Organisational Design Lead FTC

What will you do?

Santam’s Human Capital function has a 12 months fixed-term contract opportunity for an Organisational Design Lead, based in Cape Town or Johannesburg, reporting to the Head of HC Strategic Projects, Organisational Design and Analytics.

This role will play a critical role in enabling business performance through the design, optimisation, and embedding of effective organisational systems, structures, and ways of working. Santam’s OD approach is facilitative: we equip leaders and HR partners with structure, tools, and insight, while business leaders own decisions and implementation. This role leads through influence and delivery, not through line management.

ROLE PURPOSE
The Organisational Design Lead will act as a senior internal consultant within the Organisational Effectiveness capability, providing specialist expertise across organisational design, operating models, change enablement, and leadership alignment.

This is a hands-on, delivery-focused role and will lead and execute strategic, enterprise-wide and business-unit-level initiatives that improve organisational health, effectiveness, and performance outcomes across Santam.

Key Responsibilities

Organisational Effectiveness & Operating Model Design
•    Act as a subject matter expert in organisational design, operating models, and organisation effectiveness.
•    Lead end-to-end OD engagements using a structured OD process from diagnosis through to implementation planning and monitoring.
•    Lead the diagnosis and analysis of organisational structures, roles, reporting lines, accountabilities, and workflows.
•    Design and implement fit-for-purpose organisation structures and operating models aligned to business strategy.
•    Develop and evaluate future-state design options using structured analysis of costs, benefits, and risks; make recommendations with clear trade-offs.
•    Identify and design for interfaces and interdependencies across teams and functions to ensure the structure works end-to-end, not only within a BU.
•    Translate business needs into clear operating model and governance requirements, integrating diverse information sources to develop robust solutions. (including build/buy considerations where enabling solutions are required)
•    Develop and embed organisation design and organisational effectiveness frameworks, principles, and standards across the business.

Change & Performance Enablement
•    Provide change management leadership to support operating model and organisational changes.
•    Manage OD workstreams within transformational change programmes, ensuring integration with related initiatives.
•    Using structured change methods to build acceptance.
•    Partner with HR Business Partners, Change Managers to develop practical implementation and adoption artefacts (narrative, leadership packs, FAQs, comms approach, transition plan), aligned to the change enablement expectations.
•    Evaluate the impact and effectiveness of organisational interventions and adjust approaches to optimise outcomes. Support leadership teams in navigating complexity, ambiguity, and change.

Consulting, Capability & Stakeholder Engagement
•    Operate as a trusted internal consultant to senior leaders and line management to make clear design decisions.
•    Build internal organisational effectiveness and organisation design capability within HR and the broader business.
•    Plan and facilitate workshops, leadership engagements, and diagnostic sessions across multiple levels of the organisation to surface root causes, decision constraints, and competing priorities.
•    Identify systemic organisational issues related to culture, leadership, values, and ways of working, and design interventions accordingly.
•    Build Org Design capability with HR Business Partners and the business by coaching on methods, tools, and practical application.

Project & Portfolio Delivery
•    Lead and manage strategic HC and organisational design projects, from conceptualisation through to delivery.
•    Deliver initiatives that span enterprise-wide transformation as well as targeted BU-level interventions.
•    Build team structure, roles and responsibilities, and ways of working needed to execute OD programmes successfully.
•    Strengthen “continuous improvement” by explicitly calling out process optimisation as part of OD interventions.
•    Ensure projects are delivered within agreed scope, timelines, and quality standards and are packaged for executive decision-making.

What will make you successful in this role?

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

•    Completed University Degree in Behavioural Science or a related field (e.g. Psychology, Industrial/Organisational Psychology).
•    Postgraduate qualification in a related field (advantageous and typical for the level).
•    Minimum 5 years’ experience in organisational effectiveness, organisational design, change management, management consulting or performance consulting roles within medium to large organisations with evidence of delivering end-to-end OD/TOM engagements and advising leaders through complex decisions.
•    Proven experience operating as an internal or external consultant including executive-level stakeholder engagement.
•    Demonstrated experience in leading organisational change and complex, multi-stakeholder projects from diagnosis to implementation planning.
•    Experience building OD recommendations supported by cost/benefit and impact analysis.
•    Experience influencing and engaging senior leaders; some people or project leadership exposure preferred.
•    Exposure to Org Analytics and Structural Assessment and Design tools such as OrgVue will be advantageous.

Our commitment to transformation

Santam is committed to diversity, inclusion, and belonging. As an equal opportunity employer, we encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds, including persons with disabilities. We are dedicated to neuro-inclusivity and fostering a workplace where everyone can thrive. 

Take the next step in your career—apply now and be part of a company that’s shaping the future of insurance. This is Freedom!