Employee Relations Senior Specialist at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

What You'll Do
Key Responsibilities
Including but not limited to:

• Own end-to-end ER/IR case management and administration (core delivery + strong admin)
• Manage ER matters from intake to closure, ensuring timely triage, investigation planning, documentation, and closure.
• Maintain complete, audit-ready case files (case summaries, chronologies, evidence logs, interview notes, hearing packs, outcomes, appeal documentation) and secure records management.
• Drive day-to-day case administration: scheduling, stakeholder coordination, action tracking, deadline management, and documentation quality control.
• Apply early dispute resolution techniques to de-escalate issues and reduce escalation risk.
• Provide trusted ER/IR advisory support to leaders and HR (Johannesburg base; Africa input as needed)
• Provide pragmatic guidance to People Managers and HR on process, policy, risk, and documentation to ensure fair and consistent outcomes.
• Partner with HR and leadership to plan and script difficult conversations (performance, conduct, attendance, wellbeing, conflict) and advise on appropriate interventions.
• From Johannesburg, provide ER/IR input across Africa where required. supporting HR and leadership with case strategy, document review, precedent/consistency checks, and escalation guidance.
• Lead investigations and support discipline, incapacity and grievance processes
• Lead/coordinate investigations: define scope, evidence plan, interviews, documentation, findings summaries, and recommendations in consultation with the global ER team.
• Support and/or coordinate disciplinary and grievance processes: prepare packs, brief stakeholders, advise on outcomes/sanction consistency, with the global ER team.
• Support incapacity processes (poor performance/ill health) with structured documentation, timelines, and manager coaching.
• Manage South African labour forum processes and external dispute readiness Commented [RH1]: Would the ER Senior Specialist also be responsible to partner with external counsel for Labour Court/Labour Appeal Court disputes, if any? (CCMA)
• Prepare and coordinate matters for the CCMA: bundles, chronologies, evidence packs, witness preparation, and stakeholder briefing.
• Partner with Legal and/or external counsel as required to ensure strong readiness for conciliation/arbitration and aligned case strategy.
• Track outcomes and learnings from forum matters and feed insights into prevention, training, and policy/process improvement.
• Partner with Global ER and senior HR leadership on complex and high-risk matters
• Serve as a key South Africa/Africa point of contact, partnering with Global ER leadership and senior HR stakeholders to align on approach, risk posture, and precedent.
• Produce senior-ready case updates (key facts, risks, recommended path, decision points) to enable high-quality decisions and consistent handling.
• Contribute local context (South African labour environment and practical implications) into global ER discussions and guidance.
• Policy, office governance, and contracting alignment (ownership + maintenance)

• Own and maintain local office people policies, guidance and procedures (draft, review, update,communicate), ensuring alignment to global standards and local legal requirements.
• Support periodic reviews/audits of ER/HR practices and controls to strengthen compliance, consistency, and quality.
  • Partner with People Team colleagues, Legal/Compliance, and relevant operational stakeholders to ensure contracting and documentation alignment
• (templates/clauses/addenda and ER-related documentation practices), supporting dispute readiness and risk mitigation.
• Keep ER/IR practices current: legislation monitoring + continuous learning communication
• Monitor and interpret changes in South African employment and labour legislation, relevant case law/trends, and labour forum practices and translate these into practical implications for BCG, i.e. ensuring local office people policies, guidance documents, and procedures are updated when necessary.
• Provide continuous learning through concise updates, guidance notes, and briefings to relevant stakeholders (HR, People Managers, and other Centers Of Excellence (COE)), ensuring local practices remain current and consistent.
• Partner with Global ER and Legal/Compliance to align local implementation with global standards and risk posture.
• Insights, reporting, and continuous improvement (strategic problem solving)
• Maintain reliable case data and produce reporting (themes, cycle times, outcomes, risk flags) to inform leadership decisions and strengthen employment risk management.
• Identify patterns/root causes and propose preventative actions (training, manager guidance, policy clarification, process improvements) to reduce repeat issues and improve employee experience.
• Contribute to ER capability and consistency across the region by sharing best practices, templates, and lessons learned.
• Capability building and enablement (including leader training on discipline/incapacity/grievances)
• Design and deliver ER/IR training for leaders and HR colleagues, including disciplinary, incapacity and grievance process training for line leaders (e.g., investigations, recordkeeping, procedural and substantive fairness, documentation quality, chairing preparation, outcome writing standards).
• Build and continuously improve ER toolkits, guides, and playbooks (templates, checklists, scripts, investigation packs) that enable consistent, high-quality handling of ER matters.
• Coach leaders and HR in-the-moment on “how to” execute ER steps effectively, reducing avoidable escalations and repeat issues.
• Stakeholder leadership (global + Africa scope)
• Build trusted relationships with HR colleagues and leaders to anticipate and respond to ER needs.
• Advise on serious/high-risk/complex matters where reputational, PR, or litigation risk may exist if mishandled.
• Partner closely with ER global, Legal and Compliance as critical stakeholders, acting as a credible counterpart.

What You'll Bring
Qualifications (minimum)

• Minimum 4-year qualification in Human Resources or Law (or equivalent relevant 4-year degree).
• Desirable - Master’s degree (e.g., Labour Law, Labour Relations, HR/Industrial Psychology, Employment Law) is a strong advantage.