Practice Manager: Stakeholder Relations, Labour Compliance and Human Rights

The Practice Manager: Stakeholder Relations, Labour Compliance and Human Rights leads and manages Red Rocket’s project- and contractor-based industrial relations, stakeholder relations and labour-compliance assurance practice across the respective project companies and sites, acting as the primary interface between Red Rocket, its project companies and contractors. The role is accountable for translating approved business, sustainability and HSEQ strategies into consistent site strategies, best practice and industrial relations, stakeholder-engagement, labour-compliance and workforce human-rights standards, plans and operational outcomes across development, construction and operations.

Working within approved policy, governance and delegated authority, the incumbent manages Labour Management Plans and ESMS labour and stakeholder requirements in line with the IFC Performance Standards, the Equator Principles and lender requirements; oversees contractor and subcontractor workforce compliance; leads human-rights due diligence; and provides practical, defensible advice to leadership. The role manages the practice, its resources, priorities and service delivery, develops team capability, and escalates material or precedent-setting matters to the Head of Team.

This is a project- and contractor-based role, focused on managing complex contractual agreements between the respective project companies and contractors, particularly their industrial relations and labour-related provisions, including associated labour obligations, workforce risks and contractor compliance across the project lifecycle. Contractors remain responsible as employers of their workforce; the role oversees contractor compliance and does not manage contractor employees directly.

Scope: The role is accountable for contractor and subcontractor workforces, community and external stakeholders, and human-rights compliance on Red Rocket projects. Employee relations for persons employed by Red Rocket or any Red Rocket project company falls outside the scope of this role.

Responsibilities:
Industrial Relations, Stakeholder Relations, Labour Compliance & Human Rights Strategy & Advisory
•Manage the project- and contractor-based industrial relations, stakeholder relations and labour-compliance practice and implement approved strategies, standards and procedures across project companies, projects and sites.
•Manage the development, maintenance and implementation of contractor industrial relations, stakeholder relations and labour-compliance procedures, ensuring consistent application across project companies, contractors and sites.
•Provide authoritative advice to the Head of Team, project company representatives and project or site leadership on complex project company–contractor agreements, their industrial relations and labour obligations, contractor-related labour-law queries, human rights, Labour Management Plans, IFC Performance Standard 2 and lender requirements.
•Maintain the labour-compliance and community risk profile, identify emerging contractor workforce and community risks, implement mitigating actions and escalate material exposure through the appropriate governance channels.
•Manage the stakeholder and community relations team and the labour-compliance function, including setting objectives, allocating work and resources, monitoring performance, coaching team members and developing capability across the practice.
•Monitor relevant legislative, regulatory and lender developments and recommend practical updates to procedures, controls and site practices.

Stakeholder & Community Relations
•Build and maintain effective working relationships with senior management, business and site leadership, Human Capital, regulators, funders, lenders, the IPP Office, community forums and industry bodies.
•Manage implementation of community and labour stakeholder engagement plans at construction and operational sites, addressing local labour, local content and community expectations through approved governance structures.
•Coordinate stakeholder engagement and communication with contractors, clients, communities and other relevant external parties on labour-compliance and community matters.
•Serve as the operational escalation point for complex project company–contractor industrial relations, contractual labour-compliance and stakeholder matters, coordinating advice and decisions with project company representatives, the Head of Team and legal advisors where risk is material or precedent-setting.

Contractor Industrial Relations & Labour Compliance
•Manage the industrial relations and labour-compliance obligations in complex contractual agreements between the respective project companies and contractors; oversee contractor and subcontractor compliance with applicable labour legislation, Labour Management Plans and site standards, recognising that contractors remain the employer of their workforce.
•Monitor contractor workforce practices and contractor worker grievance mechanisms across development, construction and operations, and direct corrective action.
•Manage the project company–contractor industrial relations interface during industrial action, coordinating business-continuity, stakeholder engagement and contractual responses within delegated authority, with specialist labour-law advice from legal advisors as required.
•Lead engagement with contractor workforce representatives and trade unions on project sites in respect of contractor workforces.
•Manage CCMA, bargaining-council and other labour disputes in which contractor or subcontractor employees cite Red Rocket or a project company, with support from legal advisors.

Governance, Risk & Compliance
•Manage the project and contractor industrial relations, contractual labour-compliance and stakeholder risk register and report risk ratings, mitigation actions, trends and residual exposure to the Head of Team and relevant committees.
•Maintain audit-ready compliance records, controls and decision trails for contractor labour, human-rights and stakeholder matters.
•Prepare accurate management information, compliance statistics and risk indicators to support leadership decision-making.
•Implement approved labour-compliance and stakeholder governance frameworks and delegations in alignment with corporate governance, ESMS and EHSS requirements.

•Coordinate internal and external labour-compliance and human-rights audits, close findings, and escalate material control failures or conflicts of interest.

•Provide labour-compliance and community-relations input to enterprise risk, lender, funder and off-taker reporting requirements.

Labour Management Plans & ESMS Compliance
•Manage the development, implementation and continuous improvement of Labour Management Plans in line with IFC Performance Standard 2, the Equator Principles and lender or funder requirements.
•Coordinate labour-compliance inputs into ESMS plans, audits, lender reviews and annual reporting, ensuring accurate evidence and timely closure of actions.
•Manage ESMS compliance for labour and stakeholder-relations matters in accordance with the IFC Performance Standards, the Equator Principles and international best practices, ensuring applicable requirements are implemented, monitored, documented and reported across projects and sites.

•Escalate material labour, human-rights and community-related risks through the ESMS and business governance structures.

