Senior Manager: Colleague Support at Absa Bank Limited

Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together…one story at a time.

Job Summary

Provides strategic leadership, direction, and operational excellence for the Colleague Support (CS) function across Absa. The role ensures that colleague-facing support services deliver consistent, efficient, and high-quality experiences aligned with Human Capital (HC) strategies and Absa’s broader organisational goals. The incumbent drives innovation in support operations, embeds best practice service delivery models, ensures robust performance management, and leads a team of CS Managers and ER Specialists. This role also oversees change adoption, technology enablement, and continuous improvement initiatives that enhance colleague satisfaction, operational efficiency, and the overall colleague experience across Absa’s multi-country footprint.

Job Description

KEY FOCUS AREAS

• Strategic Leadership & Direction for the Colleague Support Function
• Operational Excellence, Process Improvement & SLA Management
• Technology, Data Insights & Continuous Improvement
• People Leadership, Capability Building & Workforce Enablement
• Stakeholder Engagement & Cross‑Functional Collaboration
• Risk, Governance & Policy Implementation
• Crisis, Incident Response & Escalation Management Leadership
• Management of Employee Relations Specialists

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Strategic Leadership & Direction for the Colleague Support Function

• Drive the strategic agenda for the CS Team, ensuring alignment with Human Capital’s priorities and Absa’s enterprise strategy.
• Monitor industry trends and best practices to shape the evolution of colleague support services.
• Provide leadership with insights, updates, and recommendations regarding operational performance, opportunities, and systemic challenges.

Operational Excellence, Process Improvement & SLA Management

• Establish, track, and evaluate KPIs and SLAs for response and resolution times to maintain consistent service quality.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives to enhance operational efficiency, reduce friction, and streamline colleague journeys.
• Conduct root‑cause analyses and implement corrective actions when SLA deviations occur.

Technology, Data Insights & Continuous Improvement

• Identify and recommend technologies and digital solutions that strengthen service delivery and enable automation and scalability.
• Use data analytics to assess service trends, colleague needs, and operational bottlenecks.
• Champion innovation, adopting new approaches and tools to improve colleague service delivery.

People Leadership, Capability Building & Workforce Enablement

• Oversee performance, development, and day‑to‑day management of CS Managers, ER Specialists, Wellness team and CS Operations.
• Manage team resource allocation to ensure adequate coverage, workforce optimisation, and operational continuity.
• Lead a culture of high performance, learning, coaching, and development, leveraging Absa frameworks.

Leading an Employee Relations (ER) team

• Drive strategic oversight of Employee Relations (ER) service delivery, ensuring alignment with the Group ER CoE, organisational risk appetite, governance standards, and Human Capital strategy.
• Lead and manage ER Specialists to ensure consistent, high-quality case management across all employee relations matters, including disciplinary processes, grievances, incapacity cases, and organisational change interventions.
• Ensure effective allocation, prioritisation, and monitoring of ER case workloads to maintain service excellence, timeliness, and adherence to SLAs.
• Provide guidance, coaching, and technical expertise to ER Specialists on complex, high-risk, and sensitive cases, ensuring consistency in interpretation and application of policies and labour legislation.
• Oversee the quality assurance of ER case outcomes, ensuring fairness, procedural integrity, audit readiness, and legal compliance across all matters.
• Monitor and manage external dispute resolution processes, including CCMA and labour court engagements, ensuring organisational readiness, risk mitigation, and effective representation strategies.
• Establish and maintain ER reporting frameworks, delivering insights on case trends, root causes, and systemic risks to inform proactive interventions and decision-making.
• Drive continuous improvement in ER processes, tools, and frameworks to enhance efficiency, reduce case cycle times, and improve colleague experience

Stakeholder Engagement & Cross‑Functional Collaboration

• Act as the primary point of contact for senior leadership regarding colleague support matters.
• Facilitate continuous feedback loops between colleagues, the support teams, and broader HC functions.
• Build strong relationships across HC, Risk, Technology, and other business units to ensure integrated colleague support solutions.

Risk, Governance & Policy Implementation

• Develop and implement policies, standards, and procedures governing CS operations.
• Ensure compliance with internal governance, regulatory requirements, data confidentiality, and risk management frameworks.
• Drive adoption of best‑practice change controls and ensure effective monitoring of policy implementation.

Crisis, Incident Response & Escalation Management Leadership

• Lead the CS team’s response during high‑impact issues, crises, or escalations to ensure rapid resolution and minimal disruption.
• Maintain service continuity plans and ensure readiness for high‑pressure scenarios.
• Coordinate with senior leaders, HC leaders, and support teams to manage incident communication and post‑incident analysis.

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS

Knowledge:

• Human Capital operations and colleague experience principles
• Service delivery models and contact centre/support operations
• HR technology platforms (e.g., case management systems, ticketing tools)
• Governance, policy, and compliance frameworks
• Data analytics and performance reporting
• Change management methodologies

Skills:

• Strategic planning and execution
• Complex problem-solving and critical thinking
• Influencing and stakeholder management
• Leadership and people development
• Process optimisation and continuous improvement
• Communication and presentation skills

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Education / Qualification:

Bachelor’s Degree, Advanced Diploma, Postgraduate Certificate, or B Tech [NQF7] in Human Resources, Industrial Psychology, Business Management, Organisational Development, or a related field.

Labour Law Diploma or equivalent, would be preferable.

Work Experience:

• 5–12 years’ experience in a specialist or managerial Human Capital or colleague-facing service environment, with a proven track record of at least 3 years in a people management position overseeing multidisciplinary teams.
• Exposure to process design, optimisation, quality management, customer centricity, technology and data-driven decision-making is preferred.
• Proven experience in guiding complex employee relations matters.

COMPETENCIES

Technical Competencies:

• HR systems and platforms
• Data analytics and reporting tools
• Process engineering and workflow optimisation
• Service Level and KPI management
• Operational risk and compliance management
• Technology enablement and automation in service environments
• Employee Relations practical application

Behavioural Competencies:

• Strategic Thinking
• Inspirational People Leadership
• Collaboration & Relationship Building
• Resilience & Perseverance
• Adaptability
• Communication & Influence
• Innovation & Creativity
• Business Acumen
• Decision-Making & Problem Solving

Leadership Competencies:

• Strategic Thinking
• Business Acumen
• Communication
• Influence
• Leadership
• Delivering Results
• Adaptability
• Collaboration
• Decision-Making

Education

Bachelor`s Degrees and Advanced Diplomas: Business, Commerce and Management Studies (Required)

Absa Bank Limited is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. In compliance with the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, preference will be given to suitable candidates from designated groups whose appointments will contribute towards achievement of equitable demographic representation of our workforce profile and add to the diversity of the Bank.

Absa Bank Limited reserves the right not to make an appointment to the post as advertised