Senior Specialist: Employee Relations at Absa Group Limited (Absa)

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Strategic Employee Relations Practice Leadership

• Translate ER strategy into standardised frameworks, toolkits and operating models aligned to Absa’s people and risk strategy.
• Shape and continuously evolve ER practice standards to ensure enterprise‑wide consistency and future readiness.
• Act as a senior ER authority on complex, sensitive and cross‑border matters with material organisational impact.

Complex and Precedent‑Setting Case Management

• Provide strategic management and quality assurance of high‑risk ER cases, including matters with litigation, reputational or regulatory exposure.
• Guide Line Managers and HC leaders and Practitioners on judgement calls where precedent, complexity or ambiguity exists.
• Intervene directly in matters requiring senior‑level credibility, neutrality and influence.

Governance, Risk and Labour Law Stewardship

• Ensure ER practices comply with labour legislation, internal policy, ethical standards and regulatory expectations across jurisdictions.
• Identify systemic ER risks and drive preventative, enterprise‑level mitigation strategies.
• Partner with Legal, Risk and Compliance to strengthen defensibility and governance maturity.

Senior Stakeholder Advisory and Influence

• Provide trusted ER counsel to senior leaders, executives and governance forums on sensitive people matters.
• Influence decision‑making by balancing commercial, legal, cultural and employee considerations.
• Represent ER perspectives in strategic people and risk discussions at enterprise level.

ER Insights, Analytics and Preventative Interventions

• Analyse ER data and trends to identify root causes, emerging risks and capability gaps.
• Design and sponsor preventative interventions to reduce future disputes and improve organisational climate.
• Monitor effectiveness of ER strategies and adjust approaches based on insight and evidence.

Capability Building and Knowledge Leadership

• Lead the development of ER capability through coaching, mentoring and advanced practitioner training.
• Build investigation, disciplinary and advisory capability within HC and leadership communities.
• Drive continuous improvement by embedding lessons learned into policy, practice and learning programmes.

Education / Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree, Advanced Diploma, Postgraduate Certificate or BTech (NQF Level 7) in Human Resources, Labour Relations, Industrial Psychology, Law, or a related discipline.

Work Experience

• 5-12 years’ experience in employee relations, labour relations, governance or HR risk, including 3 years of experience in a relevant people management role.