CEO / Managing Director, Bulk & Corridors

The Role

As the Managing Director of Zambia, you will develop and implement the Company strategy in line with the overall Logistics SSA and Bulk & Corridors strategy. The role will be instrumental in growing our existing offering within an end-to-end supply chain by setting and achieving key objectives while ensuring the safety and well-being of employees. This role will be responsible for the leadership, strategic alignment, client fulfilment, efficient, profitable, sustainable operation and commercial coordination within our client's Logistics portfolio in SSA. The role will directly contribute towards the SSA Logistics revenue and appropriate financial targets. The role links and provides client solutions leveraging all our client's capabilities in the region, and is expected to drive strategic growth, innovation, operational excellence, and stakeholder engagement, ensuring alignment with global best practices and sustainability principles.

Key Responsibilities

1. Formulate strategies aligned to our client's Bulk & Corridors strategies and KPI’s priorities

2. Set strategic direction for Zambia and associated capabilities and cascade strategic priorities into the Business Units in Zambia.

3. Establish and align the required structures, standards and capabilities to ensure that it supports and enables our client's and SSA logistics objectives and strategy, and drives a high performing team

4. Develop, implement, and take accountability for the Company strategies according to company goals and objectives aiming to accelerate growth, and that positively influence our client's revenue, operating profit and return on invested capital

5. Establish strategic relationships and agreements with clients that create value for both the client and the end user of the product

6. Lead key customer relationships and serve as the expert for logistics solutions. Identify and understand the opportunities, challenges and potential partner priorities to establish mutually beneficial partnerships/commercial relationships

7. Pro-actively work with internal and external stakeholders to ensure that the Logistics SSA Bulk & Corridors service positioning is clear and defined to maximise growth opportunities

8. Support and implement mid-term business development plans including budget and P&L responsibility for Zambia.

9. Ensure that the Company operations (including value-added services), and commercial aspects are coordinated and executed in way that ensures optimal customer service

10. Proactively identify and manage business uncertainties and opportunities, and implement action plans to mitigate supply chain risks

11. Foster a strong, collaborative partnership with the central Commercial function to develop and execute unified go-to-market strategies. 

12. Accept joint accountability for revenue generation, customer acquisition, and retention by aligning local operational capabilities with commercial priorities. 

13. Ensure that business development, pricing, and solution design are coordinated to deliver value to customers and achieve growth targets across the region.

14. Actively support and empower the Commercial team by providing operational insights, solution innovation, and customer-specific capability deployment to secure and grow strategic accounts. 

15. Leverage internal capabilities across all SSA capabilities to co-create and deliver end-to-end value propositions that strengthen our client's competitive positioning and market share in Sub-Saharan Africa.

16. Drive decision making process through integrated business planning with regional stakeholders and senior leaders (Commercial, Finance, etc.) in order to maximize service to customers and meet our client's objectives

17. Build effective relationships and facilitate collaboration across our client's group of companies to drive projects to completion and improve processes

18. Lead key customer relationships to ensure the delivery of the growth strategy over a 3 to 5 year period

19. Continuously evaluate industry, market and technology trends to assess the potential impact on operational and business opportunities. Make recommendations and drive key projects to leverage opportunities

20. Lead the adoption of automation, AI, and smart technologies to enhance performance and competitiveness.

21. Oversee the implementation of digital solutions to provide integrated, end-to-end supply chain services.

22. Formulate the Company budget to ensure that the strategic deliverables are adequately budgeted for 

23. Ensure effective fiscal management in compliance with Company standards

24. Lead, define and ensure compliance with budgeted revenue and operating income goals 

25. Analyse monthly financial performance indicators and trends, make necessary adjustments to ensure profitability, and submit required reports timeously

