Head of People

Sola Group • Full-time • Cape Town • 1w ago

Introduction

About SOLA

SOLA is a 100% South African, vertically integrated renewable energy solutions provider, specialising in the development, construction and operation of solar PV and battery energy storage projects. We focus on partnering with the private sector to deliver clean energy to businesses across South Africa using cutting edge clean energy generation and storage technologies. For more information, visit www.solagroup.co.za.

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer

Location: Cape Town

Duties & Responsibilities

Purpose of this position:

To lead SOLA's People function with a comprehensive human capital strategy that scales with company growth, spanning from organizational design and strategic HR leadership to hands-on office and administrative operations.

Responsibilities:

This role owns the entire people agenda at SOLA - from culture and talent strategy through to payroll execution and office management. As the strategic partner to business leaders, you'll shape how the company attracts, develops, retains, and organises talent while being hands-on enough to manage budgets, approve expenses, oversee payroll, and direct the office management team.
You're the custodian of SOLA's culture and values, responsible for driving high engagement and performance across all locations. This means owning the full employee lifecycle: designing recruitment strategies, evolving the employee value proposition, running performance and talent review processes, facilitating succession planning, and leading employee development.
You'll develop and execute the Total Reward Strategy, handling everything from benchmarking and job evaluation to annual compensation cycles.
The role extends beyond traditional HR into B-BBEE management (verifications and reporting across all entities), IT strategy and vendor management (annual planning, policy development, cost optimisation), and broader governance support - partnering with the CEO on AI adoption, supporting EXCO/Board governance processes, leading IMS implementation, and participating in major projects from office relocations to system implementations.
You'll need strong operational discipline (statutory compliance, HR KPIs, monthly reporting to EXCO/Board) while maintaining strategic altitude, identifying opportunities for process improvement and organizational effectiveness. You'll also participate in various Board sub-committees including Environmental, Social, and Ethics Committees.

Key Performance Indicators:

Employee Turnover
Employee Engagement
Recruitment time-to-fill and Quality of Hire
Spend against OPEX
Entities with BBBEE Level 4 and above.

Desired Experience & Qualification

Requirements for this role:

Advanced qualifications in HR, Industrial Psychology, or business management with 15+ years experience including 7+ years in senior HR leadership within progressive, high-growth businesses (ideally those transitioning from entrepreneurial to governed structures).
Must operate comfortably at both strategic and tactical levels - comfortable in the boardroom and equally willing to dig into payroll variances.
This role requires a "continuous improvement" mindset, strong technical HR knowledge, commercial acumen, and the ability to build credibility with the Board and shareholders.