Role Purpose

The Head of Operations is responsible for leading and coordinating the company’s end-to-end operational functions across South Africa. This includes strategic and operational leadership of procurement, logistics, warehousing and distribution, facilities, and technical service and support functions. The role ensures seamless integration and performance across all operational areas to drive efficiency, scalability, customer satisfaction, and cost optimisation in line with the company’s growth and sustainability goals.

Location: Cape Town
Reporting To: Chief Executive Officer
Direct Reports: ±8
Division: Operations
Oversight: National

Key Responsibilities

1. Logistics

• Oversee the national logistics framework to ensure cost-effective, timely, and scalable distribution
• Guide strategy for third-party logistics partnerships, transport optimisation, and delivery performance
• Monitor KPIs and service level agreements to ensure alignment with customer delivery expectations
• Contribute to long-term logistics planning to support geographic expansion and service enhancements
• Provide governance and leadership on logistics-related risk, compliance, and cost control

2. Warehousing & Distribution

• Provide strategic oversight of national warehousing operations and distribution capability
• Review warehouse performance, stock accuracy, and fulfilment efficiency through key reporting channels
• Align warehousing infrastructure and capacity with demand forecasts and sales objectives
• Support standardisation of operational processes across all distribution centres
• Oversee capital investment planning and expansion projects in the warehouse space

3. Procurement

• Provide strategic direction and oversight to the national procurement function
• Align procurement practices with business growth plans, cost targets, and supplier performance goals
• Review and validate sourcing strategies, risk management protocols, and supplier development plans
• Oversee procurement budget planning and ensure integration with inventory and sales demand
• Champion procurement digitisation, systems optimisation, and policy compliance

4. Service & Support

• Provide executive-level leadership to the national technical services and support division
• Define strategic priorities and service delivery models aligned to customer expectations and product complexity
• Guide investment planning for workforce capability, tooling, vehicles, and training needs
• Oversee service performance reporting and client feedback loops at an aggregate level
• Partner with product and commercial teams to align support infrastructure with new solution rollouts

5. Facilities

• Lead national facilities strategy including maintenance, lease planning, safety compliance, and utilities
• Review facility-related risks and mitigation plans across the business footprint
• Oversee space optimisation, infrastructure investments, and contractor/supplier partnerships
• Ensure alignment of facilities standards across branches and alignment with ESG and HSE objectives
• Support cost and efficiency initiatives relating to property management

6. Strategic & Organisational Leadership

• Support the COO/MD in translating company strategy into an integrated operational roadmap
• Lead cross-functional alignment and communication across all operational pillars
• Develop and monitor operational KPIs across all functions and lead monthly review sessions
• Build and mentor the operational leadership team to drive accountability, collaboration, and innovation
• Represent operations in executive and board-level reviews

7. Financial Oversight & Governance

• Oversee the consolidated operations budget (across all functions), ensuring cost effectiveness and ROI
• Ensure financial targets, productivity goals and risk mitigations are embedded in all operational plans
• Provide strategic input into investment decisions (e.g. fleet, warehouse upgrades, tooling)
• Champion governance, compliance, and audit readiness across all operational areas

Key Requirements

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Operations, Engineering or related discipline
• Postgraduate qualification advantageous

Experience

• Minimum 8–10 years in senior operational leadership roles with a national or regional mandate
• Proven ability to lead through managers and build high-performing cross-functional teams
• Experience in scaling operations in complex, fast-paced environments (e.g. renewables, engineering, FMCG, distribution)

Competencies

• Strategic thinking with strong commercial acumen
• Collaborative leadership style with a focus on systems and processes
• High emotional intelligence and communication skills
• Experience in governance, risk and compliance within operations
• Comfortable leading through data, KPIs and financial reporting