Job Description
- The Head: Programmes is a member of the IPPO Executive Management Committee (Exco) and is accountable for the integrated planning, development and delivery of IPPO energy-infrastructure procurement programmes, including generation, storage, gas-to-power, transmission and related initiatives. The role provides senior engineering and programme-delivery leadership across the full lifecycle, from mandate, concept and procurement through to preferred-bidder appointment, financial close, implementation readiness, handover and benefits realisation.
- The incumbent integrates technical, legal, financial, commercial, procurement, environmental, regulatory, socio-economic and stakeholder workstreams to ensure programmes are system-aligned, bankable, affordable, investable and executable. The role also leads portfolio governance, engineering assurance, stage-gate controls, programme controls, reporting, knowledge transfer and delivery continuity in support of security of supply, investment mobilisation, affordability, industrialisation, localisation, transformation, socio-economic development and a just energy transition.
Key Responsibilities
Executive strategy, portfolio planning and contribution
- Contribute to IPPO executive strategy, institutionalisation, governance, performance and enterprise decision-making.
- Develop and maintain the Programmes Strategy and integrated portfolio delivery plan aligned to national energy priorities, mandates, resources and the APP.
- Translate priorities into a sequenced programme pipeline with clear outcomes, benefits, dependencies, milestones, resources and funding needs.
- Provide executive advice on delivery feasibility, system constraints, risk, timing, market capacity and corrective interventions.
Institutionalise the Programmes function and lead operating-model transition
- Lead the Programmes workstream of IPPO institutionalisation and implement the approved operating model, governance, delegations and accountability arrangements.
- Protect delivery continuity, governance integrity, institutional credibility and records completeness during transition.
- Embed end-to-end processes, role clarity, assurance, document control, quality standards, knowledge transfer and capability building.
Establish and operate enterprise PMO and portfolio controls
- Establish and lead an enterprise PMO as the single source of truth for scope, schedule, cost, resources, risks, decisions, dependencies and performance.
- Maintain integrated schedules, stage gates, readiness reviews, programme registers, dashboards and management information systems.
- Direct capacity planning, adviser deployment, budgets, standards, templates, governance calendars and continuous improvement of programme maturity.
Lead programme design, engineering readiness and procurement preparation
- Convert mandates into programme business cases, delivery options, feasibility assessments, pro-curement strategies and implementation road maps.
- Lead engineering basis, specifications, system requirements, grid-readiness, permitting, stakeholder approvals and programme dependencies before procurement milestones.
- Integrate technical, commercial, financial, legal, procurement, regulatory, environmental and socio-economic requirements into bankable procurement frameworks.
Direct procurement execution, preferred-bidder and financial-close delivery
- Direct integrated bid-process planning, data-room readiness, bidder interfaces, evaluations, govern-ance submissions, preferred-bidder appointment and close planning.
- Maintain fair, transparent and defensible procurement processes with Legal and Procurement, including records, confidentiality and conflicts management.
- Coordinate preferred-bidder and financial-close plans, resolve dependencies, escalate constraints and ensure structured handover to implementation and contract-management functions.
Provide engineering, grid-integration, implementation and operational-readiness assurance
- Provide executive engineering assurance across generation, storage, gas, transmission, grid con-nection, system integration and emerging technologies.
- Assure design maturity, constructability, interfaces, safety, quality, climate resilience, commission-ing, testing and operational readiness at programme gates.
- Monitor implementation readiness and key delivery milestones, resolve material dependencies and capture lessons for future procurement windows.
Lead portfolio risk, performance, governance and reporting
- Maintain integrated risk, issue, opportunity and performance frameworks across technical, grid, schedule, cost, procurement, market, regulatory, environmental, social, financial and stakeholder risks.
- Provide concise, decision-useful reports, forecasts, dashboards and recommendations to IPPO, DEE, DBSA and governance structures.
- Ensure programmes remain compliant, audit-ready and aligned to approved scope, schedule, cost, quality, benefits and strategic outcomes.
Drive transformation, industrialisation, socio-economic development and just-transition outcomes
- Translate transformation, localisation, industrialisation, skills, socio-economic development and just-transition priorities into programme requirements, evaluation criteria and contractual deliverables.
- Balance development outcomes with competition, affordability, bankability, value for money and delivery feasibility.
- Monitor portfolio-level delivery of commitments, address underperformance and use lessons to strengthen future procurement windows.
Build strategic partnerships and maintain market and investor confidence
- Build trusted relationships with government, regulators, DBSA, NTCSA, Eskom, municipalities, IPPs, sponsors, lenders, DFIs, investors, advisers, industry bodies and communities.
- Maintain clear governance, information, decision and escalation arrangements for inter-institutional dependencies.
- Lead market engagement while protecting procurement integrity, confidentiality, equal access to information and market confidence.
Enable people and build organisational capability
- Create an ethical, accountable, inclusive and collaborative delivery culture across staff, secondees, advisers and matrixed teams.
