Senior Manager (P7): Talent Management and HR Operations at Sol Plaatje University

Purpose 

• The Senior Manager: Talent Management and Operations is to support the Director with developing and driving an integrated talent management strategy for Sol Plaatje University (SPU) that attracts, develops, engages and retains high-caliber academic and professional staff in support of the University's strategic and transformation objectives. The role is responsible for talent acquisition, succession planning and employee engagement functions, Organisational Development, and operations, ensuring these are aligned to the University's values, employment equity targets and applicable higher education and labour legislation.

Minimum Requirements 

• A Honours degree (NQF8) in Human Resources, Management, or Industrial Psychology.
• A Master’s degree, (NQF09) in the relevant field would be an added advantage.
• Proficiency in MS Office, PowerPoint, Excell.
• Sound Knowledge of relevant Labour Legislation
• A minimum of 8-10 years of experience in Human Resources, Talent Management,
• At least 5 years in a supervisory or managerial role,
• Experience working in higher education, research or public institution.
• Demonstrated experience in talent acquisition and succession planning, preferably within the higher education or public sector environment.
• Sound working knowledge of the Higher Education Act, Employment Equity Act, Labour Relations Act, Basic Conditions of Employment Act, Skills Development Act and POPIA.
• Experience working with HR information systems, talent analytics tools and Microsoft Office / equivalent software.
• Experience engaging with academic and executive stakeholders, selection panels and organised labour will be advantageous.

Duties and responsibilities

Talent Acquisition & Resourcing Strategy

• Develop and implement an integrated talent acquisition strategy aligned to SPU's workforce plan, transformation goals and employment equity targets.
• Oversee end-to-end recruitment and selection processes for academic, research and professional/administrative positions, ensuring compliance with SPU policy, POPIA, LRA and BCEA requirements.
• Build and maintain talent pipelines and partnerships with universities, professional bodies and recruitment platforms to secure scarce and critical skills.
• Guide selection panels on job profiling, competency-based interviewing and fair, defensible selection decisions.

Talent Management & Succession Planning

• Design and embed a talent management framework covering identification, development and retention of high-potential and critical-skills employees.
• Facilitate talent review and calibration sessions with Deans, Executive Directors and Heads of Department to identify succession risks for key academic and management roles.
• Develop succession plans and individual development plans for identified successors, in consultation with line management.
• Maintain a talent management dashboard tracking bench strength, flight risk and readiness levels for critical positions.

Employee Engagement & Retention

• Design and drive employee engagement initiatives, surveys and action plans to strengthen organisational culture and staff morale.
• Analyse turnover trends, exit interview data and engagement survey results to inform retention strategies for critical and scarce skills.
• Partner with Employee Wellness and Employee Relations functions to address factors affecting engagement and retention.

Remuneration Management

• Manage the development and implementation of market-related remuneration structures for all categories of staff
• Manage the implementation of all appropriate structures for the management of market related remuneration,
• Manage recommendations on input for policy matters outside the policy parameters and/or provide input into policy changes
• Advise line managers on employee remuneration.
• Manage constant remuneration and administrative practices.

HR Operations

• Build and maintain constructive relationships with line managers, staff, internal and external HR partners
• Ensure line managers correctly interpret the application and implementation of HR policies/procedures/ processes/ systems pertaining to:
• Employment Equity
• Induction
• Learning and development
• Performance management Remuneration
• Change management
• Aid line managers in interpreting conditions of employment and resolving HR-related issues
• Manage governance structures/committees and provide input and advice on issues related to HR Operations and Development.

Payroll and Benefit Administration

• Oversee an efficient, customer-orientated, and proactive HR administration service
• Oversee an efficient, customer-orientated, and proactive payroll administration service
• Provide expert support to line management and HR functions
• Manage Service Level Agreements (SLA’s)
• Ensure timeous remuneration and benefits processes
• Oversee the delivery of an efficient and effective benefits service in partnership with relevant third parties:
• Pension
• Group Life Assurances
• Healthcare
• Source, recommend and review external service providers as appropriately needed

Workforce Planning & HR Analytics

• Contribute to institutional workforce planning, translating faculty and divisional plans into talent requirements.
• Develop and maintain talent management metrics and dashboards (e.g. time-to-hire, turnover, succession coverage, promotion rates) for Executive and Council reporting.
• Use data and analytics to inform evidence-based talent decisions and continuous improvement of talent processes.
• To manage the development and implementation of the corporate Organisational Development and Learning & Development Strategies, Plans, and Policies managing implementation against agreed SPU time frames, budget, and reporting against agreed performance measures.
• Manage the OD and Learning function, managing the implementation of plans and strategies by maximizing the resource of the whole team and contracting with external partners as required to deliver on agreed plans.
• In partnership with the Director HR, develop the corporate People & OD Strategy and Operational Plan. This involves medium-to-long-term strategic planning to ensure operational plans are aligned with the People & Organisational Development Strategy.

Stakeholder Management & Governance

• Build effective working relationships with Deans, Directors, Heads of Department, organised labour and external partners on talent-related matters.
• Ensure talent management policies, procedures and practices comply with the Higher Education Act, Employment Equity Act, Labour Relations Act, Basic Conditions of Employment Act, POPIA and King IV governance principles.
• Prepare reports and submissions for HR Committee, Council sub-committees and other governance structures as required.

Project Management

• Plan, execute, and monitor relevant HR specific projects.
• Coordinate cross‑functional teams to deliver projects on time and within budget.
• Evaluate campaign performance and document learnings for future improvement.

Quality assurance and Risk management

• Ensure the implementation of the quality assurance standards/measures to meet both internally set standards and the requirements of external bodies,
• Investigate and implement appropriate HR Governance structures for SPU,
• Adopt methodologies and compliance standards appropriate to a tertiary environment.
• Risk Management.

People Management

• Lead, coach and develop a team of talent management and recruitment professionals, setting clear performance objectives and development plans.
• Foster a high-performance, values-driven culture within the Talent Management team.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting

• Relevant operational reports as and when required
• Research and implement best practices
• Communicate and consult with relevant stakeholders.