Vacancies at Mintek

KEY PERFORMANCE AREAS INDICATOR:

• Interpret the organizational strategy to ensure that research is aligned with the organizational strategic choices.
• Operational: Systems design with integration of multiple disciplines/processes
• Discoveries/Patents: Identify opportunities
• Prepare large funding proposals to attract funding from a variety of sources for highly complex projects.
• Ensure external revenue contribution to support activities of the research group.
• Analyse and manage coordinated research projects addressing complex and often unique problems that are encountered by the specific industry sector. This involves thoroughly assessing the problem and conceptualizing the research so that is adequately addresses the opportunity and that there is an adequate value proposition for delivering the research.
• Analyse, interpret and report on highly complex research outcomes and is regarded as a national expert in a broad field, or an international expert in a specialized field. This includes reports, publications, presentationsetc. at the level of national or international expert level.
• Management of large multiyear projects and programmes, including resource and execution planning.
• Responsible for technical signoff of the work of junior staff.
• Responsible for significant equipment / facilities.
• Work independently and provides instruction to junior staff. Receive no additional guidance and instruction
  on unusual and complex problems.
• Prepare reports, presentations and publications at the level of a national / international expert.
• Lead, guide, mentor and train staff and supervise post-graduate students.

Minimum requirements

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• A minimum of MSc or MEng
• Ideal: PhD in Extractive Metallurgy or in relevant scientific field relating to Hydrometallurgy Discipline (Engineering or Science).
• At least 8-10 years’ experience in the relevant field
• SACNASP or ECSA registered

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KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS:

• Execute furnace control installations, both locally and internationally, in which interactions with clients and technical expertise are required at a professional level.
• Execute R&D projects in line with the divisional research programme, employing finance control and electrical engineering theory and principles.
• The main contact point on client projects for both project administration and technical aspects.
• Provide clients with advanced training at a nationally-competitive level of technical expertise.
• Contribute technically to marketing presentations.
• Ascertain needs of clients, to contribute to annual R&D planning and strategy.
• Ensure that projects are executed on time and within budget.
• Ensure that QES procedures are strictly adhered to and that project work is executed with maximum overall technical efficiency.
• Actively participate in the training, guidance and motivation of junior staff. Participate in team debates and technical decisions.
• Produce professional reports, papers and presentations at local and international conferences.
• Keep up-to-date at a professional level with technology and business developments that are relevant to the division’s interests.

Minimum requirements

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Min - MSc or MEng. Electrical or Electronics.
• PhD will be an added advantage.
• At least 3 years of experience in the minerals or minerals-related industry.
• Work experience in control and/or operation of submerged-arc furnaces.
• Must be willing to travel locally and internationally, and work with minimal supervision.

The following skills/knowledge will be advantageous:

• Experience furnace control, technology evaluation, flowsheet development, modelling or simulation of circuits.
• Computer programming (e.g. Matlab, C , C# or Python)

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KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS:

SHEQ Management System implementation:

• Support the development, implementation, maintenance and continual improvement of Mintek's Integrated Management System (IMS) in accordance with ISO 45001, ISO 14001, ISO 9001 and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Measure, analyse and report SHEQ performance indicators, including waste management, resource consumption, emissions, effluent discharges and environmental incidents, and drive initiatives for continual improvement.
•  Facilitate risk management activities including hazard identification, risk assessment, implementation of preventive and mitigation controls, to support informed decision-making, compliance and achievement of strategic objectives.
• Develop and maintain documented information required by the IMS, ensuring appropriate governance, document control, regulatory compliance and integration across organisational processes.

Assurance provider on SHEQ compliance:

• Provide independent assurance on the effectiveness of SHEQ risk management, critical controls and compliance management processes.
• Develop and implement annual SHEQ assurance plans covering internal audits, compliance audits, inspections and assessments.
• Provide technical assurance on corrective and preventative action effectiveness.
• Evaluate audit outcomes and identify systemic improvements to strengthen organisational performance.

Stakeholder management and regulatory engagement:

• Serve as a primary liaison with regulatory authorities, certification bodies and professional institutions on SHEQ matters.
• Participate in regulatory inspections, investigations and audits as delegated by the Head SHEQ.

Competence development, training and culture transformation:

• Implement initiatives that strengthen SHEQ culture and behavioural safety throughout the organisation.
• Review outcomes of SHEQ performance and advise on improvement areas for all levels of assurance, learning and training.
• Source external trainining.

