Country HR Manager & HR Business Partner - South Africa

Country HR Role

• Fulfill fiduciary people responsibilities on behalf of the local legal entity, ensuring that all HR policies, practices, and processes comply with South African labor legislation, employment regulations, and applicable collective bargaining agreements.
• Ensure strong and effective labor and employee relations, building trusted relationships with unions, works councils, and key internal and external stakeholders.
• Partner with the global Labor Relations Manager and assume full responsibility for country labor relations, including dispute resolution, disciplinary governance, and union negotiations in compliance with local legal requirements.
• Represents Hitachi Energy in the cross-business topics in the union negotiations if needed.
• Represent Hitachi Energy externally, or delegate representation to local HR team as appropriate, including participation in employer associations, industry forums, and university partnerships.
• Build and actively manage strategic external partnerships relevant to HR, including regulatory bodies, talent networks, and diversity and transformation initiatives.
• Act as a local spokesperson & provide inputs for employer branding initiatives, career events, and talent attraction activities, in alignment with the Talent & Learning and Employer Branding teams.
• Ensure consistent communication and implementation of global and Hub HR initiatives, adapted to local legislative and cultural requirements.
• Drive the development and execution of country specific, employee friendly HR policies that reflect local needs while ensuring full compliance with South African legislation (including Employment Equity, BBBEE, and related frameworks).
• Oversee HR governance, risk, and compliance within the country, ensuring adherence to internal policies, audits, and statutory reporting requirements.

• Understand key business drivers, market dynamics, and the short- and long-term strategy of the country (country strategic plans) and business units; identify opportunities where HR can create value and enable business growth.
• Define and execute HR priorities aligned with the business strategy and the People 360 framework, covering culture, talent, leadership, and organizational effectiveness.
• Act as a strategic advisor to business leaders, providing guidance on organizational design, workforce planning, and change management. Own and maintain cost control actions aligned with country management team.
• Align and mobilize HR stakeholders (Centers of Excellence, HR Operations, and global teams) to deliver integrated and effective HR solutions.
• Assess mid- to long-term organizational capability needs and drive targeted interventions, including learning and development programs, succession development and workforce transformation.
• Promote employee engagement (completion %, engagement score) and wellbeing initiatives aligned with local workforce needs. Partner with the leaders to implement the Culture Survey follow up actions in the country.
• Partner with Talent Acquisition, Hub HR Business Partners and Talent Management teams to build strong internal pipelines and attract diverse external talent aligned with Employment Equity objectives.
• Lead talent management processes with business leaders, including performance management, succession planning, country talent review and leadership development for critical roles in alignment with hub HRBPs.
• Utilize HR analytics and insights to identify trends, risks, and opportunities; drive data-informed decision-making on workforce planning, productivity, and capacity.
• Support and implement the global operating model while optimizing local organizational structures in line with business needs.
• Drive Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and South Africa specific transformation objectives (including Employment Equity and BBBEE compliance).
• Foster a high-performance culture by supporting leaders in setting smart goals with clear KPIs, improving team effectiveness, and addressing performance issues proactively.
• Lead and support organizational transformations, including restructuring, integration, and workforce optimization initiatives.
• Implement the global reward and recognition programs aligned with business priorities and global compensation frameworks. Act as input provider on competitive compensation practices.
• Ensure competitive and compliant compensation and benefits practices locally, in collaboration with Compensation & Benefits teams; identify risks and implement corrective actions where required.
• Ensure high data quality in HR tools for accurate decision making.
• Lead the HR audits for South Africa whenever requested by internal or external auditors, and ensure HR documentation and processes are audit-ready, and own the HR follow up actions.