Human Rights & Contractor Compliance
•Manage the closure of labour and human-rights audit findings relating to contractor employees, including recruitment, working conditions, foreign-worker compliance, grievance mechanisms, wages, working hours, leave, accommodation and worker welfare.
•Manage and implement human-rights assessments across projects and operations, identify and evaluate actual and potential impacts, develop mitigation and corrective-action plans, monitor implementation and report material findings through the appropriate governance structures.
•Direct contractors and internal stakeholders to implement corrective action, verify evidence of closure and escalate repeated or material non-compliance.

Project & Programme Support
•Represent the practice in project governance forums and provide industrial relations, contractual labour-compliance and stakeholder risk input across the project lifecycle.
•Partner with project company representatives and project and programme managers to assess, record and mitigate industrial relations, contractual labour and stakeholder risks arising from contractor agreements.
•Manage local labour and local content requirements in contractual agreements between the respective project companies and contractors within approved mandates, obtaining specialist labour-law advice from legal advisors where required.
•Advise on the labour-compliance and community implications of contractor arrangements, workforce mobilisation, peak construction, demobilisation and operational handover.
•Oversee implementation of project-level labour and stakeholder engagement plans and report progress, exceptions and required decisions.

Capability Building & Sector Expertise
•Lead, coach and develop the practice team, setting clear performance expectations and ensuring effective succession, knowledge transfer and workload management.
•Coach contractor line managers and Red Rocket site leaders on contractor oversight, Labour Management Plan requirements, worker grievance mechanisms, human-rights expectations and stakeholder engagement.
•Plan and deliver training on project and contractor industrial relations, contractual labour obligations, LMP and ESMS compliance, human rights and stakeholder engagement.
•Maintain strong current knowledge of construction-sector and renewable-energy labour and community dynamics and embed consistent good practice across concurrent projects.

Project Company–Contractor Interface & Specialist Advisory Support
•Manage the industrial relations interface arising from complex contractual agreements between the respective project companies and contractors, including labour obligations, contractor workforce arrangements, contractual compliance and dispute escalation within delegated authority.
•Provide labour-law advice on contractor, human-rights and project matters, drawing on legal advisors where specialist input is required.
•Agree coordinated approaches with project company representatives and contractors where contractor labour matters, industrial action or project labour agreements create contractual or project-delivery risks.

Minimum Educational Qualifications:
•Relevant bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences, Development Studies, Environmental or Sustainability Management, Labour Relations, Human Resources or a related field — required.
•Postgraduate qualification in a relevant discipline is advantageous.

•Formal training in IFC Performance Standards, Equator Principles, ESMS/E&S risk management, human-rights due diligence or stakeholder engagement is advantageous.

Minimum Previous Experience:
•8–10 years’ progressive experience in project and contractor industrial relations, labour compliance, social performance, stakeholder relations or E&S management, including substantial responsibility for multi-site or project environments.
•At least 3 years’ experience leading a team, function or professional practice, including work allocation, performance management, coaching and resource planning.
•Demonstrated experience in the construction and/or renewable-energy sector, preferably on large, multi-contractor projects across development, construction and operations.
•Practical experience with Labour Management Plans, ESMS requirements, contractor labour compliance, human-rights assessments, audits and lender or funder reporting.
•Proven experience in community and stakeholder engagement on large infrastructure or energy projects.

•Demonstrated experience managing industrial relations and labour-related provisions of complex contractual agreements between project companies and contractors, including contractor workforce issues, union engagement and dispute resolution in project environments.

•Experience preparing management reports, risk information and recommendations for senior leadership and governance forums.

Knowledge & skills
•Working knowledge of South African labour legislation as it applies to project and contractor industrial relations, contractor workforce compliance and audits.
•Strong knowledge of Labour Management Plans, IFC Performance Standard 2, Equator Principles and ESMS requirements relevant to lender-financed projects.

•Strong capability in managing complex project company–contractor agreements and their industrial relations and labour obligations, including negotiation, stakeholder engagement, facilitation, mediation and conflict resolution within delegated authority.
•Practice-management capability, including planning, prioritisation, budgeting, resource allocation, performance management and service delivery oversight.
•Sound judgement in complex and sensitive matters, with the ability to distinguish matters that may be resolved within mandate from those requiring escalation.
•Strong practice-team leadership, coaching, facilitation, contractor and stakeholder management, and project- and site-level capability-building skills.
•Excellent written and verbal communication, including policies, agreements, management reports and formal correspondence.

Attributes
•High integrity, objectivity and independence of judgement.
•Resilient and composed in high-pressure and high-conflict situations.
•Commercially aware, pragmatic and solutions focused.
•Able to operate autonomously while building trusted, collaborative relationships across the business and with contractors, funders, lenders and other external stakeholders.
•A credible strategic partner to executive, project company and site leadership on project and contractor industrial relations, contractual labour compliance, governance, human rights and stakeholder matters.
•Willing and able to travel regularly to construction and operational sites.

Key relationships
Internal
•C-suite and the Leadership team (Heads of Team and Directors).
•Project company representatives; site, project and construction management; Human Capital; internal legal advisors for specialist advice.

External
•Principal contractors and subcontractors, contractor workforce representatives and trade unions in project environments; the IPP Office.
•The Department of Employment and Labour; the CCMA and bargaining councils (contractor-related disputes); community stakeholders and forums.
•Funders and lenders; industry bodies; internal and external legal advisors.

Languages
•English (read, write, and speak) — required.
•Afrikaans (read, write, and speak) — advantageous. •Any other South African language — advantageous.