Head of Human Capital

About SPARK Schools

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SPARK Schools is a social impact disruptor and is leading change in the education space through its network of affordable private schools. The SPARK Schools network provides transformational education innovation through Africa’s first blended learning model, which elevates student achievement and provides the tools teachers need to serve their students effectively.

The blended learning model, which combines classroom teaching and online instruction, allows teachers to anticipate student needs and equips schools to provide personalised education at an affordable cost. SPARK Schools is pioneering this transformative education model to ensure the accessibility of university and careers for all.

SPARK Schools is a high growth, mission and values-driven entrepreneurial organisation, operating 20 primary schools, and 4 high schools and serving over 15,000 families in 2023. We are looking for dynamic people to join our team to complement our organisational mission going forward.

Reports To: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Purpose of Role:

The South Africa Head of Human Capital at SPARK Schools is responsible for leading the human capital and talent acquisition strategies of SPARK Schools in South Africa. This role will ensure that SPARK attracts, develops, and retains the best talent. Further providing support in the development and implementation of strategic goals with regards to culture, diversity & transformation, organisational design, the full recruitment cycle, employee wellness, and the leadership development of employees across all SPARK Schools in South Africa. Lastly, the role requires an individual who is resourceful, and agile and understands how to complement business objectives with human capital objectives. 

Requirements

Portfolio of Business Units:

The role requires experience in managing the following business units and associated team members:

Talent Acquisition Talent Management and Development Employee Compensation and Benefits Employee Relations, Experience, and Engagement Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Responsibilities:

Talent Acquisition 

Ensure that there are effective recruitment strategies to attract and retain top talent.  Promote SPARK Schools as an employer of choice by showcasing the SPARK culture, achievements, and EVP.  Oversee and quality assure the full recruitment process, from job posting to employee onboarding. Ensure that new joiners are given a comprehensive introduction and onboarding experience to integrate them efficiently into SPARK.  Use data insights to refine and improve the talent acquisition process by monitoring key recruitment metrics. This also includes a seamless requisition process and a reliable talent pipeline mechanism. 

Talent Management and Development

Ensure that there are clear career paths for different leadership roles, detailing the skills and experiences required. Ensure that there is a consistent process of Identifying high-potential employees and creating succession plans to meet SPARK’s strategic and operational priorities. Ensure that there is a learning and development strategy that is linked to, for example, performance management outcomes, milestones and gaps, succession planning etc. Ensure that there is a reliable and efficient performance review process guided by best practices and tailored to SPARK Schools.

Employee Relations 

Provide direction to the employee relations teams, ensuring alignment with SPARK’s operational and strategic goals.  Assist in the development and review of policies related to employee and industrial relations, ensuring they are effectively communicated and consistently applied.  Act as the primary mediator for complex grievances, aiming for amicable solutions while staying up to date on South African labour laws and ensuring all practices are ethical and compliant. 

Culture, DE& I

Actively drive the process of aligning SPARK’s values with the behaviours that develop and maintain a culture aligned with SPARK’s mission and vision. Communicate and coordinate requirements to ensure the achievement of key cultural milestones. Initiate and accomplish special projects following the identification, clarification, and prioritisation of cultural issues.  Design and implement a comprehensive diversity and transformation strategy with KPIs that align with SPARK’s transformation, growth, and strategic objectives and are benchmarked against industry best practices.  Forecast and align resources, both operational and financial, to support SPARK’s DEI strategy while proactively addressing potential variances.  Facilitate open dialogues on transformation issues to further SPARK's objectives by leading SPARK’s DEI initiatives assertively in daily operations, fostering a culture of service, collaboration, and efficacy. Assume responsibility for all outcomes related to DEI, focusing on minimising labour, commercial, and reputational risks. 

Employee Wellness

Develop a network-wide employee wellness strategy by identifying and researching industry and leading practices to establish organisational objectives and targets in line with SPARK’s growth and strategic objective of thriving employees. Further raising the profile of mental wellness within SPARK to destigmatise mental health through employee education and understanding.

Management of People-Data 

Collaborate with stakeholders to create clear, unbiased questionnaires that meet the intended objectives and ensure that all feedback-generating mechanisms reach all employees, respecting privacy and ethical standards.  Collaborate with leaders to develop action plans based on key findings, enhanced by SMART goals that will provide continuous evaluation and allow the refinement of the data-gathering process, ensuring relevance and effectiveness while maintaining the integrity of human capital data with ethical and legislative standards.  Manage and provide input into the development of annual human capital metrics that support SPARK’s objectives of maintaining culture, the ability to attract talent, sustainable performance, employee wellness, and SPARK's financial and operational priorities. 

