Senior Manager: Infrastructure Development at Construction Education & Training Authority (CETA)

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Lead the development and implementation of CETA's Infrastructure Development Strategy in alignment with NDP 2030, the SETA landscape and DHET priorities.
• Develop and maintain binding national standards and minimum norms for PSET infrastructure, with a specific focus on built environment, including construction workshops, technical laboratories, ICT integration and learning spaces. infrastructure, with a specific focus on built environment,including construction workshops, technical laboratories, ICT integration and learning spaces.
• Represent CETA in various forums, ensuring sector training and development infrastructure requirements are embedded in national frameworks.
• Coordinate and quality-assure infrastructure research, audits and assessments in partnership with universities, TVET colleges and other institutions.
• Develop infrastructure typology classification criteria relevant to the education and training sector, encompassing research intensity, geographical context, digital capacity, disciplinary focus and historical disadvantage status.
• Oversee CETA's infrastructure-related projects and capital investment decisions to ensure alignment with sector education and training priorities and typology standards.
• Develop and enforce lifecycle cost accounting frameworks for all education and training infrastructure, incorporating maintenance planning, energy efficiency, sustainability benchmarks and renewal cycle parameters.
• Monitor and evaluate infrastructure project implementation against approved plans, budgets and quality standards, escalating risks and recommending corrective interventions.
• Ensure all infrastructure investments comply with PFMA, Treasury Regulations and applicable built environment legislation.
• Develop proposals for targeted capital investment to historically disadvantaged education and training institutions.
• Provide authoritative built environment technical guidance on the design, construction, refurbishment and maintenance of education and training facilities.
• Develop and implement quality assurance frameworks and inspection protocols for training infrastructure, ensuring compliance with OHSA and other applicable sector accreditation requirements.
• Advise on the integration of 4IR technologies into the physical infrastructure of education and training providers.
• Ensure climate-responsive and sustainability design principles are embedded in infrastructure standards, accounting for South Africa's diverse regional climates.
• Support diligence processes and audits relating to infrastructure assets and capital projects.
• Build and maintain strategic relationships with DHET, NSF, CHE, DTIC, National Treasury, the Built Environment Professional Councils and industry bodies.
• Engage levy-paying employers, training providers and construction industry stakeholders on infrastructure investment priorities and built environment standards.
• Represent CETA in intergovernmental forums, sector consultations and technical working groups related to PSET infrastructure.
• Facilitate research partnerships, ensuring infrastructure research informs policy and investment decisions.
• Prepare and present infrastructure strategy papers, technical reports and briefings for as and when required.
• Develop the annual infrastructure operational plan, budget and procurement plan in alignment with the CETA Strategic Plan and APP.
• Produce quarterly and annual performance reports on infrastructure activities, investments and standards development, contributing to CETA's audit outcomes.
• Maintain a comprehensive infrastructure asset register and condition assessment database.
• Manage service providers, consultants and contractors involved in infrastructure projects in accordance with PFMA and National Treasury guidelines.
• Identify, pursue and coordinate access to development finance for infrastructure projects, including engagement with relevant institutions.
• Develop and maintain a strategy, incorporating blended finance models.
• Structure and present bankable infrastructure business cases and investment proposals, ensuring proposals are underpinned by robust needs assessments, feasibility studies and cost-benefit analyses aligned to sector skills priorities.
• Ensure that all development finance arrangements comply with PFMA, Treasury Regulations and applicable grant management prescripts.
• Monitor and report on the utilisation, performance and impact of development finance-funded infrastructure investments, producing evidence-based reports that demonstrate return on investment and contribution to national skills development and spatial equity objectives.

Requirements

DESIRED SKILLS, EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCIES:

• Master's degree (NQF Level 9) in a Built Environment discipline i.e. Civil Engineering/Quantity Surveying/Architecture/Construction Management/Urban & Regional Planning or equivalent.
• Compulsory registration with a recognised Built Environment Professional Council. Registration must be current and in good standing
• Minimum 10 years management experience post-qualification working experience in the built environment/infrastructure development/or infrastructure planning.
• At least 5 years at Senior Manager level, with direct responsibility for strategy development, infrastructure investment decisions or policy formulation.
• Demonstrated experience working within or alongside the public sector, ideally within education, skills development, government infrastructure programmes or a statutory body.
• Proven track record in commissioning or conducting infrastructure research, developing technical standards, norms or policy frameworks.