Job Description

The Focus Group Cape Town, South Africa 14 July 2025 Mid / Senior 95000 - 118750 Full Time Cost to Company 5 years - 7 years Skills Analytics Payroll Performance Industries Financial Technology (Fintech)

Performance & Rewards Lead

We're looking for a highly analytical and detail-oriented Performance & Rewards Lead to join our People team and own approach to performance, compensation, equity, and rewards.



You'll play a critical role in designing and running our bi-annual performance cycle , managing payroll operations , overseeing our global equity program (RSUs and/or options), and helping us define and evolve our rewards philosophy as we scale.



You'll need a sharp financial mindset, a love of spreadsheets, and experience managing equity programs and compensation frameworks -- ideally across South African and international contexts (US or EU experience is highly valued).



Reporting line

Chief Operating Officer



Probation Period

3 months



Notice Period

1 month



Job level

IC3



Competency framework

Core Competencies



Key responsibilities Performance, Promotion & Career

Develop and steward a clear, cohesive performance philosophy that outlines what high performance looks like.

Own and iterate competency framework, ensuring clear articulation of role-specific skills and behaviors across teams.

Build clear, transparent career paths aligned with competencies and leveling guidelines, ensuring employees understand what growth looks like.

Work with People Partners to design and deliver training for managers to navigate performance reviews, give actionable feedback, and use competency tools effectively

Lead bi-annual performance review cycle end-to-end (tools, timelines, calibration, communications)

Equip managers and leaders with performance data, insights, and decision-making frameworks

Manage promotions processes and ensure alignment with pay and equity philosophy



Compensation & Payroll



Partner with Finance to run monthly payroll operations (SA + international contractors etc)

Maintain internal compensation bands and leveling frameworks

Support compensation benchmarking exercises and total rewards modelling



Equity & Long-Term Incentives



Own and manage global equity program (RSUs, cap table support)

Track grants, vesting schedules, and employee communications

Partner with legal/finance to ensure compliance and reporting accuracy

Manage and optimize tax for the plan



Rewards Strategy



Evolve our total rewards philosophy -- balancing competitiveness, transparency, and scalability

Design thoughtful, sustainable reward mechanisms beyond salary and equity (e.g. recognition programs, bonuses, benefits)

Analytics & Infrastructure



Be the owner of all people-related compensation and performance data

Create reporting dashboards and insights for leadership

Identify tools and improvements to automate and scale performance & rewards processes

Requirements Must-Haves:

5+ years in total rewards, performance, HR operations or finance/people analytics

Experience managing staff equity programs (e.g. stock options or RSUs)

Strong spreadsheet and modelling skills

Familiarity with Carta or similar equity platforms

Confident running or supporting performance review cycles

Detail-oriented with a high bar for accuracy and data integrity

Comfortable working across time zones and functions

Nice-to-Haves:

Experience with PEOs or remote payrolls

Experience scaling rewards in a Series A/B/C startup

Familiar with tools like Notion, BambooHR and Deel

Exposure to hybrid or remote-first company models

People analytics or org design experience