Programme Manager

Description

PROGRAMME MANAGER
Location: Fourways, Gauteng, South Africa
Business Unit:  Strategy Portfolio Management Office
Reports To: Head of Strategy Execution and PMO
Contract Type: FTC
The company is a leading global provider of blasting and mining solutions, partnering with customers to improve safety, productivity and sustainability across the mining value chain. Combining advanced blasting technology, digital innovation, explosives and technical expertise, we help mining operations solve complex challenges, optimise performance and unlock value. From open-pit mines to underground operations, our solutions support responsible, efficient mining and enable the critical resources needed to power modern economies.
ROLE IMPACT
The Programme Manager is accountable for translating company strategic priorities into coordinated programmes of change that deliver measurable, sustainable business outcomes. The role provides end-to-end leadership across multiple interdependent projects and workstreams, aligning sponsors, business owners, functional leaders and delivery teams around a common programme vision, roadmap, investment case and benefits profile.
The role exists to create momentum, clarity, and ownership where it does not naturally exist, ensuring projects move from intent to execution and deliver tangible outcomes.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Programme Strategy, Integration and Delivery

Establish and maintain the programme vision, integrated roadmap, target outcomes and delivery architecture across multiple related projects/initiatives and workstreams.

These projects typically operate in environments where:

Accountability is diffused or unclear.

Teams are delivery‑capable but not naturally goal‑driven.

Strong functional leadership is inconsistent or absent.

Progress depends on influence, structure, and follow‑through rather than authority.

Translate strategic priorities into a governed programme with clear outcomes, dependencies, decision gates, accountabilities and success measures.

Own the integrated programme plan and make recommendations on sequencing, trade-offs, scope boundaries, investment priorities and corrective action.

Ensure that individual projects remain aligned to the programme business case and collectively deliver the intended strategic outcomes.

Intervene across workstreams where performance, dependencies or resource constraints threaten overall programme success.
Working in Low‑Ownership Environments

Operate effectively in teams that are not naturally goal‑orientated or delivery‑driven.

Proactively create clarity around roles, expectations, and ownership without relying on positional authority.

Identify gaps in accountability and close them through facilitation, structure, and persistence.

Coach and support team members to move from passive participation to active ownership.

Maintain progress and delivery discipline even when teams lack strong internal leadership.
Executive Stakeholder, Sponsorship and Governance Management

Establish and lead programme governance forums, ensuring that sponsors and executive stakeholders receive decision-ready information on progress, strategic alignment, investment, benefits, risk and organisational impact.

Build alignment across senior stakeholders with competing priorities and secure timely decisions on programme direction, funding, scope and corrective action.

Escalate material issues with clear options, implications and recommendations.

Maintain transparent accountability for executive decisions and ensure that agreed actions are implemented across all workstreams.
Cross‑Functional & Cross‑Team Leadership

Lead and integrate delivery across multiple functions, business units, regions, projects and specialist teams with differing priorities, operating models and incentives.

Establish clear interfaces, decision rights and accountability across workstreams.

Resolve cross-project dependencies and conflicts that cannot be addressed within individual project structures.

Mobilise senior leaders and subject-matter experts around shared programme outcomes, while maintaining alignment between strategic intent and operational execution.
Delivery Discipline & Continuous Improvement

Introduce fit‑for‑purpose delivery practices appropriate to the scale and complexity of each project.

Ensure lessons learned are captured and applied to future work.

Maintain a strong bias toward action, progress, and outcomes over process for its own sake.
Programme Investment, Financial and Resource Management

Develop and maintain the programme business case, integrated budget and investment profile across the full delivery horizon.

Recommend the allocation and reallocation of funding and scarce resources across projects based on strategic value, risk, delivery performance and benefit contribution.

Monitor aggregate programme expenditure, forecasts, commitments and financial exposure, and initiate corrective action where tolerances are threatened.

Partner with Finance, Procurement and functional leaders to ensure commercial discipline, appropriate contracting and sustainable resource capacity across the programme.
Benefits Realisation and Value Assurance

Own the programme benefits framework from definition and baseline through to transition, measurement and sustained realisation.

Agree benefit owners, measures, targets and review periods with sponsors and business leaders.

Challenge projects that deliver outputs without a credible path to business value, and recommend changes to scope, sequencing or investment where expected benefits are no longer achievable.

Ensure that benefits, disbenefits and strategic value are reported alongside cost, schedule and risk.
Organisational Change and Adoption

Integrate change management into programme design and delivery so that new processes, technologies, structures and ways of working are adopted and sustained.

Assess organisational readiness and cumulative change impact across affected functions and regions.

Align communication, leadership sponsorship, capability building, transition and adoption plans across workstreams.

Hold business owners accountable for embedding change and achieving the targeted operational outcomes after implementation.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
Qualifications

Relevant postgraduate or advanced tertiary qualification in Business, Engineering, Technology, Finance or a related discipline, Equivalent senior-level programme experience may be considered where it provides clear evidence of the required commercial, strategic and leadership capability.

Demonstrated practical experience will be weighted more heavily than certifications
Certifications

Recognised programme-management certification such as MSP, PgMP or an equivalent programme leadership credential is advantageous.

A recognised project-management certification such as PMP or PRINCE2, together with demonstrated experience applying portfolio, programme governance, benefits realisation and organisational change practices, is also relevant.
Experience

Demonstrated experience in strategy execution, organisational transformation or complex multi-year programme delivery comprising multiple interdependent projects or workstreams in ambiguous organisational environments

proven record of translating strategy into executable roadmaps, governing significant investment, resolving cross-functional dependencies and delivering measurable business benefits.

Experience should include regular engagement with executive sponsors and governance forums, leadership of senior cross-functional teams without direct authority, and accountability for programme-level risk, change, benefits and commercial outcomes.

Extensive experience
[
managing projects in complex, ambiguous organisational environments.
Advantageous

Experience in modern digital or technology‑enabled transformation initiatives

Process improvement or operational change projects

Working alongside IT, data, or digital teams in delivery environments

Understanding of maintenance, asset management processes within the mining sector.
Key Competencies

Proven ability to deliver where teams lack maturity in ownership, accountability, or goal orientation

Strong influencing skills, with the ability to lead without formal authority

High emotional intelligence and resilience when dealing with resistance, inertia, or ambiguity

Practical, hands‑on delivery capability rather than reliance on formal methodologies alone

Confidence working across multiple functions where leadership strength varies significantly
Skills

Strategic translation and integrated programme design

Programme business cases and investment governance

Benefits mapping, ownership and realisation

Executive governance and decision facilitation

Integrated planning across multiple projects and workstreams

Financial forecasting and resource prioritisation

Programme-level risk, dependency and assurance management

Organisational change, adoption and transition

Commercial and supplier governance

Concise executive reporting that supports timely decisions

Managing ambiguity/ operating in ambiguous, matrix structured environments

Profile

Have solid experience in delivering measurable, sustainable business outcomes.