GM - Operations (TOP Management Professional) (10-25 yrs) - Leadership Role

Location: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (Frequent travel to Uvinza)

Reporting To: Board of Directors (dotted line to Managing Director)

Role Overview:

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced General Manager - Operations to lead our industrial solar salt business in Tanzania. This is a senior leadership role with full P&L ownership, responsible for driving operational excellence, infrastructure development, financial performance, and sustainable growth across domestic and export markets.

The role oversees large-scale salt field infrastructure, underground brine-based solar salt production, processing plants, and commercial operations.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Strategy & Enterprise Leadership

- Define and execute short, medium, and long-term business strategy aligned with Board direction

- Translate strategic objectives into operational, financial, and commercial plans

- Lead growth, expansion, and diversification initiatives

- Drive long-term value creation through disciplined capital allocation

2. Salt Field Infrastructure, Manufacturing & Asset Stewardship (Critical)

- Oversee large-scale salt field infrastructure at Uvinza

- Provide leadership for refining, processing, and packing facilities

- Ensure assets are well-maintained, upgraded, safe, efficient, and scalable

- Institutionalize engineering standards, SOPs, and documentation

3. Operations Governance & Leadership

- Lead operations through the site GM at Uvinza with clear accountability

- Establish strong governance, review, and escalation mechanisms

- Conduct regular site reviews on infrastructure health, maintenance effectiveness, and capex execution

4. Financial & P&L Ownership

- Own full company P&L

- Approve operating budgets, capex plans, and cost structures

- Drive EBITDA improvement, cash flow optimization, and working capital discipline

5. Commercial Oversight & Market Expansion

- Provide strategic oversight to Sales & Business Development

- Approve and monitor domestic and export sales budgets

- Guide pricing strategy, customer mix, and channel development

- Support expansion into new geographies and institutional customers

6. Governance, Compliance & Risk Management

- Ensure compliance with Tanzanian regulations and statutory requirements

- Establish strong internal controls, audits, and risk management frameworks

- Ensure business continuity, disaster preparedness, and asset protection

7. Leadership, Organization & Culture

- Build and lead a high-performing leadership team across operations, engineering, sales, finance, supply chain, HR, and administration

- Drive a culture of safety, accountability, performance, and ownership

- Develop leadership succession and organizational depth

8. Stakeholder & External Management

- Act as primary interface with government authorities, regulators, customers, partners, and financial institutions

- Manage community and stakeholder relationships around Uvinza operations

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

- Infrastructure & Asset Performance: Uptime, reliability, maintenance effectiveness, capex execution

- Operational Performance: Production efficiency, yield, cost per MT, safety & quality compliance

- Financial Performance: P&L, EBITDA, margins, cash flow, working capital

- Commercial Performance: Domestic and export sales growth, market diversification

- Leadership & Governance: Team stability, compliance outcomes, audit performance

Candidate Profile:

Education:

- Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering (preferred) or Mechanical / Process / Industrial Engineering

- MBA or postgraduate management qualification preferred

Experience:

- 5-10+ years of progressive leadership experience in industrial manufacturing

- Background in chemicals, salt, minerals, or process industries

- Proven track record managing asset-heavy operations with full P&L ownership

- Prior experience as GM, Business Head, Operations Head, or Plant Head

- Africa experience preferred (East Africa strongly desirable)

Other Requirements:

- Willingness to be based in Dar es Salaam with frequent travel to Uvinza

- Comfortable working in remote, large-scale industrial environments

- Valid passport and readiness for international travel