HR Compliance Team Leader

SUMMARY:
A global outsourcing and technology services provider is looking for an experienced compliance leader to take ownership of recruitment governance across a high-volume hiring function. As a senior operational leader, you will ensure all hiring activity is compliant, audit-ready, and aligned with legislative and client requirements. The role includes ownership of recruitment policies, pre-employment screening frameworks, audit programmes, and digital employee file standards, while managing vendors, SLAs, and compliance reporting. You will also act as the escalation point for legislative interpretation and embed client-specific obligations into recruitment processes.

POSITION INFO:
This role suits a detail-driven professional with strong experience in recruitment compliance or HR governance within a fast-paced, multi-client environment. You will lead and develop a compliance team, drive continuous improvement, and ensure alignment with South African labour legislation including BCEA, LRA, EEA, and POPIA. Experience in audits, risk management, and ATS/HRIS workflows is important, along with the ability to translate complex regulations into practical, operational guidance.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading and developing a recruitment compliance team, with clear ownership of performance, capability, and delivery standards
• Setting KPIs, quality benchmarks, and governance frameworks aligned to business and client expectations
• Coaching and mentoring team members to strengthen legislative understanding, decision-making, and audit readiness
• Owning and maintaining recruitment-related policies, ensuring alignment with labour legislation and data protection requirements
• Translating legislative updates into clear, practical guidance for recruiters and stakeholders
• Acting as a subject matter expert on recruitment compliance and policy interpretation
• Managing the full pre-employment screening framework, including identity, right-to-work, qualifications, references, and role-specific checks
• Ensuring all screening practices are legally sound, proportionate, and aligned to data privacy requirements
• Overseeing vendor performance, SLAs, and quality of screening outputs
• Driving standards for digital employee file completeness, accuracy, and governance
• Leading file audits, remediation efforts, and ongoing quality assurance processes
• Partnering with HR and payroll teams to address systemic gaps and improve controls
• Designing and leading internal and client-facing audit programmes, including routine audits and spot checks
• Managing risk registers, corrective actions, and ongoing compliance improvement initiatives
• Representing the function in client audits and governance discussions
• Embedding client-specific contractual requirements into recruitment processes and compliance frameworks
• Delivering training and maintaining a central knowledge base for compliance, policy, and legislative updates
• Producing dashboards and reporting on compliance performance, using insights to drive continuous improvement

• A relevant qualification in HR, law, compliance, or risk is expected, with professional membership (such as SABPP) being advantageous
• 5 to 7 years’ experience in recruitment compliance, HR governance, or risk within a high-volume environment
• Proven experience leading and developing teams
• Strong working knowledge of South African labour legislation, including BCEA, LRA, EEA, and POPIA
• Experience owning and managing HR or recruitment policies
• Exposure to audit processes, compliance frameworks, and risk management practices
• Familiarity with ATS or HRIS systems and workflow controls
• Experience working in multi-client, BPO, or shared services environments