People Performance Manager

Position Summary

The Group People Performance Manager is accountable for measurably improving people performance across the Group.

Performance management, onboarding, learning, succession planning and culture are not separate HR activities. They are connected stages of the same employee journey. Placing them under one accountable leader means they reinforce each other, give employees a consistent experience and turn people strategy into operational results.

The role carries both strategic and operational responsibility for:

• achieving the Group’s strategic learning targets, with a focus on competency attainment
• building a succession pipeline for key and critical roles
• establishing and running a robust performance management system across the Group.

Key Responsibilities

1. People Performance Strategy and Site Performance Methodology

Develop, implement and continuously improve the Group Performance Management Framework so that individual, site, departmental and organisational performance are aligned. Responsibilities include:

• Developing and embedding the Group site performance methodology. This defines clear job and service standards, competency requirements, on-the-job coaching and practical assessment that work for an unskilled and semi-skilled workforce.
• Implementing and maintaining the performance management system, PerformYard, and making sure performance processes are practical at site level as well as for management roles.
• Aligning performance systems to strategic business objectives and client service requirements.
• Driving consistent performance management across all operations and countries.
• Equipping site supervisors and managers to set expectations, coach, give feedback and manage performance day to day.
• Monitoring the quality and completion of performance reviews.
• Analysing performance trends and linking people performance to service quality, client satisfaction, safety and productivity outcomes.
• Making sure performance outcomes inform development, succession and reward decisions.

2. Onboarding

Own the Group onboarding standards and process, starting from the point a new employee joins the business. Responsibilities include:

• Designing and maintaining Group onboarding standards for site-based and management employees.
• Making sure onboarding quickly builds the competencies, service standards, safety behaviours and values each role needs.
• Reducing time-to-competency for new site employees through structured induction, buddy and coaching systems, and early performance check-ins.
• Monitoring onboarding completion, effectiveness and early-tenure retention.

3. Learning and Organisational Capability

Provide strategic and operational leadership for learning and capability development across the Group and take accountability for achieving the Group’s strategic learning targets. Responsibilities include:

• Developing and delivering the Group Learning Strategy, built around defined role competencies and service standards.
• Maintaining a strong working knowledge of the learning and development landscape in each country where IFS operates. This includes national skills development legislation, qualification and accreditation frameworks, skills levies and funding mechanisms, mandatory training requirements, and localisation or national content obligations.
• Making sure learning programmes meet in-country regulatory and client contractual requirements and use available skills funding.
• Designing learning that works for a largely unskilled and semi-skilled workforce: practical, on-the-job, visual, multilingual where needed, and assessed on demonstrated competence.
• Leading and developing the Training Managers.
• Setting, tracking and reporting on competency attainment targets by role, site and country.
• Driving supervisory and leadership development initiatives.
• Making sure learning directly supports performance improvement and succession planning.
• Driving continuous improvement in learning design, delivery, measurement and return on investment.

4. Talent and Succession

Build the capability pipeline needed to sustain business growth, aligned to national content strategies and targets. Responsibilities include:

• Designing and maintaining succession planning frameworks for key and critical roles.
• Identifying critical roles and succession risks across the Group.
• Facilitating talent review processes.
• Developing leadership pipeline strategies, including clear progression pathways from site level into supervisory and management roles.
• Monitoring bench strength and readiness across the organisation.
• Aligning talent development with future workforce requirements and localisation targets.
• Supporting strategic workforce planning initiatives.

5. Organisational Culture

Own the Group Culture Framework and make sure the organisation’s values are embedded consistently across the employee lifecycle. Responsibilities include:

• Developing culture initiatives aligned to business strategy and a world-class service ethos.
• Embedding organisational values through onboarding, performance management, leadership development and learning.
• Supporting leaders in driving culture within their teams and on site.
• Monitoring employee engagement and culture indicators.
• Partnering with the Group Campaigns and Content Manager so that internal communication reinforces organisational values, strategic priorities and employee engagement.

6. Functional Leadership

Lead and develop the People Performance function across the Group. Responsibilities include:

• Providing strategic leadership to direct reports.
• Setting departmental priorities and targets.
• Building capability within the function.
• Driving collaboration across specialist teams and with operations.
• Making sure service delivery and Group standards are consistent.
• Promoting innovation and continuous improvement.

7. People Analytics and Continuous Improvement

Produce meaningful people insights that support Executive decision-making. Responsibilities include:

• Establishing people performance metrics.
• Monitoring organisational capability and competency indicators.
• Producing Executive-level reporting and dashboards.
• Identifying organisational trends and improvement opportunities.
• Driving continuous improvement across all people performance processes.
• Measuring how effective learning, succession, onboarding, performance management and culture initiatives are.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Industrial Psychology, Business Management or a related discipline.
• Professional HR registration is an advantage.
• A qualification in learning and development, assessment or training practice is an advantage.

Experience

• At least ten years’ progressive HR, organisational development or learning experience.
• Significant experience in organisational performance management, including at operational or site level.
• Proven track record of improving the performance of large unskilled and semi-skilled workforces.
• Experience designing and implementing competency-based learning strategies and meeting learning targets.
• Working knowledge of skills development and training regulatory frameworks across multiple African countries.
• Demonstrated success in succession planning and talent management.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary HR or learning teams.
• Experience operating across multiple countries or regions.
• Experience supporting operational businesses in mining, facilities management, hospitality, oil and gas or similar industries is an advantage.

Preference will be given to internal applicants and appointments that support the achievement of our Employment Equity and Affirmative Action goals.