Executive: Engineering and Capital Projects at PetroSA

Responsibilities:

• Provide executive leadership over the refinery reinstatement roadmap, from feasibility through commissioning and stabilisation.
• Oversee engineering governance, design assurance, technical authority, and capital project controls.
• Establish and enforce disciplined project execution frameworks (stage-gate reviews, risk assurance, readiness assessments).
• Ensure full integration between onshore refinery reinstatement and offshore/upstream asset reliability strategies.
• Strengthen asset integrity, reliability, and maintenance philosophies to support sustainable operations.
• Develop and execute the overall Reinstatement Strategy.
•  Lead the integrated refinery reinstatement programme across engineering, commercial, finance, supply chain, operations and upstream functions.
• Drive executive decision-making through stage-gate governance and investment readiness.
• Ensure alignment between refinery reinstatement and PetroSA's long-term commercial strategy.
• Restore confidence among shareholders, regulators, partners, and government stakeholders regarding refinery reinstatement feasibility.
• Ensure robust business cases, cost estimates, and funding models underpin reinstatement decisions.
• Promote a culture of disciplined execution, accountability, and learning from historical failures.
• Solicit Partners & Secure Funding for the Reinstatement Programme
• Accountable for capital and operational cost discipline across reinstatement initiatives.
• Ensure internal customers (Operations, Trading, Supply Chain, etc) are supported through reliable, fit-for-purpose assets

Knowledge & Competencies:

• South African Legislation relating to SHEQ (e.g. Mine Health and Safety Act and Occupational Health and Safety Act etc.)
• South African Labour Legislation.
• Strong understanding of capital project management and execution.
• In-depth understanding of the oil and gas industry
• Strong understanding of Refinery engineering and operations.
• Sound knowledge of Project finance and financing models

Requirements & Qualifications

Minimum Qualification:  

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering (Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical Engineering)
• Project Management
• MBA or equivalent preferred
• Registration with a recognised professional engineering body (e.g., ECSA or equivalent)

Minimum Work Experience:

• Minimum 15–20 years’ experience in heavy industrial, oil & gas, petrochemical, or refinery environments.
• At least 10 years at senior or executive management level overseeing large-scale engineering and capital programmes.
• Proven track record in Refinery or major plant reinstatement / brownfield revamp programmes.
• Capital project execution in high-risk, regulated environments Asset integrity, reliability engineering, and operational readiness
• Experience operating within state-owned, regulated, or governance-intensive environments is highly advantageous.
• Demonstrated exposure to upstream and downstream integration is preferred