South Africa: Senior HR & Administration Manager

About the Role

We are seeking an exceptional Senior HR & Administration Manager to join our professional financial advisory business. As a critical operational and strategic role, you will be the primary interface between the business, its employees, and key external service providers. Your level of trust is paramount, and we require an individual with high calibre skills and experience to step into this position.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the sole custodian of the Group Risk benefit programme.
• Maintain the monthly Data Schedule Register and submit accurate employee updates (additions, removals, salary changes) to Discovery by the 15th of each month.
• Verify monthly billing statements, resolve discrepancies (such as mismatched salaries or incorrect premiums), and load approved recoupments and figures into the expense sheet for payroll.
• Assist employees with claims documentation (ICB, SIB, Life, Disability, Funeral), secure required Director authorizations, track progress, and securely manage all beneficiary nomination forms.
• Serve as the primary contact for benefit queries, facilitate continuation options for resigning staff, and proactively advise employees approaching age 65.
• Reconcile internal registers with Investec and Ninety-One statements monthly to ensure zero open variances. Open new accounts ensuring full FICA and compliance requirements are met.
• Manage the full recruitment life cycle from job briefs to onboarding and filing contracts.
• Coordinate review cycles (KPI setting, mid-year, and annual appraisals) and partner with line managers to address concerns.
• Manage day-to-day employee relations, grievances, conflict resolution, and update HR policies in line with South African labour legislation.

Requirements

• Attention to Detail & Accuracy: Proven capability to catch errors in registers, billing statements, and financial schedules before they cause a compliance breach or financial loss.
• Financial Numeracy: Highly comfortable working with financial statements, fund balances, interest calculations, payroll deductions, and spotting variances immediately.
• Confidentiality & Integrity: Demonstrated ability to manage highly sensitive salary data, advisor balances, beneficiary information, and disciplinary records with absolute discretion.
• Regulatory & Compliance Mindset: Sound understanding of South African labour law, FAIS, FICA, POPIA, FSCA, and general employee benefit compliance.
• Organisational Excellence: Exceptionally organised, capable of managing multiple live registers, strict billing deadlines, and complex portfolios simultaneously.
• Emotional Intelligence & Resilience: Composed, empathetic, and professional when handling sensitive employee situations (vulnerable claims, hearings, terminations) and resilient under deadline pressure.
• Communication: Proactive communicator who solves queries independently and provides updates to stakeholders ahead of deadlines.

Qualifications

None specified

Salary & Benefits

Market-related salary.