General Manager : Strategy Delivery at Transnet

Position Purpose

• Direct the oversight, execution, and management of strategic initiatives, including change initiatives (from Transnet Group), PSPs (managed by Group Business Development), and capital initiatives (from Operating Divisions). 
• Lead key strategic initiatives to drive growth and ensure Transnet's long-term sustainability by enhancing the operational effectiveness of Operating Divisions and developing new capabilities needed to support the portfolio of initiatives.
• Responsible for delivering technical expertise and transaction advisory support on key strategic initiatives, including governance and gate reviews, change management, and capital investments to advance private sector participation (PSP) initiatives. This role is instrumental in developing and continuously refining Transnet's Strategy and Planning framework and overseeing the implementation of the Joint Investment and External Partner Selection (JIEPS) framework.
• Establish a PSP Integration and Portfolio Management Office to connect strategy to delivery by ensuring that strategic initiatives;
• align with strategic objectives and have clear performance measures,
• oversee the execution of key PSP transactions, and
• collaborate with key stakeholders, including the Presidency and the Department of Transport’s PSP Unit, to secure adequate resourcing and project management support.

Position Outputs

• Provide project delivery support to project sponsors responsible for implementing strategically aligned change, capital and PSP initiatives from Transnet Group, Operating Divisions and Business Development respectively.
• Provide transaction advisory support for PSP initiatives, ensuring alignment with Transnet's JIEPS framework to integrate PSP models, enhance project execution, and foster strategic partnerships aligned with Transnet’s long-term goals.
• Collaborate with the “Economic Strategy”, “Technical Oversight” and “Capital Development and Assurance” teams to;
• provide early insights to the potential commercial impact of expected costs and benefits; and
• ensure the case for change is still relevant.
• Conduct a prioritisation exercise to significantly cost save by identifying all projects and initiatives underway, in various parts of Transnet Group and Operating Divisions, and;
• consolidate similar cross-cutting initiatives,
• prioritise initiatives according to strategic fit, time, cost, complexity, risk,
• halt those with no strategic relevance and
• develop cost compression strategies.
• Establish a PSP Integration and Portfolio Management Office to ensure the collection of selected and prioritised initiatives, mapped to Transnet’s strategic objectives, manage and drive the PSP portfolio, and track benefits against Transnet goals.
• Provide technical input and commercial oversight of the transaction advisory support for key strategic PSP initiatives-including governance and gated review, change management, delivery of key private sector participation (PSP) initiatives-to drive the development and continuous updates of the Transnet Strategy and Planning framework, as well as to manage the implementation of the Joint Investment and External Partner Selection (JIEPS) framework.
• Work with the “Strategy and Performance Management” team to monitor the performance of the strategic initiatives with an interactive and integrated executive dashboard, understand inter-dependencies, resolve issues and determine whether the portfolio is still appropriate for delivering the strategic objectives.
• Monitor management activities and delivery to aid in programming decisions and identify measures to be tracked by the Strategy and Performance management team. Track and report on key initiatives regularly against cost, schedule dimensions and whether they are delivering the anticipated strategic benefits.
• Partner with the Economic Strategy and Technical Oversight teams to develop and implement strategies for design, management, and contracting of PSPs, in collaboration with Capital Development and Assurance, while directing oversight and control activities.
• Lead cross-functional teams in the development of Transnet-wide operational strategies and assure initiatives are delivered on time, per scope and within budget parameters.
• Develop a trusted partnership and act as the primary liaison with internal clients, addressing service needs, requests, and issues.
• Provides timely communication of status, issues and recommendations, including maintaining technical and administrative control of change, capital and PSP initiatives.
• Define Business Case commercial sustainability that ensures Capex and Copex alignment to the Transnet Strategy, and guide Operating Divisions on the Business case development of each segment, in partnership with the Capital Development and Assurance team.
• Ensure commercial sustainability of business cases by aligning Capex and Opex with Transnet’s Strategy and guide Operating Divisions on segment-specific business case development in collaboration with Technical Oversight and Capital Development and Assurance.
• Prepare and regularly submit project review reports for progress monitoring meetings, plan and prioritise workload effectively to ensure that critical project milestones are achieved and report where there is variance.

Qualifications and Experience

• Relevant Bachelor’s Degree (NQF 7) plus post graduate degree,
• Master’s qualification (technical, commercial, engineering) or equivalent is an added advantage,
• Minimum 15 years’ experience within a strategic project / portfolio management environment in a large enterprise with complex business processes, of which at least 7 years at a senior managerial level,
• Cross-functional industry experience with large-scale and complex responsibilities,
• Familiarity with project scheduling applications; analysing and interpretation of data pertaining to capital planning issues using appropriate methods and statistical techniques;
• Experienced and well-versed in customer relations with an excellent track record in implementation,
• Complexity of integration of information from many disciplines within the business for decision-making,
• Experience in implementing an effective capital project and program monitoring plan to ensure timely and cost-effective project delivery,
• Advanced knowledge of principles, practices, and techniques of project and program management for capital projects,
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills; ability to use hard data and metrics.
• Requirement of trust and honesty in the handling of finances as per the National Credit Act Amendment 19.

Standard Job Requirements:

• Driver’s license code 08
• Travel as required and approved