Human Resources Director – South Africa

An established fast food company, with worldwide interests, is looking for a skilled Human Resources Director to head up their South African operations. The role requires a hands–on individual who is able to fit into the company’s dynamic culture and who is also able to think and act strategically.

Based in Johannesburg with extensive local travel required.

Market related cost to company including benefits

This is an EE (AA) position

Applications:
Shirley Haddock
Workinfo Recruitment
Email shirley@workinfo.com
Fax 086 684 6216
Closing date: 19 March 2008

More details on the position:

Human Resources Director - South Africa

The Human Resources Department:

The HR department currently consists of a National Team of specialized resources in Administration; Payroll; Recruitment and Learning and Development. The incumbent will report to the Group Managing Director on a strategic level. The department works very closely with other functional departments within the SA structure

The Position:

The position is wide-ranging.  It is “hands-on” and will initially entail the management of the department on a day-to-day level, including:

• Development and control of the HR budget and Strategy.
• Management, giving and direction and evaluation of the success of the all HR disciplines and activities

Time Allocation:

Daily activities will broadly be broken down as follows:

• Advising the group when HR direction is not clear – 10%
• General staff management – 30%
• Co-ordination and implementation of strategy and projects  – 40%
• Analysis of success indicators – 20%

The Person:

The HR Director (HRD) must be resilient and able to handle high levels of criticism.  He / she must have empathy, particularly in his / her dealings with restaurant managers and franchisees.  He / she should have experience in managing across all HR disciplines with a high degree of competency. The position will require a high degree of self-motivation, and critical self-analysis.  He / she should have ambitions to further his / her career beyond the South African borders and should be prepared to commit to employment at the company for a number of years.  He / she should be prepared to take risks (and be accountable for them), and be able to make considered decisions quickly and under pressure.  The position will entail working long hours and the person should be prepared and able to work in the evenings, early mornings and on weekends if possible.  Own transport is essential.

Key Personality Traits:

• Resilience
• Ability to handle stress well
• Personal accountability
• Empathy
• A team player
• Energy and passion
• Creative (but not at the expense of logic and accuracy)
• Attention to detail
• Tenacity and Drive

Skills

• Strong Communication skills (written and verbal)
• Diplomacy and tact
• Training and facilitation
• Interpersonal Skills
• Presentation Skills
• Analytical ability
• Assertiveness skills
• Information processing and seeking
• Humanitarian
• Ability to work under pressure

The Company Culture:

The company has a very strong, unique and demanding culture which people may find alienating should they not be congruent with it.  The organization is demanding of its people and their time.  Passion and pride are considered (and documented as) key values, as are integrity and courage.  Politics are largely absent as the culture encourages “tell it like it is” people.  There is little space or time for ego’s or preciousness.  Ambition is considered key and hard work is valued and respected. 

This role requires someone who is prepared to adapt to the organizational culture.  This person will be expected to be an ambassador of the culture and will interact largely with people at senior management level who themselves embody and lead the culture.  A cultural fit will be considered as important as an aptitude fit in the selection process.

Key Aptitudes:

The person must have proficiency in the following areas:

• HR Strategy and best practice, with a minimum of seven-plus years at a senior HR level. 
• Look after the well being of all the company’s people regardless of what level they operate on.
• The setting and management of budgets.
• The management of processes and projects and evaluation of the success thereof.

In addition,

• Experience in successfully managing a team of people is necessary.
• Experience in a food or retail environment would be advantageous.
• An HR Degree or related qualification is required
• A demonstrated proficiency in strategic thinking / planning.

Specific Functions:

• The primary purpose of this role is to ensure that effective policy, practices and culture change processes are in place to support the strategic direction of the business.
• This HR Business Partner is responsible for analyzing and diagnosing business issues, and ensuring visibility of related HR issues, risks and opportunities.
• The HRD functions as a strategic business partner and hands-on HR-manager for the HR department.
• The HRD performs responsibilities related to: design and implementation locally of global HR strategies; plan, organize, direct, control and monitor employee relations activities; give support and direction in compensation matters; recruitment; HR programs, learning and development and proactive development of employees and other activities as directed by the Company.
• The HRD ensures that all HR-legal and compliance related tasks are defined and observed.
• As a member of the Exco team the HRD defines and implements policies to support business success.

Travel:

The HRD will be based in Johannesburg.  The position will be required to do national travel on an ongoing basis. It will also include countrywide restaurant visits, which may require time away from home for up to a week at a time. Occasional International travel may be required.

Applications:
Shirley Haddock
Workinfo Recruitment
Email shirley@workinfo.com
Fax 086 684 6216
Closing date: 19 March 2008