Senior Hr Manager

WatersEdge Solutions; Cape Town; Hybrid; ZAR 900,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible hybrid/remote work

Wellness initiatives

Home-office support

Continuous learning & development

Regular team-building activities

Employee share ownership opportunities

Job summary

WatersEdge Solutions is seeking an experienced Senior HR Manager to partner with leadership and take practical ownership of the HR function as the business scales, both in South Africa and internationally.

You will spearhead IR, ER and labour relations, build a robust compliance framework across BCEA/LRA/OHS/BBBEE, and manage complex employee matters, restructures and CCMA cases while guiding a growing HR team.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of HR generalist experience with depth in labour relations, IR and ER.
• Hands-on experience managing CCMA cases.
• Strong experience with disciplinary hearings, grievances and employee disputes.
• Experience with restructures and retrenchments.
• Strong knowledge of SA employment legislation (BCEA/LRA).
• Experience with OHS compliance and BBBEE scorecard.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain a robust HR compliance framework covering BCEA, LRA, OHS Act, BBBEE and SETA requirements.
• Lead labour relations, industrial relations and employee relations.
• Personally manage complex disciplinary matters, grievances and employee disputes.
• Lead CCMA cases and represent the organisation throughout the process.
• Oversee HR aspects of restructures and retrenchments.
• Provide senior HR guidance to managers and leadership on sensitive matters.
• Partner with the Group People Officer on strategic priorities and implementation.
• Develop and maintain an audit-ready HR records system.

Skills

HR generalist

CCMA cases

Disciplinary hearings

Employee disputes

Labour relations

OHS compliance

BBBEE scorecard

HR leadership

HR policy development

Education

HR / Industrial Psychology / Labour Law degree

Tools

HRIS platform

Payroll systems

MS Office

Job description

Location: South Africa | Remote
Employment Type: Full-Time
Industry: Technology | Data | SaaS | Enterprise Technology

WatersEdge Solutions is partnering with a growing technology business to appoint an experienced Senior HR Manager as the organisation prepares for its next stage of growth and international expansion.

Working closely with the Group People Officer, this is a senior, hands-on HR leadership role with particular emphasis on labour relations, industrial relations, employee relations and compliance. You’ll take ownership of day-to-day HR operations while helping strengthen the frameworks, policies and people practices required to support a scaling organisation.

The role requires someone equally comfortable representing the business at the CCMA, advising senior leadership on a sensitive employee matter, building a compliance framework, and getting involved in recruitment, onboarding, payroll liaison and HR operations.

About the Role

As Senior HR Manager, you’ll serve as a senior HR voice within the business, partnering closely with leadership while taking practical ownership of the HR function.

A significant part of your remit will be IR, ER and labour relations, including personally managing complex employee matters, disciplinary processes, grievances, disputes, restructures, retrenchments and CCMA cases.

You’ll also build and maintain the organisation’s broader HR compliance framework across the BCEA, LRA, OHS Act, BBBEE and SETA/skills development requirements, ensuring records, processes and reporting remain accurate and audit-ready.

Alongside this, you’ll oversee the full day-to-day HR remit and help develop the HR team as the organisation continues to scale.

Key Responsibilities

• Build, implement and maintain a robust HR compliance framework covering the BCEA, LRA, OHS Act, BBBEE and SETA requirements.

• Take ownership of WSP/ATR submissions, skills development, grants and levies.

• Lead labour relations, industrial relations and employee relations across the business.

• Personally manage complex disciplinary matters, grievances and employee disputes.

• Lead CCMA cases and represent the organisation throughout the process.

• Manage HR aspects of restructures and retrenchments.

• Provide senior, practical HR guidance to managers and leadership on complex or sensitive people matters.

• Partner closely with the Group People Officer on strategic people priorities and implementation.

• Identify workforce, reward and compliance risks early and ensure appropriate mitigation.

• Lead and develop the HR team as the organisation grows, including HR Managers, Business Partners and administrative team members.

• Own end-to-end recruitment and onboarding, with a focus on quality hires who can become productive quickly.

• Oversee payroll liaison and accuracy and resolve escalated payroll and benefits queries.

• Design, implement and continuously improve HR policies.

• Ensure policies remain legally defensible, current and consistently applied.

• Maintain accurate, audit-ready employee and HR records.

• Track and report on key HR, ER and IR metrics.

• Prepare HR dashboards and reporting for senior leadership and EXCO.

• Support remuneration benchmarking to ensure reward decisions remain market-aligned and defensible.

• Contribute to building a globally aligned, high-performance organisation.

What You’ll Bring

• 5+ years of HR generalist experience, with substantial demonstrable depth in labour relations, IR and ER.

• Hands‑on experience personally managing CCMA cases.

• Strong experience managing disciplinary hearings, grievances and employee disputes.

• Practical experience with restructures and retrenchments.

• Strong working knowledge of South African employment legislation, including the BCEA and LRA.

• Practical experience with OHS compliance.

• Experience managing or contributing substantially to the BBBEE scorecard.

• Hands‑on experience with SETA and skills development submissions, including WSP/ATR, grants and levies.

• Track record of building or strengthening an HR compliance framework rather than simply operating within an established one.

• Experience managing or leading other HR professionals.

• Strong HR policy development and implementation experience.

• Ability to advise managers and senior leadership on sensitive and high‑risk people matters.

• Confident, credible communication skills with the ability to operate effectively at EXCO level.

• Sound judgement and discretion when dealing with confidential or sensitive matters.

• Ability to balance strategic HR thinking with hands‑on operational delivery.

• Experience working within a scaling, high‑growth or multi‑entity business.

• A relevant qualification in Human Resources, Industrial Psychology, Labour Law or a related field.

Nice to Have

• Experience supporting employees or contractors across international jurisdictions.

• Employer of Record (EOR) experience.

• Exposure to employment environments in the US, UK or Brazil.

• Experience implementing or administering an HRIS platform.

• Organisational design experience.

• Experience supporting business restructuring.

• Exposure to M&A people integration.

• International or multi‑entity HR experience.

What’s On Offer

• Flexible hybrid and remote working arrangements.

• Opportunity to take meaningful ownership of the HR function within a scaling technology business.

• Close partnership with senior people leadership and exposure to EXCO-level matters.

• Opportunity to build and strengthen HR, IR and compliance frameworks as the organisation grows.

• Exposure to an internationally expanding business.

• Wellness initiatives and home‑office support.

• Continuous learning and development opportunities.

• Supportive and inclusive team environment.

• Regular team‑building activities and social events.

• Performance recognition and employee share ownership opportunities.

• A culture that values transparency, accountability and work‑life balance.

Company Culture

You’ll be joining a growing, internationally focused technology environment where people are expected to take ownership, communicate openly and contribute beyond the boundaries of their job title.

The organisation values transparency, accountability and high performance while maintaining a supportive and inclusive working environment. For this role specifically, success will come from combining sound judgement and credibility with a practical willingness to get involved in the day-to-day realities of HR.

Please Note: If you have not been contacted within 10 working days, consider your application unsuccessful.