Performance monitoring, analysis and reporting:

• Analyse organisational SHEQ performance and identify key risks, trends and improvement opportunities.
• Compile and present SHEQ dashboards, analytics and performance summaries.
• Prepare management review, compliance and assurance reports.

Minimum requirements

QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Honours Degree in Environmental Management, Chemistry or relevant professional qualification.
• Minimum 5 years technical working experience in similar industry.
• The 5 years should include experience in integrated management systems, legal compliance management, risk management, auditing and SHEQ assurance.
• 2 years of the 5 years should include exposure to radiation protection in mining and materials processing
• Working knowledge of SHE Compliance and risk control

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Environmental management systems (ISO14001).
• Safety and Health Management systems (ISO45001).
• Experience in applying ISO principles procedures and techniques in auditing.
• SHE compliance, legislation and performance expert.
• Radiation protection compliance, legislation and performance.
• Behavior based safety.
•  Data gathering, analysis and interpretation.
• Continuous improvement.
• Service Orientation   

BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES:

• Team player who enjoys variety and has a strong affinity for planning and executing new and high impact
  research.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work in a stressful and demanding environment.
• Ability to independently engage with relevant stakeholders.
• Excellent writing and presentation skills.

JOB REQUIREMENT 

• Willing to travel.
• Prepared to work shifts in hot and dusty plant environments when required.

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KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS:

Leadership

• Provide active stage-gating and governance for commercialisation investments to prevent passive R&D expenditure.
• Exercise foresight, creativity, and professional judgment when making decisions or recommendations that directly impact research direction and the commercial outcomes of the Mintek IP portfolio.
• Guide technical research teams toward meeting critical, clearly defined commercial milestones.

Strategy & Innovation

• Establish and refine mandates, application criteria, and evaluation procedures for internal commercialisation funding instruments.
• Assess the local and international funding landscape to identify investment opportunities aligned with Mintek’s focus areas.
• Transform identified opportunities into high-quality proposals for externally funded commercial de-risking.
• Act as a "business mirror" to technical teams to ensure investment decisions are informed by clearly articulated commercial & market opportunities.
• Continually refine stage-gating and review procedures to ensure technologies move efficiently through the institutional commercialisation pipeline.

Financial Sustainability

• Support the development of robust internal funding proposals and systematically manage the portfolio of internal seed funds.
• Leverage internal seed funding to attract external co-investment, strategic partnerships, and DFI funding.
• Ensure that external revenue contributions from successful proposals actively support Mintek’s broader commercialisation programmes.

Execution, People and Planning

• Drive reporting mechanisms and quarterly reviews for all commercialisation investments, acting as the primary secretariat for funded projects.
• Manage large, multi-year funding programmes, executing comprehensive resource and timeline planning for funded milestones.
• Coordinate project inception meetings to closely align technical development with commercial de-risking activities.

Compliance Management

• Establish and monitor the operational systems and mandates required for sound governance of externally funded commercialisation projects and internal Seed Fund investments.
• Provide operational oversight of the work of applicants and technical staff to ensure absolute compliance with funding mandates.
• Proactively assess, profile, and manage all risks related to the commercialisation funding programs and individual projects in the portfolio.

Relationship Management and Reporting

• Prepare highly professional statistical and narrative reports for internal funding committees, Exco, and external institutional stakeholders.
• Engage deeply with applicants pre- and post-award to ensure milestones are commercially geared.
• Lead, guide, and mentor researchers and technical staff as they navigate the complex commercialisation funding landscape.

Minimum requirements

QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE:

• Master’s degree in science / engineering
• PhD in a scientific or technical field and/or Business qualification (MBA qualification would be an advantage)
• 3–5 years of experience directly related to technology transfer or investment fund management.
• Nature of Experience: Proven experience within a technology transfer function in a University or Science Council managing seed-funding projects or investment funds and associated governance processes.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Strong knowledge of high-tech product development processes and commercialisation hurdles.
• Ability to negotiate complex funding terms and a thorough understanding of the statutory reporting requirements of the IPR Act.
• Excellent communication, organisational, and technical integration skills

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KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS:

Debtors account and credit risk management

• Review debtor master data through regular checks of customer information, credit limits and account status.
• Approve creation of new customers and ensure new or approved customers are loaded on IFS with appropriate fields and links to other IFS modules.
• Maintain customer credit limits and reduce limits where customers have defaulted on agreed payment terms.
• Perform regular credit limit reviews considering sales by customer, payment history and changes in the customer's legal status.
• Review the customer base regularly to ensure that only approved debtors are maintained on the system, and block or delete inactive customer accounts where required.
• Control credit applications by maintaining assessment forms, obtaining credit references or risk assessments, obtaining financial statements where required, assessing applications and advising management of risks.
• Ensure credit application documentation and credit limit approvals are processed in accordance with the approved Mintek Credit Control Policy and Delegation of Authority.
• Review allocation of customer payments and ensure receipts are processed to the correct customer accounts.
• Follow up on unallocated receipts and ensure unidentified deposits are escalated to the responsible person and bank where necessary. Attend to queries on Mintek client debtors' accounts and keep abreast of economic developments that may affect credit risk.

