Environmental Coordinator at Tharisa

Role Context

Environmental Performance Management

• Evaluate Tharisa Minerals (TM’s) statistical and environmental performance, by ensuring that valid statistics for environmental performance are available and use them to track and report on the organisation's environmental progress, to achieve a year-over-year reduction in environmental incidents and resource consumption.
• Monitor environmental management programs, by reporting on the percentage of program milestones achieved on time, to ensure programs are consistently on schedule and meet environmental goals.
• Manage external environmental consultants providing services to TM, by assessing their performance through regular evaluations and on-time project completion, to ensure they deliver quality work on their responsibilities, meeting agreed deadlines.
• Develop and implement environmental strategies and action plans that will promote corporate sustainable development and environmental responsibility, by evaluating the progress made toward obtaining the strategic goals and reporting on the percentage achieved, to deliver on the environmental goals as defined in the strategies.
• Take the lead on sustainable procurement for environmental goods and services, by making decisions that align with TM’s environmental goals, tracking and reporting on the percentage of sustainable procurement practices within the organisation, to increase the percentage of environmentally responsible procurement.
• Coordinate all aspects of pollution control, waste management, water management, greenhouse gas reduction, recycling, conservation, and renewable energy initiatives, by monitoring key metrics (i.e., reduced emissions, increased recycling rates, and reduced energy consumption), to implement initiatives that lead to measurable reductions in pollution, waste, and energy use.
• Audit, analyse and report on environmental performance to both internal and external stakeholders and relevant regulatory bodies, tracking the accuracy and timeliness of all environmental reports, to ensure all reports submitted as per the approved standard.
• Develop and implement an environmental management system, tracking key performance indicators related to environmental impact reduction and management system effectiveness, to continually improve TM’s environmental impact through effective management systems.
• Negotiate environmental service agreements and manage associated costs and revenues, by evaluating the cost-effectiveness and revenue generated through service agreements, to optimise costs and revenues.
• Set organisational sustainability targets and develop plans to meet those targets, by monitoring and reporting on their overall achievement progress, to oversee their delivery and whether they meet or exceed organisational sustainability targets.
• Manage, coordinate and control the mining environmental management, including water, waste, energy, emissions, biodiversity, land/soil, and rehabilitation issues, by tracking key environmental performance metrics (i.e., water usage, waste reduction, energy efficiency, emissions control, and land rehabilitation), to ensure responsible mining practices and maintain environmental standards.

Risk Management

• Oversee incident investigations by tracking the number of incidents investigated and the percentage with root cause analysis and corrective actions, to ensure they meet specifications and identify root causes for all environmental incidents and implement corrective actions.
• Oversee and monitor that all environmental risk assessments (ERA) and reports meet the required legislative specifications, by evaluating the number of identified risks and tracking the percentage with mitigation strategies in place, to ensure all risk mitigation strategies are implemented accordingly.
• Conduct impact assessments by calculating the percentage reduction in environmental risks and associated financial costs, to identify, assess and reduce the organisation's environmental risks and financial costs.
• Promote and raise awareness on the impact of emerging environmental issues (whether legislative or best practice, on corporate, ethical and/or social responsibility), by conducting surveys or assessments to gauge the level of awareness and understanding among employees and increase these levels across the entire organisation.

Compliance Management

• Monitor TM’s legal compliance, by ensuring that the area of responsibilities meets legal requirements, including compliance with environmental regulations and mining-related laws, to maintain full compliance with all relevant environmental laws and regulations.
• Identify environmental compliance shortcomings, by planning and implementing inspections and audits to assess and improve environmental compliance and performance, ensuring that all inspections and audits result in actionable findings and improvements.
• Keep up to date with the latest government environmental regulations, through the documentation and reporting on the frequency of regulatory updates and the timeliness of advisory actions, to advise TM on compliance and any required adjustments to existing policies and procedures.
• Oversee the environmental compliance within TM, by conducting regular compliance assessments and reporting on the percentage of compliance maintained, to achieve and maintain full compliance with environmental laws and regulations.
• Provide support to all TM sister companies, by liaising with legal and regulatory authorities on their behalf, ensuring that they are registered and have obtained the required environmental licenses, to manage their overall environmental compliance.
• Lead the implementation of environmental policies and practices, by conducting policy compliance audits and reporting on the percentage of adherence, to ensure that environmental policies are consistently followed throughout the organisation.
• Oversee and coordinate compliance with both local and international environmental regulations and/or legislation, by monitoring and reporting on compliance levels for local and international regulations separately, to keep TM up to date with all the latest developments pertaining to the mining industry and/or environmental management.
• Participate in environmental education and research initiatives to stay informed and contribute towards environmental knowledge within TM.

Resource Management

• Provide input into required changes in resources (financial or non-financial) to enable the achievement of team and/or own objectives.
• Determine resource needs of the team and/or own area of work to achieve business outcomes.
• Request and allocate required assets and/or resources for the fulfilment of work objectives to guarantee quality outputs.
• Monitor the use of assets and resources within the team and own area of responsibility, to ensure assets and resources are consistently and appropriately utilised and managed.
• Provide staff with day-to-day direction and tasks aligned with Departmental procedures, to enable the usage of less resources more efficiently.

Stakeholder Relations

• Communicate with all relevant Departments on issues of the area of speciality. Liaise across the relevant Departments by engaging with the appropriate stakeholders to ensure all stakeholders remain abreast of Departmental objectives, any potential derailers are appropriately managed and duplication of work is avoided.
• Communicate with internal and/or external stakeholders, where required, to achieve work objectives and to maintain relationships.
• Liaise with relevant legislative and regulatory bodies (i.e., local authorities, community groups, and competent bodies) by assessing stakeholder satisfaction and the resolution of environmental issues, to foster cooperation and build positive relationships with relevant bodies and address environmental concerns accordingly.
• Coordinate public participation and consultations on environmental matters, by fostering open communication and community involvement, to monitor the number of public engagements TM is involved in and assess community feedback and involvement.

Requirements

Qualifications:

• Degree (NQF7) in Environmental Science, Environmental Management or equivalent within the mining or other relevant industry
• Advantageous: Honours Degree (NQF8) in Environmental Science, Environmental Management or equivalent within the mining or other relevant industry

Certifications:

• Environmental short course certification (i.e., ISO 14001 Management System, Environmental Law for Environmental Managers)
• Registered as an Environmental Scientist with the South African Counsil for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP)

Job specific experience:

• Minimum of 5-8 years’ environmental health and safety experience within the mining or similar industry
• Experience with legal applications (i.e., Water Use License Application)
• Strong knowledge and experience on the application and implementation of south African legislative regulations and laws.

Inherent requirements

• Must be medically fit

Closing date: 26 March 2026