Human Capital Business Partner

What will you do?

Location: Johannesburg 

Role Purpose
The Human Capital Business Partner provides strategic and operational HC support to designated business units within Santam. The role partners with leaders to enhance organisational effectiveness, build leadership capability, drive people-related initiatives, and ensure alignment to Santam’s culture, values, and strategic objectives. The HCBP acts as a trusted advisor, enabling a high performance, inclusive, and future-fit workforce.

. Key Responsibilities
 Strategic Partnership
•    Partner with business leaders to understand strategic priorities and translate these into people plans.
•    Provide insights and data-driven recommendations that shape workforce planning, organisational design, and talent strategies.
•    Influence and challenge leaders to adopt best-practice people solutions and support organisational change programs.
 Talent Management & Workforce Planning
•    Lead annual talent reviews, succession planning, and critical skills management.
•    Support leaders in building robust talent pipelines and identifying development needs.
•    Guide the business on workforce planning, staffing requirements, and future capability needs.
Employee Relations & Engagement
•    Provide expert advice on employee relations matters, ensuring compliance with labour legislation and Santam policies.
•    Partner with ER and Labour Net specialists on complex cases.
•    Drive employee engagement by supporting action plans, change initiatives, and culture-strengthening activities.
 Performance & Development
•    Support leaders in managing the performance management cycle and embedding a high performance culture.
•    Provide guidance on poor-performance management, development planning, and coaching conversations.
•    Facilitate leadership development, team development and skills interventions where required.
Organisational Effectiveness & Change
•    Support organisational design initiatives and advise on structural changes.
•    Partner with leaders on change management strategies, ensuring smooth adoption and minimising disruption.
•    Facilitate team effectiveness sessions, culture activation engagements and leadership alignment workshops.
 Reward & Remuneration Support
•    Guide leaders on remuneration processes (job evaluations, salary benchmarking, merit increases, STI and LTI cycles).
•    Ensure compensation decisions are fair, consistent, and aligned to Santam’s reward philosophy.
 HC Governance, Reporting & Compliance
•    Ensure accurate and timely reporting for HC dashboards, metrics, and compliance requirements.
•    Maintain adherence to all HC frameworks, policies, processes, and legal requirements.
•    Support internal and external audit processes where required.

 Key Relationships
Internal:
•    Business Unit Leaders, employees
•    Human Capital Centres of Excellence (Talent Acquisition, Learning and People Development, OD, ER, Reward, HCSS)
•    Human Capital Operations Team
•    Finance, Risk, Compliance and other enabling functions
External:
•    Regulatory bodies (e.g., CCMA where applicable)
•    External service providers, consultants, and training partners

What will make you successful in this role?

 Qualifications & Experience

Minimum Requirements
•    Bachelor’s Degree in HR Management / Industrial Psychology / Organisational Development or related field.
•    5–8 years HC generalist or HC business partnering experience, preferably in the financial services or insurance sector.
•    Strong understanding of South African labour legislation (LRA, BCEA, EE Act, Skills Development Act).
•    Experience in organisational change, talent management, and performance management processes.

Ability to travel as required

Preferred
•    Honours degree or Postgraduate qualification in Industrial Psychology or HR.
•    Experience supporting complex, large-scale business units.
•    Coaching certification or exposure to leadership facilitation.

Knowledge, Skills & Competencies
Technical Skills
•    Human Capital strategy and planning
•    Workforce planning & organisational design
•    Talent and succession management
•    Performance and reward processes
•    HRIS knowledge (e.g. SAP)
•    Strong ER and labour legislation knowledge

Behavioural Competencies
•    Business acumen and commercial mindset
•    Strategic and analytical thinking
•    Strong stakeholder management and influence
•    Coaching and facilitation skills
•    Problem-solving and decision-making
•    High emotional intelligence
•    Resilience and adaptability
•    Strong communication and relationship-building

. Leadership Competencies
•    Strategic partnering
•    Leading through influence
•    Driving change and innovation
•    Building high-performing teams
•    Living Santam’s values (Care, Collaboration, Innovation, Integrity)

Key Performance Measures
•    Quality of HC advice and strategic input
•    Progress against people plans and talent metrics
•    ER case resolution and compliance
•    Engagement and culture improvement results
•    Leadership satisfaction and feedback
•    Delivery of HC initiatives on time and within scope

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!