Head of People & Culture – Retail Segment

Head of People & Culture – Retail Segment
Location: National Coverage, South Africa
Start Date: Immediate/Negotiable

Are you ready to drive transformation and shape a winning people strategy for a national retail footprint? We’re looking for a senior HR leader who’s passionate about building remarkable teams and operational excellence across retail, pharmacy, clinics, and frontshop environments.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead a dynamic national HR team supporting retail management and store operations.

• Align people strategies with business growth, operational readiness, and employee experience.

• Drive the integration of HR technology, systems, talent acquisition, onboarding, and cultural transformation for new store openings, acquisitions, and transitions.

• Champion employee relations, compliance, and labour legislation (BCEA, LRA, POPIA, SAPC, NDoH, HPCSA).

• Partner with business leaders and executives to design and deliver talent solutions, workforce planning, and future-fit management pipelines.

• Foster a culture of inclusion, engagement, learning, and continuous improvement at all levels.

• Use analytics and insights to optimise process, resourcing, and retention across a distributed, high-volume workforce.

• Drive digital transformation, efficient onboarding, and branded employee journeys.

• Mentor and grow your HR team to meet changing business needs and inspire the next generation of retail leaders.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Industrial or Organisational Psychology (or similar).

• MANDATORY 8 years’ HR leadership experience, with 5+ years at senior or HRBP level—retail/healthcare sector MANDATORY.

• Proven success managing large-scale workforces and complex, distributed environments.

• Expert in transformation, skills development, EE/BBBEE, and skills legislation.

• In-depth knowledge of South African labour regulations for retail and health sectors.

• Strong data acumen and ability to leverage HR insights for business impact.

• Commercial, strategic, and operational capability mindset.

• Ability to inspire, collaborate, and lead cross-functional change.

Special Conditions:

• Occasional travel required.

• Must be a South African citizen with clear criminal and credit record.

• Valid driver’s license and own transport.

Ready to champion people, transformation, and culture? Apply today to take your HR leadership career to the next level in the retail sector!