Senior Manager: Employee Relations - D4 at South African Maritime Safety Authority

Key Responsibilities 

Strategic Advisory 

• Serve as the authoritative legal advisor to EXCO and the Board on all complex labour law matters, risk exposure, and evolving legal precedents.
• Develop, conceptualize, and execute SAMSA’s enterprise-wide employee relations and labor strategy, ensuring tight alignment with the Annual Performance Plan (APP) and overall Strategic Plan.
• Formulate high-level legal opinions and strategic frameworks governing policies, disciplinary actions, restructuring/retrenchments, and collective agreements.
• Translate complex legal and labour risks into practical, agile business solutions that reinforce corporate governance and organizational resilience. 

Representation & Advanced Labour Litigation Management 

• Act as the primary representative for SAMSA at the CCMA, Labor Court, Bargaining Councils, and high-level arbitration forums.
• Direct and manage all high-stakes labour disputes, including unfair dismissals, unfair labour practices, and complex collective bargaining disputes.
• Oversee and ensure that all disciplinary actions, investigations, and grievance hearings are meticulously executed, procedurally sound, and legally airtight to minimize risk and establish positive organizational precedents. 

Collective Bargaining & Strategic Stakeholder Relations 

• Lead SAMSA’s collective bargaining processes and wage negotiations with recognized trade unions as the chief negotiator.
• Draft, negotiate, and conclude robust collective agreements, Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), and settlement agreements that protect employer interests.
• Build and sustain constructive, high-trust partnerships with employee representative bodies to minimize disruptions and guarantee operational continuity at all ports and offices.
• Deploy advanced mediation and conflict-resolution frameworks to navigate sensitive labor matters and maintain institutional harmony.

Compliance, Governance & Analytics 

• Ensure absolute organizational compliance with the Labour Relations Act (LRA), Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), Employment Equity Act (EEA), and all other statutory frameworks.
• Drive continuous policy innovation and process optimization in response to legislative changes and modern workplace trends.
• Establish advanced case management systems, ER dashboards, and data analytics to track trends, forecast scenarios, mitigate risks, and optimize human capital return on investment (ROI). 

Institutional Capacity Building & Leadership Coaching 

• Coordinate executive-level training programs for Centre heads and line managers on labour law compliance, dispute prevention, and grievance mastery.
• Mentor internal talent and build robust institutional capacity across SAMSA’s human capital landscape.
• Foster a high-performance culture rooted in informed leadership, judgment, and consistent application of fair labour practices

Requirements

Qualifications & Certification

• Matric: National Senior Certificate (NQF Level 4) is essential. 
• Formal Education: An LLB or BProc Degree with a specialized focus on Labor Law (NQF Level 8) is essential. 
• Professional Status: Admission as an Attorney or Advocate.

Experience

• Post-Qualification Experience: A minimum of seven (7) years of comprehensive post-qualification experience actively litigating and managing labour matters at the CCMA and Labor Court on behalf of employers. 
• Leadership Experience: At least three (3) years must be at a management level. 
• Strategic Exposure: Demonstrated track record of directly advising Executive Committees (EXCO) and Boards on complex labour matters. 
• Bargaining Mastery: Proven experience in leading collective bargaining, presiding over complex hearings, and managing high-stakes negotiations at the Bargaining Council level. 
• Added Advantage: Experience serving as a CCMA Commissioner or possessing direct exposure to presiding at the Labor Court.