Operations Manager at Secondments

Job Advert Summary    

The Operations Manager will oversee outsourced property and utilities services for a leading national information and communications technology services provider in South Africa with one of the largest property portfolios. 

This includes supervising the management of the following: 

• Property Leases including estates management, data administration, client accounting, acquisitions, disposals, lease renewals, re-gears, town planning and valuation
• Management of Utilities involving municipal transactions and resolution of disputes (Electricity/Water/ Rates and Taxes/ Sanitation, Refuse, Levies) 
• The Operations Manager will also have strong financial experience with a strong background in analysing and reporting on financials.

Minimum Requirements    

Experience / Education:

• Advanced business knowledge, especially in the property industry and associated financial markets backed-up by at least 10 years corporate real estate experience. 
• Experience in client engagement is critical. 
• Experience in managing people is essential, a business degree would be a strong recommendation.
• Imperative for strong financial experience with a strong background in analysing and reporting on financials. CA(SA), CIMA qualifications is recommended.
• Working knowledge of SAP will be advantageous.

Skills required:

• People Management, Managing staff/portfolios remotely, Budgeting and Financial Management, IT Literacy, Negotiation, Planning, Co-ordination and Organising, Networking; Presentation skills, Drivers License.

Knowledge required:

• Occupier Account Management, Contract management, Financial management, In-depth knowledge of lease agreements, Understanding of cost budgeting, Statutory requirements, Business acumen, Common law principles applicable to leasing, basic labour relations.

Competencies required:

• Property Specialist, Team leadership, Change leadership, Financial and business acumen, Applied Strategic planning, Customer and Quality Focus, Analytical Thinking, Drive and Productivity, Problem Solving and Decision Making, Innovation, Negotiation.

COMPETENCY DEFINITIONS AND STANDARDS REQUIRED

Team leadership

• Creates an environment that encourages calculated risk-taking to achieve “stretch” goals, and supports employees in the event of failures or mistakes. 
• Uses multiple, complex, but integrated strategies to promote team morale and productivity. 
• Creates a compelling vision that generates commitment to the group mission and values.

Change Leadership

• Identifies the need for change to achieve organisation transformation and maintain a competitive edge in the market. 
• Provides a compelling case for change and a clear vision of the future. 
• Develops a network of strong relationships across the organisation to consult regarding change. Is a champion of change.

Financial and business Acumen

• Anticipates and creates business and profit opportunities for the organisation and relates the cost to profit in order to exploit the opportunity to improve results. (i.e. track record of successfully exploiting business opportunities for the Company.)

Applied Strategic planning

• Initiates, designs and develops sound strategies based on vision and analyses to sustain competitive advantage. 
• Implements appropriate activities to optimise performance across functions, which are in line with the corporate strategy. 
• Shifts strategic direction and adjusts strategic plans when appropriate.

Customer and Quality Focus

• Works with a long-term perspective in addressing customers’ problems. 
• Balances costs of improvements and quality against customer requirements.
• Assesses market data to anticipate future trends in customers’ needs and expectations and gears up to deal with those. 
• Examines business plans and actions for services and their effect on the delivery of effective solutions for customers.

Analytical Thinking

• Makes complex plan or analyses: Uses several analytical techniques to break apart complex problems into component parts, and to weigh the value of each.
• Drive and Productivity
• Sets challenging goals and high-performance standards for self, team, function or organisation, i.e. where there is about a 50/50 chance of achieving the goal; a definite stretch, but not impossible or unrealistic. 
• Is not averse to taking calculated risks.
• Makes decisions, sets priorities, chooses goals on the basis of calculated inputs and outputs; explicit considerations of potential profit, return on investment or cost benefit analyses.

Problem Solving and Decision Making

• Bases decisions on their effect on organisational resources, constraints and values.
• Evaluates decisions against their contribution to achieving the mission.
• Selects the best option envisaged for the long term.
• Innovation Develops alternative approaches to problem solving and business enhancement and facilitates and stimulates such behaviour in others. 
• Continuously revises and refines current business practices, processes and products to sustain competitive advantage.
• Negotiation Elicits support and co-operation, using rational and influencing arguments to reach conclusions acceptable to all parties.
• Negotiates on behalf of the team/function/or organisation (e.g. union negotiations, cross-functional resourcing, project implementation, Service Level Agreements within the organisation

Duties and Responsibilities    

Main purpose / objective of the position:

• Responsible for all aspects of the account including; Quality of service, Client satisfaction, Team leadership and development, Provision of industry insight and innovation in support of the Client leadership team, Facilitating access to company range of service offerings, commercial management of the account .
• All the functional lines dedicated to the account report to the Operations Manager.

Operational Delivery:

• Implementation, performance and compliance for all contracted services. Ensure that the commercial framework for the contract is maintained 
• Work with account delivery teams and functional heads to improve process efficiency and reduce risk and cost to the Client & company alike. 
• Develop and actively support cost optimization initiatives to deliver projected and targeted savings in year.
• Ensure the smooth integration and performance of company accounting and financial reporting services dedicated to the client account, both with respect to client facing financial reporting and the integration of company internal financial P&L management
• Maintain overall responsibility for team hiring, training, compensation, performance tracking and satisfaction of employees
• Create effective partnerships across the different functions and with other strategic partners, driving an integrated and simplified approach to end to end service delivery
• Communication channel for the escalation and resolution of issues where there may be challenges in resolving within the function for company and the Client Continuous Improvement
• Understand the Client’s business and operations to ensure that company services dovetail seamlessly into the organisation. Identify where existing services or processes require re-engineering, or where the implementation of best practice could deliver business benefits.

Client Stakeholder Management

• Build and maintain regular communication channels with the Client stakeholders to support the consistent delivery. 
• Maintain regular communication across company functional teams to ensure service alignment with the Client’s strategic agenda and providing the Client with insight and opportunities. 
• Chair regular performance reviews (e.g. Strategic Supplier meetings) between the Client stakeholders and company, reviewing relevant operational metrics (including, relevant Service Levels, Customer Satisfaction, Value Add metrics), identifying areas for improvement and ensuring alignment between contract goals and the Client strategic agenda. 
• Thought Leadership 
• Provide access to the latest industry best practice and innovation, thought leadership and available benchmark data to assist the development and delivery of their strategic initiatives and ongoing evolution. Facilitate access to company range of service offerings to support the Client’s business transformation or cost reduction initiatives.