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Employee Relations Leader

Optasia
CompanyOptasia
CategoryHR & Recruiting
LocationJohannesburg
RemoteOn-site (inferred)
EmploymentNot stated
LevelLead
SalaryNot stated by the employer
Posted16 Jul 2026
Last verified4 Aug 2026
SourceEmployer ATS (workable)
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Description
At Optasia we use the latest technologies and tools to build impactful customer experiences, grow our network and provide comprehensive financial access for millions of customers in countries across continental Africa, Asia and beyond. We are seeking a dynamic Employee Relations Leader who brings deep experience handling complex employee relations matters in fast-growing, international organizations, together with a practical understanding of how to balance pace, fairness, consistency, and risk in a growing post-IPO business. The ideal person will combine strong international employee relations and employment law expertise with sound commercial judgement, excellent stakeholder management capability, and the ability to guide leaders through sensitive people issues with clarity and confidence Experience advising across multiple jurisdictions including in Africa and Asia, leading large-scale workforce optimization programs and enabling business and organizational change Coaching and upskilling leaders and managers on workforce change, adding to a culture of engaged and enabled people managers This is a Senior team role in a growing business where delivering with confidence, pace, and sound judgement is essential, and where a go-getter spirit and customer orientation are valued as highly as technical excellence. Candidate Profile A credible, commercially minded Employee Relations leader who can operate as a trusted adviser to senior leaders and stakeholders while maintaining excellent operational grip on high-risk and sensitive casework. Comfortable working in a fast-paced, matrixed, multicultural business where priorities shift quickly, local market requirements vary, and balanced judgement is required on high-impact people matters. Passionate about building fair, scalable and well-governed employee relations and people practices that protect the business, support growth, strengthen leadership capability, and create consistency across markets Key Responsibilities Act as the lead adviser on complex employee relations matters across relevant markets, including disciplinaries, grievances, investigations, performance concerns, misconduct issues, appeals, sensitive exits, and broader people risk matters. Partner with HR, Legal, Compliance, and business leaders to assess people risk, determine appropriate approaches, and deliver timely, fair, and well-documented outcomes. Support organizational change activity, including workforce change and optimization programs, operating model changes, consultation processes and communication planning and execution across relevant markets. Advise and coach managers and senior stakeholders on case handling, documentation quality, investigation standards, policy application, and risk-aware decision-making. Lead training and enablement initiatives that help leaders handle employee relations issues earlier, more confidently, and in line with company values and legal requirements. Conduct or guide complex investigations, ensuring processes are followed appropriately, and recommendations are clear, practical, and defensible. Partner with the Operations team to identify, design and deploy AI and automation to improve process efficiency. Use people data, case trends, and business insight to identify risk themes, diagnose organizational issues, and recommend practical actions that improve consistency, reduce risk, and strengthen leadership decision-making. Lead training and enablement initiatives that help leaders handle employee relations issues earlier, more confidently, and in line with company values and legal requirements. Develop and continuously improve ER and people-focused frameworks, policies, templates, toolkits, and other manager resources to support consistency and scalability across markets Deliver global people projects that improve employee relations capability, governance, manager effectiveness, policy consistency, and the overall employee experience. Ensur