Human Resource (HR) Lead- South Africa

ABOUT HUGO

Hugo is a next-generation BPO built for today’s work. With a global team of over 4,500 people, we focus on high-complexity, judgment-led workflows where nuance matters and traditional outsourcing models fall short. Our teams support demanding digital operations, including AI and model evaluation, trust and safety, crisis and escalation workflows, and advanced customer experience programs.

Our workforce is designed to operate in ambiguity. University-trained teams work within AI-enabled workflows, combining analytical rigor with a strong culture of accuracy and ownership. Since 2023, we’ve scaled rapidly while maintaining strong retention and consistent execution quality.

We are enterprise-ready, but operate differently. Hugo meets the compliance, security, and operational standards of large global BPOs while maintaining the speed and adaptability of a modern, analytics-driven organization. Our teams think like consultants—pairing structured execution with thoughtful problem-solving—delivering enterprise-grade reliability to large organizations and sophisticated operational capability to smaller, underserved companies.

Our mission drives everything we do. Outsourcing creates significant global value, yet little of it reaches African communities. Hugo is changing that by channeling opportunity into Africa, building meaningful careers, and proving that African talent can help power the future of the digital economy.

THE ROLE

We’re looking for a strategic and executional HR Lead to build and scale the people function for our South Africa BPO operation. This person will partner with leadership to shape headcount plans, define hiring needs, build HR processes, and create the foundations for a high-performing team as the business grows.

WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING

● People Strategy & Workforce Planning

● Partner with leadership to understand business goals, operating capacity, and future team structure.

● Translate growth plans into headcount forecasts, role requirements, and hiring priorities.

● Anticipate workforce gaps and recommend the right org structure, team design, and staffing approach.

● Use people data and business insight to guide decisions on hiring timing, capacity, and retention. HR Function Build-Out

● Build core HR processes, policies, and rhythms that support a growing BPO environment.

● Set up practical systems for onboarding, employee records, attendance, performance, and employee relations.

● Establish clear workflows, documentation standards, and manager support tools.

● Create an HR foundation that can scale with the business. Employee Relations & Compliance

● Lead employee relations matters with sound judgment, consistency, and confidentiality.

● Support disciplinary processes, grievances, investigations, and performance management.

● Ensure HR practices align with South African labour law and internal policy.

● Advise managers on fair, compliant, and effective people decisions. Hiring Enablement

● Define hiring needs with business leaders, even if recruitment execution sits elsewhere.

● Help shape job profiles, role scopes, and interview expectations for each function.

● Support workforce planning, talent pipeline thinking, and hiring prioritization.

● Ensure the business has the right structure and capacity to hire efficiently as needs evolve. Leadership Support & Culture

● Act as a trusted advisor to leadership on team growth, performance, and organizational effectiveness.

● Support manager capability through coaching, guidance, and people-process training.

● Help build a strong, accountable, and engaged culture in a fast-paced BPO setting.

● Balance business needs with a positive employee experience.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

● 8+ years of progressive HR experience, including experience in a lead, manager, or senior generalist role.

● Strong experience in strategic HR, workforce planning, and headcount thinking.

● Experience building HR processes in a growing or changing environment is highly desirable.

● Strong knowledge of South African labour law, employee relations, and compliance.

● Experience in BPO, contact centre, or other high-volume operational environments preferred.

● Ability to think commercially, solve problems quickly, and make practical people decisions.

● Strong stakeholder management and confidence working with senior leadership.

● Hands-on, structured, and comfortable building from scratch.

● Excellent communication, organization, and judgment.

● HR qualification or related degree preferred; additional HR or labour relations certification is a plus.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE: FIRST 90-120 DAYS

● Clear understanding of business goals, team structure, and headcount requirements.

● A practical workforce plan and people roadmap aligned to growth plans.

● Core HR processes and documentation in place for onboarding, employee records, and ER management.

● Strong working relationships with leadership and operational managers.

● Early improvements in organization, manager confidence, and HR responsiveness.

● A scalable foundation for future hiring and team expansion.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT

Diversity, equity and inclusion are part of our DNA. Promoting and, where possible, improving diversity, equity and inclusion are a value-based and commercial necessity. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from all qualified individuals, regardless of race, sex, gender identify, sexual orientation, neurodiversity, disability, or any other legally protected status