- Implement workforce and capability plans covering role clarity, succession, recruitment, retention, professional development, mentoring and coaching.
- Institutionalise knowledge management, standard methods, lessons learned and structured capabil-ity transfer from external advisers to internal teams.
Expertise & Technical Competencies
Minimum Requirements:
- Bachelor of Engineering or BSc Engineering degree at NQF Level 8 in a relevant engineering discipline, or equivalent qualification recognised by ECSA.
- Professional registration with ECSA as Pr Eng, and a recognised programme or project management qualification, are added advantages.
- Relevant postgraduate qualification at NQF Level 9 in engineering, energy systems, programme or project management, infrastructure finance, business administration or a related field is advantageous.
- Minimum 15 years' post-qualification experience in engineering, programme or project management and delivery of large-scale infrastructure programmes.
- At least 10 years' experience in complex energy or infrastructure programmes, including generation, storage, gas, transmission, grid infrastructure or comparable project-financed assets.
- Minimum five years at senior management or executive level, with accountability for multidisciplinary teams, governance, budgets, advisers, outcomes and senior stakeholder relationships.
- Proven leadership of a multi-programme portfolio, enterprise PMO or major infrastructure delivery office across the full programme lifecycle.
- Demonstrated experience in IPP, PPP or infrastructure finance environments, including engagement with sponsors, lenders, DFIs, institutional investors, advisers, regulators and government decision-makers.
- Advanced experience in scheduling, cost and resource control, risk, change, technical assurance, quality, governance reporting and recovery of delayed or distressed programmes.
- Experience in public-sector governance, institutional transition, ESG, climate resilience, transformation, localisation, industrialisation and socio-economic outcomes in infrastructure delivery.
Professional Registration
- ECSA Pr Eng registration and a recognised programme/project-management credential (e.g. PMP, PRINCE2) are both an added advantage, not mandatory.
Knowledge
- IPPO mandate, operating model and full programme lifecycle, including procurement, delivery, monitoring and contract interfaces.
- National energy policy, planning and market frameworks, including DEE Strategy, IRP, TDP, SAREM, Gas Master Plan and just-transition priorities.
- Power-system engineering, grid integration, generation, storage, gas, transmission and emerging energy technologies.
- IPP, PPP, infrastructure procurement, project finance, bankability, risk allocation and investor requirements.
- Portfolio governance, enterprise PMO design, stage gates, readiness reviews, programme controls, assurance and benefits realisation.
- Public-sector governance, procurement, regulatory, environmental, ESG, transformation, localisation and socio-economic development requirements.
- Institutional landscape and stakeholder roles, including DEE, National Treasury, DBSA, NERSA, Eskom, NTCSA, municipalities, IPPs, lenders, DFIs and advisers.
Skills
- Executive strategy, portfolio priori-tisation and benefits management.
- Advanced programme, project and PMO management, including scope, cost, schedule, risk, change and quality control.
- Engineering assurance, multidisci-plinary integration and technical decision-making.
- Procurement design, transaction management, preferred-bidder management and financial-close coordination.
- Commercial, project-finance and value-for-money analysis.
- Management and Executive reporting, analytics, dashboards, issue resolution and evidence-based decision-making.
- Negotiation, facilitation, stakeholder management, people leadership and capability building.
South African public-domain Acts, frameworks and policies applicable to the IPPO:
- Constitution of the Republic of South Africa; PFMA; Treasury Regulations and Instructions.
- PAJA; PAIA; PPPFA and Regulations; Public Procurement Act 28 of 2024.
- Electricity Regulation Act; Electricity Regulation Amendment Act 38 of 2024; National Energy Regulator Act; National Energy Act.
- South African Grid Code; Market Code; SAWEM framework; NERSA licensing and registration frameworks.
- NEMA; Climate Change Act; OHSA; Construction Regulations; environmental, water, heritage, land-use and permitting frameworks.
- B-BBEE Act and Codes; Competition Act; transformation, localisation, industrialisation and socio-economic development policies.
- DEE Strategic Plan; IRP; Gas Master Plan; Transmission Development Plan; SAREM; Just Energy Transition plans.
- IPP Procurement Programme frameworks and standard public-domain procurement documentation.
- National Treasury infrastructure-delivery, PPP and procurement frameworks.
- Engineering Profession Act; ECSA regulatory framework; applicable SANS and NRS standards.
Required Personal Attributes
Behaviours
- Integrity, accountability and public-interest orientation.
- Strategic, systems and whole-of-portfolio thinking.
- Professional judgement, deci-siveness and resilience under pressure.
- Delivery discipline, urgency and attention to detail.
- Collaborative, inclusive and cross-disciplinary leadership.
- Political and organisational acu-ity, diplomacy and stakeholder orientation.
- Learning agility, innovation and continuous improvement.
Deadline:7th September,2026
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