Employee Wellbeing Specialist at The National Student Financial Aid Scheme(NSFAS)

POSITION OVERVIEW:

• To design, develop and implement a wellness strategy and employee assistance programme (EAP) that is aligned to the overall Human Resources as well as organisation strategy of NSFAS.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Policy, Systems & Procedure Implementation
• Support the unit in the maturing of employee wellbeing policy/ies, procedures, and processes
• Develop presentations that enable the socialisation of employee wellbeing policy/ies, procedures and processes
• Socialise and implement the employee wellbeing policy/ies, procedures and processes
• Core Strategic/Operations Objectives Implementation
• Provide input into overall Human Resources Management value proposition as it relates to the wellness practice through the development of best practice, research, trends analysis and wellness initiatives
• Analyse wellness trends and prepare high level reports to management as input to create an engaged workforce
• Implement wellness interventions based upon identified needs within the organisation
• Build capacity in the organisation to drive and manage an employee wellness culture
• Design, implement and drive NSFAS’s programme, including providing awareness campaigns and training, professional counselling, testing and support through external vendors
• Ensure that all wellness initiatives contribute towards the operationalizing of the overall Employee Value Proposition
• Participate in the Wellness Committees and Forums to facilitate the successful implementation of wellness initiatives and programmes
• Develop policies and procedures to support the implementation of wellness initiatives
• Serve as the employee trustee for provident fund and participate in health care committees and wellness coach
• Provide monthly and quarterly report on wellness statistics and focus on analysis, comparison, and trends
• Create Awareness through wellness events and educational information on health issues
• Coordinate and promote wellness initiatives in partnership with other stakeholders
• Responsible for trauma debriefing during trauma incidents
• Conduct workshops on selected wellbeing issues and obtain feedback on existing programmes
• Cover whole spectrum of individual wellbeing components as defined by the World Health
• Organisation (WHO) or Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA)
• Support the HR operations unit and HR team with employee wellbeing programmes of the NSFAS
• Contribute input and manage the employee wellness budget
• Coordinate with employee relations, business partners and senior management on cases of potential incapacity and ensure correct reporting and process for 3rd party claims
• People Management & Ethical Leadership
• Guide, inspire, coach and mentor employees to deliver quality wellness programmes in line with NSFAS Values
• Lead and manage the individual performance contracting and review process for self
• Stakeholder Management & Relationships
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to implement employee wellbeing programmes
• Collaborate with external stakeholders to enable the employee wellbeing programmes
• Manage the service level agreement of external providers of employee wellbeing deliverables
• Project Management & Leadership
• Manage and supervise the projects to address identified needs as per the employee wellbeing initiatives
• Annalise and interpret project reports on completion of the project to evaluate return on investment and to inform decision-making in the subunit
• Budget optimisation
• Expenditure forecast for subunit employee wellbeing activities and projects
• Expenditure management in line with employee wellbeing activities and projects
• Risk, Compliance Monitoring & Evaluation
• Support compliance checks and audit of employee wellbeing interventions with HR policies
• Identify risks and mitigate them in line with the risk register
• Support the compliance of NSFAS with the EE Act and legislation
• Information & Knowledge Management
• Collaborate with stakeholders to build systems that enable the management of data obtained from different sources
• Collaborate with stakeholders to use their experience, education and understanding to obtain knowledge from this information
• Reporting & Accountability
• on recruitment strategic KPIs progress
• on the employee wellbeing operational plan progress
• on internal and external recruitment risks
• on any other work in the mandate of the employee wellbeing work

DESIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Minimum Qualification requirements:
• NQF 7 Degree in Industrial Psychology, Psychology, Social Work
• Certification in EAP/wellness practitioner or management
• Minimum of six (6) to eight (8) years’ experience in Employee Assistance Programme / Wellness of which three (3) years must be the managing of an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) / Wellness function
• Experience in a Higher Education environment will be an added advantage
• Basic understanding of Labour Law e.g. LRA, EEA, BCEA, OHSA, employee health, wellness and benefit administration concepts, practices, and procedures
• Solid project management Skills
• Intermediate Knowledge of the higher education sector
• Employee wellbeing legislation experience and knowledge
• Employment Equity Act and related legislation
• Computer literacy – Intermediate MS Package Suite
• Driver’s License

Preferred

• NQF 8 Degree in Industrial Psychology, Psychology, Social Work
• Registered with HPCSA as Counsellor, Social Worker, Psychologist, Industrial Psychologist
• Certified Wellness Coach
• Computer literacy – Advanced MS Package Suite
• Advanced project management Skills
• Advanced knowledge of the higher education sector
• Extensive exposure to the functions of the employee wellbeing
• Knowledge and understanding of the NSFAS Act and PFMA

Skill and Competencies:

• Excellent communication (written and verbal) skills
• Effective interpersonal skills
• Planning and Organising
• Stress Management
• Counselling Skills
• Confidentiality, knowledge and understanding of the Human Resources Services Lifecycle.
• Planning and organising skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Leadership skills
• Agile and Innovative
• Time management skills
• High Emotional Intelligence
• Integrity
• Communication skills
• Adaptable to change
• Team player
• Goal orientation
• Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines
• Professional self-awareness