People & Culture Business Partner

Job description

People and Culture Business Partner (maternity leave contract)

Location: Hybrid based in George, Garden Route, South Africa

Contract duration: Minimum 7-months

Working hours: 06:00 – 15:00 OR 05:00 – 14:00

About our organisation

Pacific International Insurance is an insurance underwriter based in Newcastle, Australia, with more than 20 years’ industry experience. Our Australasian team brings a wealth of expertise in underwriting, delivering bespoke and tailored insurance solutions for both local and international clients and their customers.

About the role

We are seeking an experienced People and Culture Business Partner for a minimum 7-month maternity cover contract, based in George. This is an exciting opportunity for a hands-on HR professional to step into a true partnering role, supporting leaders and employees across South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.

Working closely with the head of People and Culture (Australia), you will operate across the full employee lifecycle — delivering practical, compliant, and people-focused solutions in areas such as employee engagement, recruitment, performance support, and employee relations.

This role offers strong variety and exposure, with responsibility for end-to-end recruitment, employee engagement initiatives, workplace advisory, performance support, and HR administration. You will act as a trusted advisor to leaders, providing guidance on people matters while ensuring alignment with business objectives and employment legislation.

Key duties and responsibilities

Employee engagement

• Partner with leaders to implement initiatives aligned with organisational values.
• Monitor engagement through surveys and feedback, translating insights into actionable plans.
• Support recognition programs, wellbeing initiatives, team events, and internal communications.
• Foster a culture of inclusion, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Talent management (recruitment and onboarding)

• Oversee end-to-end recruitment for the South African branch.
• Source candidates, coordinate interviews, and manage onboarding processes.
• Advise hiring managers on attraction strategies and recruitment best practices.
• Ensure compliance with all regulatory obligations.

Learning and employee development / performance support

• Support performance review cycles and meaningful development planning.
• Coach managers to develop and support their teams effectively.

Employee relations and workplace advice

• Act as a trusted advisor on a range of employee relations matters.
• Support resolution of workplace issues in line with policies and South African employment laws.

Compensation, benefits and payroll support

• Provide payroll support and liaise with finance, insurance, legal, risk, and compliance teams.
• Support alignment on remuneration, benefits, and other people-related matters.

Policies, compliance and process improvement

• Review, develop, and implement HR policies and procedures.
• Identify process improvement opportunities and support people-related risk management.
• Assist with HR reporting and analysis for management.

General HR administration

• Prepare employment contracts and manage HR administration across the employee lifecycle.

Why you’ll love this role

This is a great opportunity to step into a true People Partner role, working closely with leaders and employees across South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. You will gain broad exposure across the full people lifecycle, including employee engagement, recruitment, manager coaching, employee relations, and policy development, providing meaningful variety and scope. You will join a supportive and collaborative People and Culture function and work with an engaged stakeholder group that values practical, people-centred advice and partnership.

What we’re looking for

• Qualifications: You will bring a solid foundation in Human Resources, supported by a minimum of matric and a relevant HR qualification.
• Experience: At least 3 years in a generalist HR or people partner role.  
• Strong end-to-end recruitment experience.
• Confidence in partnering with leaders to deliver practical, commercially sound solutions.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, work autonomously, and operate in a fast-changing environment.
• Strong attention to detail, report writing, analytical skills, and experience implementing HR policies.

Valuable extras

• Experience with payroll systems and HR databases.
• Prior exposure to the finance or insurance sector.

Posted on 02 Apr 13:58, Closing date 1 May