Regional Manager - LATAM

Job Purpose

Build, lead and scale the WCS regional business in Latin Americas, based in Panama, into a profitable multi-country technical services platform supporting DP World terminals and external customers, while leveraging WCS central functions and avoiding duplication of capabilities maintained in Dubai.

The role holds full accountability for the regional P&L, customer relationships, revenue growth, commercial performance and successful project delivery. The Head defines regional requirements and secures the necessary engineering, design, project controls, finance, HR, legal, IT and procurement support through WCS central functions under agreed service levels, governance and decision rights.

Key Accountabilities

The WCS Latin Americas Head is accountable for the commercial and operational performance of the region, including full P&L ownership. The role will develop the market, own customer relationships, lead commercial decisions and remain accountable for project outcomes. Regional capability shall be built selectively where local presence is essential for customer engagement or execution; WCS central functions in Dubai shall retain functional ownership, standards, specialist expertise and governance to prevent duplicated or siloed structures.

Latin Americas Business Leadership & Growth

• Define, obtain approval for and execute the long-term Latin Americas growth roadmap.

• Assess and prioritise country expansion opportunities, service portfolio development and investment requirements.

• Recommend strategic investments, partnerships, acquisitions and market-entry initiatives to accelerate profitable growth.

• Position WCS Latin Americas as a strategic growth platform within DP World.

• Develop and maintain senior-level relationships with DP World and selected external customers.

• Build and manage a multi-year pipeline covering maintenance, modernisation, automation, engineering, reliability, refurbishment and technical workforce services.

Customer, Account & Commercial Leadership

• Act as the senior WCS relationship owner for key Latin Americas DP World accounts and strategic external customers.

• Establish structured account plans and commercial strategies for key customers.

• Lead opportunity qualification, commercial strategy, negotiation and proposal governance with relevant WCS central functions.

• Maintain accountability for commercial risk, contract terms, pricing, margin and opportunity-to-contract quality.

Revenue & P&L Ownership

• Own the approved WCS Latin Americas revenue, gross margin, operating profit, cash performance and overall P&L targets, with clear recovery actions where performance is below plan.

• Manage pipeline, order intake, backlog, project portfolio, resource demand and commercial priorities in line with approved business objectives.

• Ensure commercial decisions balance growth, customer value, delivery capacity, risk and sustainable profitability.

Latin Americas Organisation & Operating Model

• Establish Panama as the regional commercial and delivery hub and develop only the local operational presence required to serve customers and execute approved projects across strategically important Latin Americas markets.

• Build a lean regional organisation in line with approved business growth, focused on business development, customer management, project leadership, site delivery and locally mandated roles. Do not establish duplicate Engineering, Design, Finance, HR, Legal, IT, Procurement or Project Controls functions where these capabilities are available centrally.

• Develop a flexible operating model combining essential regional personnel, centrally provided WCS capabilities, DP World shared services, specialist subcontractors, local partners and, where approved, acquired capabilities.

• Apply WCS systems, processes and governance, and establish regional resource-demand planning and operating routines required to manage multiple projects and customers across different countries.

• Define regional demand, priorities and service requirements, and agree service levels, resource commitments and escalation routes with each central function.

Project Delivery & Regional Operations

• Remain accountable for the regional project portfolio, including safety, customer satisfaction, schedule, cost, margin, cash and overall delivery performance.

• Own customer-facing delivery from contract award through mobilisation, execution, completion and handover, with project leadership and site accountability positioned regionally where justified.

• Establish and lead a lean regional delivery organisation comprising Project Leaders / Project Managers and site delivery roles required for approved work. Obtain design, engineering, specialist technical and project-controls support from WCS central functions through agreed interfaces.

• Ensure the region can mobilise and execute multiple concurrent projects through an appropriate mix of regional leadership, local resources, partners, subcontractors and centrally provided WCS capability, without duplicating central functions.

• Ensure projects are delivered safely, on schedule, within approved budgets and to agreed quality, technical and customer requirements.

• Maintain one integrated project governance, reporting and escalation model between Latin Americas and WCS FZE, with explicit ownership and decision rights.

