People & Systems Manager

WAVE is focused on leveling the playing field for young Africans to access economic opportunity. By turning motivated young talent into reliable human capital for local businesses, WAVE inspires positive change in employer attitudes, creating a fairer, more inclusive, and more productive labour market. Learn more at www.waveacademies.orgAbout the Role Our client, a premium bridal fashion brand, is seeking an organised, systems-oriented, and people-focused People & Systems Manager to join its team. The successful candidate will be responsible for building and managing the systems, processes, people, and administrative structures required for the business to operate efficiently, consistently, and to a high standard. A key part of this role is systems integration and process automation. The successful candidate will use Zoho or a comparable integrated business-management platform to connect workflows, automate routine processes, improve visibility, and strengthen accountability across the organisation. What You\'ll Be Responsible For Business Operations & Execution Coordinate day-to-day business operations and translate management priorities into clear actions, owners, and deadlines. Build, document, and continuously improve SOPs, workflows, approval processes, and operational controls. Maintain operational dashboards and trackers. Identify bottlenecks, missed deadlines, and recurring operational issues before they escalate. Coordinate execution across Sales, Product/Production, Finance, Retail, and other functions. Coordinate key customer, bridal, inventory, and vendor commitments. Ensure cross-functional activities are completed efficiently and within agreed timelines. Systems Integration & Process Automation Own the implementation, administration, and continuous improvement of Zoho or a comparable integrated business-management platform. Map business processes and translate them into practical digital workflows. Develop workflows across CRM, sales, inventory, tasks/projects, HR, approvals, customer service, and reporting. Integrate systems to reduce duplicated data entry, disconnected spreadsheets, and unnecessary manual processes. Build automated workflows, alerts, approval processes, dashboards, and management reports. Maintain system data quality, user permissions, documentation, and adoption standards. Train employees on relevant systems and monitor compliance. Manage external Zoho/system specialists where required while retaining ownership of business requirements, implementation, and outcomes. Human Resources & People Management Coordinate recruitment, onboarding, probation, confirmation, leave, attendance, employee documentation, and exit processes. Ensure employees have current job descriptions, clear responsibilities, and measurable performance expectations. Maintain accurate HR records. Support the implementation of HR policies, employee relations, disciplinary processes, and grievance procedures. Coordinate performance reviews and work with managers to address underperformance, behavioural issues, and development needs. Promote a culture of ownership, accountability, professionalism, collaboration, and high standards. Learning, Training & Development Own the company\'s training calendar, onboarding programme, and ongoing employee development plan. Conduct training-needs assessments with managers. Translate identified capability gaps into practical learning interventions. Coordinate product knowledge, customer service, sales, systems, SOP/operations, and leadership training as required. Source and coordinate internal and external trainers. Maintain training records and assess whether training interventions improve performance. Ensure new employees are properly oriented on company culture, policies, systems, role expectations, and operating standards. Performance Management & Culture Coordinate company-wide KPI and performance-management processes, including reviews, improvement plans, and follow-up actions. Maintain visibility of team performance and ensure agreed actions and development commitments are completed. Support managers in setting expectations, holding teams accountable, and addressing performance gaps promptly. Coordinate recognition and feedback processes. Reinforce company values through management routines, training, and communication. Use people and performance data to identify recurring capability, accountability, or organisational issues and recommend solutions. What We\'re Looking For We\'re looking for a systems-oriented people and operations professional who can bring structure, accountability, and efficiency to a growing organisation. The ideal candidate should be comfortable working across operations, HR, administration, systems, and process improvement. They should be able to translate business needs into practical processes and digital workflows while also managing people-related responsibilities and ensuring that teams consistently follow agreed standards. Requirements Bachelor\'s degree in Business Administration, Operations, Human Resources, Management, Information Systems, or a related discipline. 5 years of relevant experience across business operations, administration, HR/people management, process improvement, or organisational systems. Strong hands-on experience implementing or administering Zoho applications is highly desirable. Experience with a comparable ERP, CRM, or integrated business-management platform will also be considered. Demonstrable experience mapping processes, configuring workflows, improving systems adoption, and using automation/reporting to improve execution. Practical experience in HR administration, performance management, training coordination, and employee lifecycle processes. Strong project-management, documentation, analytical, and problem-solving skills. Ability to work across multiple departments and drive accountability. Strong organisational and communication skills. Ability to manage confidential employee, business, and operational information appropriately. Experience in fashion, retail, luxury, e-commerce, consumer goods, or another fast-moving customer-focused business is an advantage.