
• Engage with unions, worker committees, and employee forums.
• Facilitate dispute resolution, investigations, conciliations, and arbitrations.
• Ensure compliance with employment legislation and collective agreements.
• Talent Management and Employee Engagement
• Implement talent management programmes and annual talent reviews.
• Facilitate People Balance Sheet (PBS) processes.
• Develop employee engagement action plans.
• Support retention of critical and scarce skills.
• Analyse exit interview feedback and recommend improvement initiatives.
• HC Operations and Governance
• Ensure integrity and accuracy of employee master data.
• Produce and analyse HC reports and workforce metrics.
• Monitor absenteeism, overtime, and workforce trends.
• Maintain HC records in accordance with company requirements and legislation.

Qualifications & Experience Required

• Bachelor's Degree in Human Resources Management or equivalent.
• 5 to 7 years of relevant Human Resources experience.

Technical Competencies

• Human Capital Management best practices.
• Performance Management.
• Employee Relations.
• Labour Relations.
• Talent Management.
• Learning and Development.
• Recruitment and Selection.
• HC Analytics and Reporting.

Behavioural Competencies

The Successful Incumbent Should Demonstrate

• Strong ethical standards and professional maturity.
• Ability to work independently.
• Leadership and influencing capability.
• Confidence and assertiveness.
• Sound judgement and decision-making under pressure.
• Strong planning and organisational skills.
• Attention to detail.
• Customer and service orientation.
• Strong teamwork and relationship-building skills.

Closing date : Monday, 21 September 2026