Senior Manager: Employee Relations at South African Maritime Safety Authority

KEY PERFORMANCE AREAS

• Design and lead SAMSA's enterprise-wide employee relations and labour strategy to strengthen organisational resilience.
• Ensure full alignment with the Annual Performance Plan (APP), Strategic Plan, and management vision while mitigating labour risks and optimising workforce stability.
• Govern the strategic ER portfolio through scoping, budgeting, and value realisation.
• Secure executive endorsements, allocate resources efficiently, contribute to Human Capital budget, and deliver high-impact projects using advanced ER analytics dashboards.
• Provide SAMSA executives with actionable workforce intelligence via custom dashboards, predictive trend analysis, scenario planning, and strategic advisories to inform decisions and enhance long-term competitiveness.
• Build organisation-wide expertise in key labour laws, including the Labour Relations Act (LRA), Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), and emerging other legislation.
• Lead policy updates, process improvements, documentation changes, and procedural innovations via briefings on regulatory changes.
• Manage compliance through detailed audits, investigations, and risk frameworks.
• Apply predictive analytics, functional reporting, and information governance to eliminate audit weaknesses and ensure strong governance.
• Scale employee relations skills via workshops, academies, and training programs. Equip all employees, chairpersons, and line managers with expertise in protocols, industrial relations, disciplinary processes, and grievance handling.
• Lead enterprise-wide collective bargaining to secure multi-year agreements, MOUs, and key partnerships.
• Build sustainable, compliant relationships with employee representative groups to protect operations.
• Represent SAMSA externally in Labour Court, Bargaining Councils, and industry forums and platforms.
• Guide strategic councils to achieve compliance recognised by independent auditors.
• Oversee all industrial relations, including crisis management, business continuity plans, and rapid-response systems.
• Design integrated dispute resolution systems for grievances, disciplinaries, investigations, and digital case tracking.
• Ensure fair, efficient outcomes and establish leading precedents.
• Advise line leaders on procedural best practices for misconduct, grievances, and full disciplinary cycles from counselling to adjudication.
• Prevent conflicts through executive mediation, cross-level communication, pre-emptive protocols, and specialist partnerships that operationalise policies with coaching and disciplinary support.
• Build future employee relations leaders through mentoring, skill development, and talent programs. 

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS

• Matric Certificate (NQF 4) is essential
• Bachelor's Degree in Human Resources Management\Law (NQF level 7) is essential 
• Advanced Certificate in Labour Law\Employee Relations is essential
• Postgraduate Qualification in Human Resources Management\Law (NQF8) is preferred 
• MBA would be an added advantage

KNOWLDGE AND EXPERIENCE

• Seven (7) years of Employment Relations experience, of which three (3) years experience should be in Supervisory\Management with specific focus on Employment Relations.
• Experience with conflict resolution, including conducting effective, thorough and objective investigations.
• Demonstrated experience in representing an organisation at the CCMA, Labour Court
• Demonstrated experience in partnering with business on solving business/operational issues through the application of progressive people practices.