Senior Employee Relations Specialist

SUMMARY:
Our client is looking for a Senior Employee Relations Specialist to join their team remotely

POSITION INFO:
Purpose of Role: To provide expert, consistent and legally compliant Employee Relations leadership across the company’s network by ensuring fair and defensible ER outcomes, strengthening governance and oversight of ER matters, and building line-manager capability to manage ER issues appropriately—reducing organisational risk and improving resolution quality and speed.


Reports To: Head of Human Capital

Key responsibilities
ER strategy, governance and risk oversight

• Own the ER operating model across the company’s network, ensuring consistent standards and decision-making.
• Establish and maintain ER governance: case tracking, escalation thresholds, reporting cadence, and documentation standards.
• Maintain a defensible audit trail for ER matters (disciplinary, incapacity, grievances, disputes).
• Identify systemic ER risks and recommend mitigation (policy updates, training, leadership interventions).
• Produce ER dashboards and MANCO reporting with risk insights and trends.

• Manage and/or oversee complex and high-risk ER cases (senior staff, precedent-setting cases, repeat offenders, reputational risk).
• Quality assure disciplinary outcomes to ensure consistency, proportionality and procedural fairness.
• Guide managers on evidence gathering, chairing processes and documentation standards.
• Support preparation for disputes (including CCMA matters where applicable) and internal resolution.

• Monitor changes in labour legislation and relevant Codes of Good Practice.
• Update ER policies, templates and toolkits to ensure ongoing legal compliance and operational practicality.
• Translate legal requirements into clear, manager-friendly guidance and tools.
• Drive adherence to the company’s ER policies and standard operating procedures.

• Design and deliver ER training and enablement programmes for principals, school leaders and functional managers.
• Build practical tools: decision trees, checklists, templates, coaching guides and process maps.
• Coach leaders on difficult conversations, early intervention, performance management and misconduct handling.
• Shift ER ownership appropriately to line management while maintaining HC governance and oversight.

• Lead, mentor and performance-manage ER Specialists to ensure consistent advice and execution.
• Standardise ER practices across the team, including precedent and sanction guidance.
• Manage workload allocation, case prioritisation and development plans for the ER team.
• Build resilience, depth and succession capability within the ER function.

• Build strong relationships with principals, school leadership, support office managers and HC colleagues.
• Provide clear, confident ER advice that supports fairness and organisational sustainability.
• Communicate ER risks, trends and recommendations appropriately to senior stakeholders.

• ER governance framework and reporting cadence (MANCO-ready).
• ER dashboard (monthly reporting with risk insights and trends).
• Updated ER policies, templates and toolkits aligned to legislation and company practice.
• Line manager enablement programme and adoption indicators.
• Improved consistency and defensibility of ER outcomes across the network.

• Bachelor’s degree in HR, Law, Industrial Psychology or related field (Honours advantageous).
• 7–10+ years’ Employee Relations / Industrial Relations experience with senior-level case handling.
• Proven ability to interpret and apply South African labour legislation (LRA, BCEA, EEA, relevant Codes).
• Demonstrated experience building ER governance, reporting and controls.
• Experience coaching and enabling line managers; strong facilitation/training capability.
• Team leadership/supervision experience (preferred).

• Sound judgement and a consistency mindset
• High attention to detail; defensible documentation
• Calm authority and strong conflict-handling capability
• Stakeholder influence and coaching orientation
• Data literacy and comfort with dashboards / trend analysis