Partners, Suppliers & Strategic Capability Development

• Develop and maintain a capable network of Latin Americas suppliers, specialist subcontractors, manpower providers and technical partners.

• Identify regional capability gaps and recommend whether they should be addressed through central support, local recruitment, partnerships, subcontracting or acquisition.

• Lead identification and assessment of potential acquisitions where these provide strategic capability, customer access, geographic coverage or accelerated market entry.

• Support integration of approved partner or acquired capabilities into the WCS operating model.

Cross Functional WCS & DP World Integration

• Leverage WCS and DP World infrastructure, shared services and group capabilities where commercially and operationally appropriate.

• Agree documented service levels, resource commitments, cross-charging principles, decision rights and escalation mechanisms with Finance, HR, Legal, Procurement, IT, Engineering, Design, Project Controls and other relevant central functions.

• Ensure WCS Latin Americas benefits from the scale and expertise of the wider WCS and DP World network without creating duplicated or siloed capabilities.

• Hold central functions accountable for agreed support while retaining regional accountability for business and project results.

Standardisation, Engineering & Capability Development

• Apply consistent WCS processes, service standards, engineering practices, project controls, reporting and technology across Latin Americas operations, subject to local legal requirements.

• Define project engineering requirements and work with WCS FZE Design and Engineering to allocate resources, transfer knowledge and deliver compliant technical solutions.

• Develop regional technical competence only where justified by sustained workload, customer proximity, local regulation or an approved strategic business case.

• Capture lessons learned, best practices and market requirements and feed these into WCS-wide improvement.

Safety, Compliance & Risk

• Ensure all Latin Americas activities, projects, contracts, mobilisations and partner relationships comply with WCS and DP World safety, ethical, legal, regulatory and risk-management requirements.

• Maintain a strong safety culture and treat safety performance as a core leadership responsibility.

• Identify and manage commercial, operational, contractual, financial, credit and organisational risks across the region.

Market Representation & Business Development

• Represent WCS Latin Americas with customers, ports, equipment manufacturers, technology providers, industry associations, professional networks and other strategic stakeholders.

• Strengthen WCS market presence, brand recognition and credibility across the Latin Americas port equipment and technical services market.

• Maintain strong market intelligence and translate industry developments, customer needs and technology trends into commercial opportunities.

Performance Management & Governance

• Establish and manage regional KPIs covering pipeline, order intake, revenue, margin, operating profit, cash, backlog, project delivery, safety, quality and customer satisfaction.

• Implement regular business, commercial and operational reviews and provide transparent reporting to the COO and WCS leadership.

• Take timely corrective action where commercial performance, delivery, profitability, cash or capability is below target.

Leadership, Culture & Talent

• Build a high-performance regional culture focused on customers, accountability, safety, delivery excellence and profitable growth.

• Lead and develop the regional commercial and delivery team, while using functional career frameworks and specialist development support provided by WCS central functions.

• Plan succession for critical regional roles and scale local headcount only against approved workload, capability need and business case.

• Promote collaboration across WCS Latin Americas, WCS FZE and DP World while maintaining clear accountability and ownership.

Qualifications, Experience and Skills

• Education: Bachelor degree minimum in Engineering, Business, Operations or a related discipline; technical engineering education preferred.

• Industry Experience: Minimum 15 years of relevant experience, with substantial exposure to port terminals, container handling equipment, industrial services, maintenance, engineering, modernisation or related technical service businesses.

• End-to-End Business Leadership: Demonstrated experience managing a multi-country business with full P&L accountability, customer and commercial leadership, and project-delivery responsibility within a matrix organisation that uses central functional capabilities.

• Regional / International Experience: Experience working across multiple countries and cultures, ideally in Latin Americas and within an international container-terminal or technical-services organisation.

• Leadership: Demonstrated ability to build lean teams, establish new operations, manage senior stakeholders and lead through organisational growth and change.

• Business Acumen: Strong understanding of P&L, pricing, cost structures, project economics, cash, workforce models, subcontracting and commercial risk.

• Languages: Fluent English and Spanish is required; another Latin Americas language is advantageous.

• Mobility: Willingness and ability to travel across Latin Americas terminals, customers, partners and project locations.