Organisational Design and Development 

Maintain the SPARK South Africa organisational structure by identifying efficiencies or misalignments with SPARK’s strategic objectives and financial model while collaborating with leadership to understand SPARK’s evolving requirements and propose enhancements to improve efficiency and execution.  Lead initiatives to forecast, plan, and manage workforce needs, ensuring the organisation is well-positioned in South Africa to meet its current and future talent requirements. 

Employee Compensation and Benefits 

Oversee the precise monthly processing of payroll and employee expenses, working closely with the finance team to reconcile and document payroll expenses for compliance and financial audit reporting.  Develop payroll strategies that align SPARK’s objectives with all payroll and tax regulations in South Africa.  Design and maintain competitive salary structures, ensuring fairness and alignment with all relevant legislation.  Conduct South African market research to inform compensation and benefit decisions, ensuring legislative compliance and market competitiveness.  Lead the development and management of the annual human capital budget, aligning with strategic and operational requirements. 

Governance and Reporting 

Prepare and present comprehensive written reports to SPARK’s key internal and external stakeholders on relevant human capital updates to include talent acquisition strategies, cost of employment, employee engagement levels, key employee risks, and other relevant initiatives as required. 

Qualifications and Criteria:

The ideal candidate will possess the following qualifications:

Qualification Background: Human Resources or Industrial/Organisational Psychology  Additional: A Masters level degree in a relevant field is advantageous  Experience: A minimum of 10 years of human capital generalist experience  Domain of experience: Experience operating at scale or in a rapid-growth business in a Service, Education or Similar sector  People management: 5 to 7 years of people/team management experience 

Technical Competencies:

Demonstrate an ability and have a track record of developing sound and innovative recruitment strategies.  Have sound knowledge of organisational design principles.  Demonstrate an understanding of an Employee Experience Journey from recruitment, onboarding, and sustained development.  Ability to use and interpret people’s analytics data to make sound recommendations.  Have a track record of using sound methodologies for identifying high-performing and high-potential talent both outside and within the organisation.  Support the seamless integration and implementation of effective HR processes, programmes and practices into daily operations.  Demonstrate an ability to perform change management at an organisational level and team level. • Have a track record of having applied principles that influence behaviour, culture and performance in line with organisational objectives. Sound knowledge of ER and Labour law and the ability and skill to resolve complex matters through arbitration, mediation and disciplinary action. History and experience of managing an HR/HC team with varied specialities and skills. The ability to design and quality assure HC processes that lead to optimal functioning of all staff. In-depth experience with implementing wellness offerings. Demonstrate an ability to design questionnaires and feedback mechanisms fit to generate rich and quality people data when necessary. Experience in crafting long-term and sustainable Human Capital strategies that complement business objectives and areas of development at a human resource level.

Behavioural Competencies:

High level of emotional intelligence. Agility and adaptability. Grit: Persistence & Resilience through Challenges. Excellence: A track record of high expectations personally and professionally Mission and Vision Alignment: Understanding of and passion for the SPARK Schools mission to provide excellent education at an affordable cost Self-Reflection: Finding the capacity to bring your best self to challenges and opportunities. Sound Judgement: An ability to make effective and objective business decisions and handle sensitive and confidential information appropriately. A tech adopter who embraces new technology and change, ensuring innovative people practises and techniques that will be effective and efficient at scale.

Benefits

SPARK offers:

fair market linked remunerationperformance-based annual bonuses and increasesabove average/good annual leavelife, disability and funeral coveremployee wellness supporteducational support & study leaveindividualised professional development, support and mentorshipemployee discount on school feesopportunities for career growth

Compensation: Commensurate with experience.

Position Type: Permanent

Location: Rosebank, Johannesburg

SPARK schools is an equal opportunities employer and preference will be given to candidates from designated groups with due consideration of the company’s Employment Equity goals and targets.

SPARK schools encourages persons with disabilities to apply.

SPARK Schools may expire the posting of this advertisement at their own discretion.

Kindly note that should you have not heard from us within two weeks of the closing date please consider your application unsuccessful.

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