People Advisor

The People Advisor at Steyn Group will provide HR services to Shambala Private Game Reserve, focusing on employee lifecycle management, performance management, and compliance with South African labor laws. The role requires both administrative and operational leadership, including engagement with labor representatives. The position involves four days on-site and one day remote work per week, with potential adjustments based on business needs.
Shambala Private Game Reserve is a luxury safari destination located in South Africa's Waterberg Mountains, about 2.5 hours from Johannesburg.

The People Advisor is responsible for delivering a proactive, compliant, and employee-focused HR service to Shambala Private Game Reserve. This role provides both administrative and operational leadership across the full employee lifecycle, with a strong emphasis on performance management, leadership capability building, workforce development, employee relations, and union engagement, with assistance from the labour consultants. The successful candidate will act as a trusted advisor to managers, building a high-performance culture, strengthening leadership capability, and ensuring compliance with South African labour legislation. The role also requires engagement with labour representatives and regulatory bodies. This is the right position for an experienced HR professional looking to gain experience building an HR function. The role will also perform personal assistant duties such as diary management, administration and operational assistance.

The role will be expected to perform 4 days on site at Shambala Private Game Reserve and one day working from home per week. The rest of each week the candidate will be able to work from home, with changes to this working pattern depending on business need for HR presence. A thorough understanding of the farm environment is advantageous.

HRIS Management & Administration
• Oversee HR administrative processes ensuring compliance, efficiency, and high service standards
• Maintain accurate HRIS records and ensure data integrity and confidentiality.
• Assisting in the collation of monthly payroll with Global Payroll Manager
• Administration of all employment paperwork (Contracts, Offer Letters, Changes, Leaver Letters)
• Ownership of onboarding and offboarding processes.
• Support internal communications relating to people initiatives, policies, and organisational updates.
• Oversee benefits administration including medical aid, retirement funds, group risk, and employee wellbeing initiatives.
• Support remuneration and salary review processes including benchmarking and performance-linked reward frameworks.

Compliance & HR Governance
• Ensure compliance with all relevant South African employment legislation and regulatory frameworks.
• Develop, implement, and maintain HR policies and procedures aligned with legislative requirements and best practice.
• Provide guidance on disciplinary, grievance, and incapacity processes ensuring procedural and substantive fairness.
• Develop and maintain constructive relationships with recognised trade unions and employee representatives.
• Represent the organisation in conciliation, mediation, or dispute processes where required.

Performance Management & Leadership Development
• Partner with leaders to embed a high-performance culture aligned to business objectives and company values.
• Coach and support managers in setting clear performance objectives, providing continuous feedback, and managing underperformance effectively.
• Oversee performance review cycles, ensuring fairness, consistency, and alignment with business and individual development goals.
• Provide guidance and oversight on performance improvement plans, incapacity processes, and corrective action in line with labour legislation and best practice.
• Identify capability gaps across teams and develop structured learning pathways to strengthen workforce skills and leadership pipelines.
• Lead employee engagement initiatives that support retention, wellbeing, and organisational culture.
• Support change management initiatives including restructures, business transformation, and team realignment.

Recruitment & Talent Management
• Oversee recruitment processes ensuring equitable, compliant, and inclusive hiring practices.
• Partner with hiring managers to define role requirements, produce job descriptions, and support interview and selection processes.
• Oversee onboarding programmes to ensure strong integration, compliance, and early employee engagement.

Training And Skills Development
• Coordinate employee training programmes and support the identification of development needs.
• Maintain accurate training records and assist with reporting in line with the Skills Development Act.
• Support implementation of learning and development initiatives, including career and talent development