26. Ensure strict financial discipline, including monitoring working capital, debt, and cash flow.

27. Oversee asset management and capital expenditure, ensuring ROI-driven investments.

28. Drive long-term value creation through strategic financial planning and effective resource allocation.

29. Embed sustainability, carbon reduction, and environmental responsibility into core operations.

30. Lead green initiatives, renewable energy adoption, and emission-reduction projects.

31. Implement risk management frameworks to mitigate financial, operational, environmental, and reputational risks.

32. Lead the development of crisis management and business continuity strategies.

33. Uphold the highest standards of corporate governance, transparency, and integrity.

34. Drive a strong ethical culture, ensuring accountability at all levels.

35. Lead our client's People agenda, including the effective management of workforce planning, recruitment, learning and development, performance management, reward and recognition, talent management, and employee relations in line with Group policies and procedures

36. Drive the development of a healthy, high-performance culture across the Company, in alignment with our client's cultural objectives

37. Ensure, and assume ultimate accountability for the implementation of continuous improvement, health, employee wellbeing and sustainability best practices for the Company

38. Interpret and ensure compliance to regulatory requirements across the Company in the various countries/jurisdictions we operate.

Minimum Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS

 Relevant Bachelors degree 

EXPERIENCE 

 Minimum 10 years’ experience in the supply chain industry, including experience managing supply chain activities

 Up to 8 years’ in a similar or senior executive role for a global supply chain multinational

 Proven experience and demonstrable success in leading end to end supply chain companies, and team enablement

SKILLS 

 Proven ability operate and navigate a multinational, matrixed organization

 Strategic Orientation: The ability to evaluate and redirect organisation’s strategy, value proposition, and business strategy aimed at conceptualising a desired future state that promotes the viability of the organisation.

 Business Expertise/ Acumen: Applies in-depth knowledge of the economic, commercial and political issues to build and grow the business with impactful outcomes and influence industry performance; anticipates industry trends

 Customer Relationship Management: Builds enduring and rewarding customer relationships and actively manages customer satisfaction and loyalty.

 Business Development: Analyse new and existing clients, their needs and able to formulate possible solutions that could meet these needs, based on an in-depth understanding of company service offerings. Able to navigate through potential client organisations, identifying decision-makers, uncovering their unmet needs, and concisely demonstrating the value that business development can add to their organisations. In-depth understanding of market and client segmentation & profiling as well as the analysis of market trends, as well as understanding of the sales cycle and process, including facilitating a deal to closure.

 Business and Operations Management: Understands how to effectively plan and manage business operations including service delivery. Expert understanding of the alignment of resources, planning and priorities at an organisational level. Able to interpret business intelligence and apply it in the development of long term strategic plans to ensure effective business and organisation management in the organisation. Drives the setting of measurements that encourage raising organisational performance and measured return on investment.

 Financial Management: Extensive knowledge and understanding of key financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting process and management. Understands the link between budgets and strategic objectives of the organisation. Understands complex budgeting and financial management issues. Extensive knowledge on asset control procedures and management. Understands key financial performance indicators. Able to analyse financial statements and reports.

 Strong communication skills: You are an exceptional listener. You communicate clearly. You write exceptionally well and you speak eloquently. You can explain just about anything to anyone. You’re comfortable on the phone or to groups of people – at any level. You are incredibly tactful when delivering the facts.   

 Leadership - The ability to inspire, motivate and direct individuals to take ownership of-, and achieve desired outputs.

 Supply Chain Management - In-depth knowledge of supply chain management function policies and procedures, as well as the legislative framework governing the supply chain management function. Able to analyse the effectiveness of the supply chain and recommend improvements. Demonstrates in-depth understanding of costs and cost efficiencies within a supply chain, sustainable supply chain practices.

 Exceptional critical thinking skills: you can identify gaps in logic and underlying causes of issues; You think on your feet. You like learning new things, and you can learn quickly. 

 Strong collaborator: You can work independently because you self-manage, with limited direction and guidance, but you also enjoy collaborating across dynamic and multi-cultural teams and are personable, helpful and incredibly organised.

 Results oriented: You are proactive in handling competing priorities and meet your deadlines and commitments; you always demonstrate a “can do” positive attitude.

 Confidentiality: You consider and protect the confidentiality of company data at ALL times.

 IT skills: You are highly proficient in the full Microsoft Office Suite: Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Visio.

 Flexibility to travel: You are ready to travel between 30 - 50% of the time across the globe to our operations and clients.