Head: Organisational Effectiveness (Sanlam Corporate)

The overall purpose of this role

The Head: Organisational Effectiveness is a senior strategic leadership role, responsible for shaping, leading and embedding the OE, Talent, Change Management, Culture and Employee Experience (EX) agendas across Sanlam Corporate.

This role anchors organisation-wide effectiveness through operating model optimisation, organisation design, strategic workforce planning, culture evolution, leadership, talent pipeline development, and enterprise change capability. The role integrates these disciplines into a cohesive people strategy that enables business performance, growth, transformation, and long-term sustainability.

The incumbent partners closely with Business leadership, HC leadership, Business Partners and COEs at the Sanlam Corporate and Group level. The Head Organisational Effectiveness is a member of the SC HC Leadership team, reporting to the Managing Executive: Human Capital.

Key responsibilities

Organisational Effectiveness & Organisation Design

• Lead the design, implementation and continuous evolution of the OE strategy, frameworks and methodologies for Sanlam Corporate.
• Provide expert guidance on organisation design, structural optimisation, role architecture, spans and layers, and functional alignment to business strategy.
• Conduct organisational diagnostics to improve organisational health, effectiveness and operational efficiency.
• Facilitate leadership alignment and team effectiveness interventions to enhance performance, collaboration and decision-making.
• Represent Sanlam Corporate in Group OE initiatives, ensuring alignment to enterprise standards.

Strategic Workforce Planning

• Design and embed a Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) capability for the cluster.
• Develop future workforce scenarios, demand and supply models, critical capability forecasts and skills plans.
• Partner with Lead: HCBPs and business leaders to integrate SWP insights into budgeting, talent planning, sourcing and resourcing decisions.
• Develop and maintain SWP tools, governance, documentation and dashboards to support consistent adoption.

Talent Management

• Design, lead and embed the Integrated Talent Management Framework aligned to business priorities and HC strategy.
• Lead the annual talent cycle, including succession planning, talent reviews, mobility strategies, critical role mapping, career pathways and leadership development integration.
• Strengthen internal mobility and critical talent retention through targeted, high-impact interventions.
• Oversee the use of HPCSA-accredited psychometric assessments for senior-level selection, succession and development.
• Integrate talent practices across key lifecycle moments and partner with CoEs and HCBPs on system embedding.
• Advise leadership on talent risks, retention strategies and long-term pipeline development.

Change Management Leadership

• Lead and embed a consistent Change Management capability, including methodology, tools and governance.
• Provide strategic oversight of large-scale change programmes and initiatives.
• Coach leaders on change sponsorship, readiness, communication and adoption strategies.
• Measure change effectiveness through benefits realisation, adoption metrics and stakeholder feedback.

Culture, Employee Experience & Engagement

• Monitor culture and engagement insights and design targeted culture-shaping interventions.
• Lead the refinement and execution of the Employee Value Proposition (EVP) and Employee Experience strategy.
• Drive team effectiveness, culture-building practices and employee forums that enhance collaboration, innovation and psychological safety.

Governance and Insights

• Maintain OE, Talent, Change and EX frameworks, methodologies and knowledge assets.
• Lead portfolio planning, prioritisation, budgeting and benefits tracking for the OE/TM domain.
• Ensure compliance with Group HC governance, policies and regulatory standards.
• Deliver strategic OE and Talent insights to Manco and leadership forums, highlighting risks, trends and recommendations.

Qualifications and Experience

• Post-graduate degree in Industrial Psychology or Human Resources.
• Registered Industrial Psychologist with the HPCSA (essential)
• Change Management and/or Project Management certification advantageous.
• 10+ years Human Capital experience, including 8–10 years leading OE strategy, frameworks and tools.
• Minimum 3+ years at HC Manco or Executive Leadership level.
• HPCSA-accredited assessment training with extensive experience in senior-level assessment (essential).
• Financial Services industry preferred.

Knowledge and Skills

• Organisational design, change and transformation expertise.
• Extensive knowledge of Talent Management, performance and leadership development practices.
• Strong analytical capability, including survey insights, people analytics and reporting.
• Advanced capability of HR systems and HC processes, information management and project tools.
• High organisational savvy, collaboration, conflict management and stakeholder engagement capability.

Core Competencies

• Cultivates Innovation - Creating new and better ways for the organisation to be successful.
• Client Focus - Building strong customer relationships and delivering customer-centric solutions.
• Drives Results - Consistently achieving results and meets deadlines, even under tough circumstances.
• Collaborates - Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives.
• Resilience - Rebounding from setbacks and adversity when facing difficult situations.

Turnaround time

The shortlisting process will only start once the application due date has been reached. The time taken to complete this process will depend on how far you progress and the availability of managers. 

The closing date for this advert is 23rd March 2026.

Our commitment to transformation