Group Talent & Culture Executive

Red Ember Recruitment (PTY) Ltd Permanent

Somerset West, South Africa Posted on 07/05/2026

Red Ember Recruitment is seeking to appoint an experienced and visionary Talent & Culture Executive based in the Somerset West area.

The successful candidate will be responsible for leading the organisation's people strategy across a high-volume, multi-market restaurant environment. This role will drive workforce transformation, organisational culture, leadership capability, employee engagement, and HR digitisation aligned to business growth and operational excellence.

• Build a multi-year people and talent strategy aligned to business growth and digital transformation goals.
• Lead workforce planning for a high-volume, multi-market restaurant ecosystem driven by automation, data, and AI.
• Develop future-fit leadership pipelines and succession planning with emphasis on operational excellence and digital fluency.
• Re imagine talent acquisition for scale by leveraging employer branding, social platforms, workforce analytics, and digitised recruitment.

• Shape and embed a culture that embraces innovation, diversity, operational discipline, and customer obsession.
• Strengthen organisational values and behavioural standards to build pride and belonging across thousands of employees.
• Lead transformation initiatives that strengthen inclusivity, equity, and career mobility, particularly within restaurant operations.

• Build a modern learning ecosystem that blends digital learning, AI-driven skills pathways, and hands on operational training.
• Develop capability frameworks for restaurant and leadership roles aligned with future operational models.
• Oversee the design of academies, certification pathways, and continuous development programmes at scale.

• Design an end to end employee experience that boosts retention, performance, and engagement. Oversee compensation, benefits, wellness, and recognition programmes that drive motivation and operational excellence.
• Build real time employee listening and analytics capabilities to inform decision making.

• Drive the digitisation of all HR systems, including HRIS, workforce management, recruitment, and learning and development platforms. Implement people analytics to optimise workforce deployment, retention, performance, and growth.
• Ensure streamlined, compliant, and scalable HR operations that enable leaders and frontline employees.

• Advise Exco on organisational design, transformation, and leadership strategies.
• Lead major change initiatives across the group with clear communication, adoption plans, and cultural alignment.
• Serve as a culture champion through visible, authentic, and empathetic leadership.

• 10+ years of senior HR leadership experience, with multi site restaurant, Quick Service Restaurant (QSR), or hospitality experience preferred.
• Master's degree (MBA or HR related qualification) combined with SABPP registration at CHRP or MHRP level.
• Proven track record of leading large scale people transformation initiatives.
• Extensive experience in digital HR technologies, workforce analytics, and modern talent systems.
• Strong grounding in leadership development, cultural transformation, and operational workforce management.
• Demonstrated success navigating large, complex, and diverse organisations.