Lourens, Melanie ElisabethHlophe, Lungisani Webster2025-11-032025-11-032025https://hdl.handle.net/10321/6265Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Masters in Human Resources Management, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2025.The purpose of this study was to explore the role of leadership development on employee job performance at Ugu District Municipality. The main objectives of this study were to investigate the role of leadership development at Ugu District Municipality, to assess the challenges related to leadership development at Ugu District Municipality, to assess the perception of employees at Ugu DM relating to the types of leadership development programmes offered at the district municipality; and to investigate the effects of leadership development on employee job performance at Ugu District Municipality. The research design embraces a quantitative approach with a pre-coded structured close ended questionnaire comprising the 5 Point Likert Scale that was used to administer the instrument to the selected sample respondents. Using Sekaran and Bougie’s (2014:268) computed statistical table the total population for this study was 797 employees and the sample size of 260 employees will be selected for circulation of questionnaires. The systematic random sample will be used to select the requisite sample. A total of 260 questionnaires were distributed to sample respondents and 203 questionnaires were collected. However, 57 of the distributed questionnaires were not returned, this equated to a high response rate of 78 %. The data will be captured to form a data set and thereafter statistically tested using the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 29.0 for Windows. Upon completion, the entire dissertation was checked for plagiarism through the TURNITIN Programme. The researcher recommended that top management at Ugu District Municipality should focus on leadership development. Leadership development needs to be supported, organized, connected to succession planning, further motivated by return on investment (ROI), and in line with Ugu District Municipality's strategic goals. The research project concluded with directions for future research on the role of leadership development on employee job performance332 penLeadership developmentEmployee job performancePersonnel managementLeadership--South Africa--Ugu District MunicipalityEmployees--Training of--South AfricaMunicipal officials and employees--Training of--South AfricaEmployee motivationThesishttps://doi.org/10.51415/10321/6265