Wellness & Recognition Specialist

What will you do?

Role Purpose

The Wellness and Recognition Specialist will be responsible for the end to end management, coordination, and strategic delivery of the organisation’s wellness and recognition agenda. This role exists to ensure a proactive, data led, and integrated approach to employee wellbeing and employee recognition, with the objective of improving productivity, resilience, engagement, and sustainable performance across the business.

This role will report into the Rewards Manager within the Human Capital team.

Location: Cape Town or Johannesburg

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Wellness Management
•    Provide centralised, end to end management of all wellness initiatives across the organisation. 
•    Shift the wellness approach from reactive to preventative, using data and trends to identify emerging employee wellbeing risks early to inform targeted interventions at group, division, and departmental levels. 
•    Ensure alignment between wellness initiatives, people strategy, and broader business outcomes. 
•    Act as the single point of accountability for the wellbeing agenda, ensuring sustainability and long term impact. 
•    Track the effectiveness and uptake of wellness interventions.
•    Support leadership with evidence based insights on wellbeing risks and priorities.
•    Manage and govern relationships with all wellness service providers, ensuring delivery against agreed SLAs and service standards to maintain trust and credibility in the programmes offered. 
•    Coordinate wellness offerings across providers (e.g. physical health, mental health, financial wellbeing, occupational health) to avoid duplication and fragmentation. 
Recognition Programme Management
•    Manage and coordinate the organisation’s recognition programme, ensuring alignment to the employee value proposition, people strategy, and business priorities.
•    Facilitate and support Business Units in establishing and implementing their own recognition initiatives, including providing guidance, governance, frameworks, and best practice to ensure consistency and impact across the organisation.
•    Plan and coordinate all aspects related to the Santam CEO Awards, including timelines, stakeholder engagement, nomination and adjudication processes, communications, event logistics, and overall programme delivery.
•    Monitor participation, effectiveness, and feedback on recognition initiatives, using insights to continuously improve programme design and employee experience.
Communication, Awareness & Engagement
•    Improve visibility, clarity, and packaging of wellness offerings to increase employee and line manager awareness and utilisation. 
•    Equip leaders and managers with guidance to support employee wellbeing effectively.

What will make you successful in this role?

Experience & Qualifications

•    Relevant qualification in Human Resources, Psychology, Health Sciences, Social Sciences, or a related field. 
•    5+ years’ experience in wellness, employee wellbeing, HC, or a related people focused role.
•    Demonstrated experience managing wellness and recognition programmes, service providers, and stakeholder relationships.
•    Experience working with sensitive and confidential employee information.
•    Exposure to data analysis, reporting, or analytics within a wellbeing or HC context is advantageous.

Key Competencies & Skills
•    Strong analytical and problem solving capability
•    Ability to translate data into actionable wellbeing insights
•    Excellent stakeholder engagement and service provider management skills
•    Strong communication and influencing ability
•    High levels of empathy, professionalism, and discretion
•    Organised, proactive, and able to manage competing priorities and complex programme logistics

Build a successful career with us

We’re all about building strong, lasting relationships with our employees. We know that you have hopes for your future – your career, your personal development and of achieving great things. We pride ourselves in helping  our employees to realise their worth. Through its five business clusters – Sanlam Fintech, Sanlam Life and Savings, Sanlam Investment Group, Sanlam Allianz, Santam, as well as MiWay and the Group Office – the group provides many opportunities for growth and development.

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!