Debt collection and recovery management

• Facilitate payment of outstanding debt through regular communication with debtors and application of correct collection procedures.
• Communicate with customers and relevant departments to establish reasons for non-payment and resolve collection barriers.
• Ensure copy documentation is provided to customers or internal stakeholders to support the collection of outstanding amounts. 
• Control the preparation of payment request letters, final demands and handover recommendations for overdue debts.
• Control the preparation of requests for reversal of invoices and/or interest charged to debtors’ accounts where necessary, in accordance with the Delegation of Authority. 
• Monitor debts handed over for collection and ensure follow-up actions are documented, reviewed and escalated where required. ·
• Review credit insurance invoices monthly for accuracy, taking into account rates charged and outstanding amounts, and recommend for approval.

Stakeholder liaison and external debt recovery coordination

• Liaise with customer personnel, internal departments and management to resolve account queries, payment disputes and collection-related matters.
• Coordinate with external debt collection agencies on accounts handed over for recovery and monitor progress against agreed actions.
• Liaise with attorneys, credit insurers, banks and credit risk management service providers where required to support debtor control and recovery processes.
• Review and discuss the status of debts handed over for collection with the immediate supervisor and escalate risks or unresolved matters.

Month-end debtors control activities 

• Review the debtors age analysis to ensure accuracy and completeness before month-end closure.  Investigate long-outstanding debt and initiate action through communication with customers and relevant internal stakeholders. 
• Ensure all payments, invoices and credit notes are processed before month-end closure. · Ensure debtors outstanding above 60 days are discussed monthly with affected parties and follow-up actions are agreed.
• Control the accuracy and timely completion of control and suspense account reconciliations

Debtors reporting and management information

• Provide Mintek management with accurate information on outstanding debtor status through analysis and record-keeping.
• Compile and distribute monthly debtors reports analysing outstanding debt, trends compared to previous months, problematic debtors and debtor management issues.
• Prepare listings of debtors outstanding longer than 60 days, including follow-up actions taken, for management reporting and information requirements.
• Compile potential doubtful debtors and potential bad debts for annual financial statement purposes based on age analysis and customer knowledge.
• Prepare control schedules for master data changes, credit limit overruns and unpaid debtors to support management oversight and prioritised follow-up.
• Compile credit limit review reports and recommend preferred actions to be taken against customers.
• Prepare monthly foreign debt declarations for submission to the credit insurance company and quarterly debtors’ book submissions for credit risk analysis.
• Maintain debtor statistics in accordance with management requirements.

Supervision, review and compliance oversight

• Supervise Debtors Controllers and clerical staff on a daily basis to ensure debtor administration is completed accurately and timeously.
• Review work performed by Debtors Controllers, including transaction inputs, supporting documentation, payment allocations, reconciliations and follow-up actions before posting or escalation where required.
• Review and update credit control processes and procedures to ensure alignment with approved policy, best practice and current credit control trends.
• Ensure the Credit Control system is administered in accordance with approved Mintek policy, procedures and Delegation of Authority requirements.
• Control correspondence sent to debtors regarding payment demands, arrear interest and related debtor communications.
• Maintain procedural and system training documentation relevant to debtor activities and ensure debtor staff maintain an adequate level of training.
• Identify Debtors Controller training requirements and support consistent application of approved debtor processes

Minimum requirements

JOB KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE: 

•  Min: Min: 3-5 years debt management experience with 1 - 2 years as a Debtors Controller
• Ideal: – Understanding of financial ERP systems

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Min: Bachelor's Degree in Finance/Accounting discipline
• Ideal:  Honours in Finance/Accounting discipline
• Certificate in Credit control

BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES:

• Project management.
• Should have good verbal communication.
• Must have good work ethics to maintain credibility of work.
• Be able to work in a team
• Excellent communication and organizational skills
• Attention to detail, ability to follow up and take initiative
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Ability to cope in a stressful and demanding environment
• Be able to work under pressure.