People & Learning Generalist

Role Overview

This role is the operational anchor for Learning & Development and a hands-on HR generalist within a small People team. The incumbent owns the day-to-day learning agenda while providing reliable support across the employee lifecycle, including workforce planning support, recruitment, onboarding, employee relations, performance enablement, engagement, HR administration, reporting and people projects. The role must balance specialist depth in learning with practical breadth across HR, sound judgement, confidentiality and a strong service mindset.

The position is designed for a high-potential People professional who can grow into broader leadership accountability. Demonstrated capability and sustained performance may support progressive exposure to People strategy, governance, organisational development, executive reporting and team leadership. This is a development pathway, not an automatic promotion commitment.

Qualification

• Matric / Grade 12.
• Diploma or degree in Human Resources, People Management, Industrial Psychology, Learning & Development or a related field.
• Relevant facilitator, assessor, moderator or skills-development qualification is advantageous.

Experience & Skills Required:

• At least 5 years of progressive HR experience, with substantial hands on Learning & Development responsibility.
• Broad HR generalist exposure across recruitment, onboarding, employee relations, performance management, engagement, HR administration and people projects.
• Experience in a sales, financial services or contact-center environment is strongly preferred.
• Experience developing learning content, assessments and blended learning interventions, and facilitating face-to-face and virtual learning.
• Experience administering an LMS and maintaining reliable learning records. Cornerstone LMS experience is advantageous.
• Working knowledge of Sage 300 People or a comparable HR information system is advantageous.
• Practical knowledge of South African employment legislation, employee relations principles and fair HR practice.
• Knowledge of BBBEE Skills Development requirements and experience preparing evidence for verification partners or audits.
• Experience producing management and EXCO-ready People or L&D reports with insights and recommendations.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Learning & Development ownership

• Own and manage the day-to-day L&D plan and calendar in line with business priorities.
• Conduct learning-needs analysis with leaders and translate capability gaps into practical interventions.
• Design, develop, refresh and quality-check product, systems, process, compliance and sales learning content.
• Facilitate induction, onboarding, refresher, skills and leadership development learning using appropriate delivery methods.
• Design assessments, knowledge checks and practical evaluations; maintain clear standards for competence.
• Manage the LMS, including profiles, onboarding and offboarding, content, enrolments, completion tracking, assessments, reporting and record keeping.
• Evaluate learning effectiveness at appropriate levels and recommend improvements based on evidence.
• Partner with leaders to reinforce learning through coaching, observation, feedback and workplace application.
• Manage training providers, budgets and service delivery within delegated authority.
• Maintain complete learning records and audit trails.

2. HR generalist delivery

• Provide practical first-line HR support to leaders and employees, escalating complex or high-risk matters to the Head of People.
• Support workforce planning, role scoping, recruitment, selection, offers, pre-employment processes and onboarding.
• Coordinate probation, performance check-ins and performance improvement processes, ensuring clear documentation and follow through.
• Support employee relations processes, including preliminary fact gathering, meeting coordination, documentation and implementation of outcomes under appropriate guidance.
• Provide guidance on HR policies, processes, employment conditions and consistent practice.
• Support employee lifecycle administration, including changes, transfers, exits, offboarding and records management.
• Coordinate engagement activities, surveys, employee communication, wellbeing initiatives and culture interventions.
• Contribute to remuneration, benefits, talent, succession and retention activities as required.
• Maintain strict confidentiality and sound information-handling practices.

3. Business and sales capability

• Maintain a strong working understanding of company products, systems, customer journeys and sales processes.
• Use operational insight to ensure learning and HR solutions are relevant to the contact-centre environment.
• Work with leaders to identify capability, conduct and performance gaps and define the most appropriate response.
• Connect people initiatives to sales performance, customer experience, quality, compliance and business results.
• Promote a practical culture of continuous learning, accountability and growth.

4. Reporting, governance and BBBEE

• Compile accurate monthly L&D and broader People reports for the Head of People.
• Prepare concise EXCO reporting on learning activity, employee capability, people trends, risks and recommended actions.
• Consolidate data from the LMS, HR system, recruitment records, performance processes and other sources.
• Track training delivery, attendance, mandatory completion, assessment results, competence, LMS utilisation, refresher activity, training hours and spend where applicable.
• Maintain BBBEE Skills Development information, supporting documents and audit-ready evidence.
• Identify trends, gaps, exceptions and risk indicators and convert data into practical recommendations.
• Maintain data quality, version control, supporting documentation and agreed reporting deadlines.

5. Projects and continuous improvement

• Lead or support People projects from planning through implementation, communication, adoption and review.
• Simplify and document People processes, templates and service standards.
• Use digital tools and automation responsibly to improve employee experience, efficiency and control.
• Keep current with relevant L&D practice, HR trends and legislative developments and recommend proportionate improvements.

6. Leadership development pathway

• Develop broader commercial understanding and contribute to the annual People plan and priorities.
• Build confidence in presenting insights, options and recommendations to senior leaders and EXCO.
• Develop capability in organisation design, talent and succession, workforce planning, culture, change and People governance.
• Take ownership of selected cross-functional initiatives and demonstrate effective stakeholder leadership without relying on formal authority.
• Mentor or guide colleagues, interns or service providers where appropriate and demonstrate readiness for future team leadership.
• Act as a trusted delegate for the Head of People on defined matters within agreed authority and capability.

Key Competencies

• Confident Facilitator – Able to confidently facilitate training sessions, engage different personalities and create an environment where employees feel comfortable participating and learning.
• Commercially Minded – Understands the relationship between employee capability, sales performance, customer experience and business results.
• People Orientated – Genuinely interested in helping people learn, develop and improve their performance.
• Strong Communicator – Able to communicate complex information in a simple, practical and engaging manner.
• Organized & Detail Orientated – Maintains accurate records, follows through on commitments and ensures learning administration is completed correctly and on time.
• Proactive – Identifies learning and capability gaps and takes initiative to address them rather than waiting for problems to arise.
• Adaptable – Comfortable working across Learning & Development, Sales, Operations and People/HR environments.
• Results Driven – Focused not only on delivering training, but on whether the training results in improved knowledge, behaviour, capability and performance.
• Collaborative – Builds strong working relationships with Operations, Sales, People and external partners.
• High Integrity & Confidentiality – Demonstrates professionalism and discretion when dealing with employee information, HR matters and business-sensitive information.