HR Business Partner / Talent Manager - Assurance SA

HR Business Partner / Talent Manager — Assurance SA The Opportunity The HR Business Partner / Talent Manager acts as a trusted advisor to Assurance SA leadership, people managers, and employees. The role translates business priorities into practical people initiatives and supports the delivery of high-touch HR processes across the employee lifecycle. The incumbent will require a strong understanding of the Assurance business model, the professional services environment, workforce planning requirements, people risks, and talent priorities. The role provides proactive, data-led, and commercially grounded HR support that enhances employee experience, leadership effectiveness, retention, and overall business performance. Key Responsibilities Partner with Assurance Sector/Sub-Service Line leadership to understand business priorities, workforce demand, capability needs, people risks, and talent implications. Translate business needs into talent plans, people initiatives, and practical actions aligned with the service line strategy. Support workforce planning, including headcount planning, capacity management, utilisation, skills forecasting, succession planning, and critical role coverage. Manage employee relations matters in partnership with the internal Employee Relations function, while guiding managers on performance concerns, conduct issues, grievance handling, and appropriate escalation processes. Coach leaders on people management, employee engagement, performance conversations, retention risks, and team effectiveness. Coordinate with Talent Acquisition to support hiring plans, candidate pipelines, selection processes, and onboarding readiness. Work closely with Learning and Development to identify capability gaps and support learning interventions, development plans, and leadership development initiatives. Support performance management cycles, including goal setting, feedback, moderation, performance improvement planning, and the maintenance of quality documentation. Partner with Total Rewards and Talent Leadership on compensation planning, benefits, and reward-related guidance. Support employee engagement and wellbeing initiatives by leveraging employee feedback, people data, and business insights to inform targeted actions. Collaborate with the SAICA Training Office to support trainee development, progression, and professional qualification requirements. Leverage people analytics to identify workforce trends, risks, and opportunities. Translate insights from attrition, engagement, performance, absenteeism, utilisation, headcount, and workforce planning data into actionable recommendations for leadership. Promote the responsible use of AI-enabled tools and digital HR solutions to improve efficiency, enhance people insights, support decision-making, and simplify employee and manager experiences, while ensuring appropriate governance, confidentiality, and ethical use. Skills and Attributes for Success Strong business acumen and the ability to understand the professional services operating model. Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment. Strong relationship-building and stakeholder management skills. Sound knowledge of employment legislation, HR policies, and employee relations principles. Excellent communication, facilitation, influencing, and coaching skills. Ability to work with HR data, interpret trends, and translate insights into practical recommendations. Comfortable using AI-enabled and automation tools to improve HR service delivery, analyse workforce trends, and create practical, data-led recommendations, while exercising sound judgement regarding data privacy, confidentiality, and responsible use. Strong judgement, discretion, and the ability to manage sensitive people matters professionally. Ability to operate independently while collaborating effectively with specialist HR teams. Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. Minimum Requirements Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Industrial Psychology, Business Administration, or a related field, or equivalent relevant work experience. Minimum of five years' relevant experience as an HR Business Partner, Talent Manager, or in a comparable people advisory role. Experience supporting leaders and employees across multiple stages of the employee lifecycle. Strong knowledge of South African employment legislation and HR governance requirements. Additional Advantageous Requirements Financial Services / Banking Exposure Experience supporting teams within Financial Services, Banking, Assurance, Audit, Risk, or another regulated environment, with an understanding of sector demands, regulatory requirements, and peak workload cycles. Assurance / Audit Talent Model Understanding Exposure to professional services or client-facing environments where utilisation, chargeability, engagement staffing, independence requirements, and deadline-driven delivery are critical success factors. Graduate / Trainee Pipeline Experience Experience supporting trainees, associates, or early-career talent through professional qualifications, rotations, performance management cycles, progression, and retention initiatives. AI and Digital HR Enablement Experience leveraging AI-enabled tools, HR technologies, dashboards, and automation solutions to improve workforce insights, streamline HR processes, and enhance business partnering outcomes.