Labour Relations and Discipline Management Advisor

Job Description

KEY INFORMATION
Position: Labour Relations and Discipline Management Advisor
Location: Pretoria, South Africa
Position type: Part-time consultancy with an estimated level of effort of 50 days per year
Duration: 1 year, renewable over the life of the project (2025-2030)
Supervisor: SEIGG Project Director


BACKGROUND
The SEIGG project will support the South African government in its efforts to enhance accountability, efficiency, and transparency in the public administration for inclusive and gender-responsive governance through TA and capacity building at national, provincial and municipal levels. This will be achieved through three intermediate outcomes: 

1100 - The improved prevention, protection and response against harassment, including sexual harassment, across public administrations in South Africa. 

1200 - The strengthened oversight, management and professional conduct for ethics, integrity and disciplinary management matters in the public administration. 

1300 - The strengthened prevention, monitoring and detection of public procurement corruption with a focus on climate and energy sectors. 

At the central and provincial levels, SEIGG will work with key entities such as the PAEIDTAU and its Transformation and Workplace Environment Management (TWEM) Unit, the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer (OCPO) of National Treasury and Provincial Treasuries, and representatives from National and Provincial Departments involved in ethics, investigations and labor relations that process corruption, harassment and other disciplinary or malpractice cases. At the municipal level, SEIGG will expand the Policy on Prevention & Elimination of Harassment in Public Service (PPEH) and Lifestyle Audits (LSA), collaborating with TWEM, PAEIDTAU, the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), with pilot activities in eight municipalities. 

The SEIGG project is currently in the Project Implementation Plan (PIP) period, from February 27, 2025 to August 22, 2025. The implementation period will start with the PIP approval from Global Affairs Canada and the South African counterparts. 


DESCRIPTION OF THE POSITION
Reporting directly to the SEIGG project director, and working in close collaboration with the project coordinator in South Africa and each of the component leads, the Labour Relations and Discipline Management Advisor will provide strategic advice in Human Resources Management and Discipline Management to the PAEIDTAU and deliver targeted interventions in discipline management. 


KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
The Labour Relations and Discipline Management Advisor will: 

• Participate in bi-weekly team update and coordination meetings with the SEIGG project management and implementation teams. 
• Provide technical support to the project team towards the design and implementation of key activities under IO 1200 and especially immediate outcome 1230 on discipline management, including how these activities will be rolled out in target provinces and municipalities: 
• Developing and training the Discipline Management (DM) directorate within the PAEIDTAU on an analysis tool to respond more effectively to DM requests from national and provincial departments. 
• Assessing capacity of selected departments in the formulation of charges and competence of the chairperson for disciplinary cases and developing an intervention plan and training programmes in both areas to improve processing rates of DM cases. 
• Monitoring the implementation of training programmes in the selected departments and tracking results in the areas of DM. 
• Developing guidelines and training on the new Disciplinary Code, to be adopted by the South African public service. 
• Providing ad hoc support to the DM directorate to respond to training requests from departments. 
• Providing strategic advice regarding the integration of discipline management in the fields of anti-harassment, implementation of lifestyle audits and ethics projects, and sustainable procurement. 
• Support any other task which may be deemed necessary by the SEIGG Project Director. 

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Advanced degree in law, public administration, human resource management, labour relations, or a related field. 
• Minimum 10 years of experience in HR, labour relations, or discipline management. 
• Demonstrated experience of at least 3 years in the specific areas listed below: 
• Experience handling misconduct cases 
• Experience ensuring or enforcing compliance with labour legislation 
• Experience introducing or implementing institutional reform in the public sector 
• Demonstrated experience within the public sector in an HR or Management role. 
• Strong knowledge of the Labour Relations Act, Public Service Act, and Employment Equity Act. 
• Strategic advisory skills and the ability to guide management on complex disciplinary matters. 
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and analytical skills. 
• Professional fluency in English is essential; French will be considered a strong asset. 

APPLICATION PROCESS 
Candidates are encouraged to apply by October 3, 2025/as soon as possible by submitting a presentation letter and their CV on Cowater International’s employment portal.  Please include your all-inclusive daily rate for this mandate in the application letter. 

This position is open to candidates with a valid South-African work permit only. 

For your application to be considered, please upload your documents as followed: Candidate Last Name, First Name, date, Title of the Position. 

We thank all applicants, however only those shortlisted will be contacted. 

About the Organization

ABOUT US
Founded in 1985, Cowater International is a leading global development consulting company. Headquartered in Ottawa and with corporate hubs in Auckland, Berlin, Brussels, Helsinki, London, Madrid, Manila, Nairobi, Singapore and Stockholm, Cowater International has successfully delivered a portfolio of over 2,500 projects and assignments in more than 95 countries. We work with governments, private sector actors and communities implementing projects that support socio-economic development, institutional strengthening, environmental improvements and advance equal opportunities for all. We are a diverse and experienced team committed to building a better tomorrow for the people we serve. Our adaptive approach to management has led to our yearly award-winning work and recognition as one of Canada's Best Managed Companies since 2017. 

We thank you for your interest in building a better tomorrow with Cowater International.