Associate Management Consultant

BMA; Durban; On-site; ZAR 400 000 - 500 000; Full time

Job summary

A consulting firm in Durban, South Africa, is seeking a graduate or early career consultant to drive positive changes within SMEs. The role focuses on implementing development programs that enhance commercial viability and competitiveness. Ideal candidates will have a strong analytical background and a passion for economic growth through industrialization and job creation.

Benefits

Flexible workplace policy

Discretionary awards and bonuses

Collaborative work environment

Qualifications

• Strong attention to detail with an understanding of industry-wide challenges.
• Ability to communicate effectively across different socio-economic backgrounds.
• Intellectual curiosity and eagerness to learn.

Responsibilities

• Help SMEs communicate their value propositions to unlock sales.
• Implement projects to improve SME competitiveness aligned to customer standards.
• Monitor and report on project progress while identifying improvement opportunities.

Skills

Attention to detail

Communication skills

Analytical thinking

Project management

Education

Honours degree in an analytical subject

Job description

What do we do?

Our purpose is to build dignity and opportunity through production-led economies. This means making Africa a globally competitive manufacturing hub. We do this by partnering with leading companies on value chain and business transformation programmes, with governments to develop smart industrial policies, and with industrial clusters to facilitate innovative sector development programmes. Our teams innovate and deliver across the spectrum of industry needs, including research, policy development, best practice discovery, value chain and firm-level strategy and execution, manufacturing performance improvement, skills training, decarbonisation, and SME opportunity development.

What\'s the role?

BMA is looking for a smart, energetic graduate or early career consultant to help us drive change at our clients and within the industries we support. In the role you will work with a team to design, execute and innovate on projects to ensure they have a measurable impact. Specifically, you will be working on development programmes which specialise in helping high potential SMEs to secure commercial contracts and deliver excellent products and services to their customers. The role in this programme represents a genuine opportunity to learn, grow and make a meaningful change in South Africa.

We are looking for bright individuals who can think, work and act independently, with a natural tendency to be ambassadors of possibility. Most of all, we are looking for those who are interested in developing the real economy, with industrialisation and job creation at the heart of economic growth.

What will you be doing?

Using a clear and well defined methodology to:

• Help SMEs to communicate their value proposition and business case to unlock sales with large customers
• Scope, coordinate and implement projects to improve SME competitiveness and competency aligned to customer standards
• Facilitate delivery of support activities by third party specialists covering competencies such as costing, sample development and iterations, production setup, production monitoring, and orders to customers
• Monitor, evaluate, and report on progress, bringing improvement opportunities to the table
• Be part of a team to problem solve in semi-structured environments where the diagnosis and solution may not be clear and lateral thinking is required.
• Support the development of SME innovative products and services designed to make manufacturing firms and value chains more competitive.

Who are you?

• You want to make a difference in South Africa through manufacturing employment creation.
• You are a self-starter – you think independently and prefer getting things done over academic rumination.
• You have strong attention to detail but get the big picture in terms of industry-wide challenges and opportunities.
• You understand the fundamentals of economics and the drivers of economic development.
• You understand the fundamentals of business - commercial pressures, challenges and opportunities.
• You are socially adaptable with the ability and desire to engage with people from different socio-economic backgrounds and in different environments, from boardroom to factory.
• You are an outgoing person with excellent language and communication skills – you have no problem picking up the phone and calling a stranger to move forward with a task.
• You have an intellectual curiosity, see yourself as a learner and find yourself reading and watching videos about topics that fascinate you.
• You don’t mind working hard and have a sense of humour.

Requirements

Essential

• Honours (4 year) degree in an analytical, at least partially quantitative, subject from a leading academic university

Beneficial

• Management consulting experience
• Recognised project management qualification, e.g. PMP, Agile, etc.

What we offer:

Working at BMA comes with some important benefits:

• Private sector drive, social impact. We\'re a private company working to improve society through industrialisation. We like the balance between the pace of the private sector and the social value our work brings.
• Flexible workplace policy, allowing you to work from home, the office and/or at clients. We encourage you to strike the right balance between undisturbed deep work, collaboration and social engagement.
• Discretionary awards and bonuses. We recognise and reward performance. If you impress, you can grow quickly with us.
• Uniquely collaborative and fun working environment. We have a cool induction programme to rapidly immerse you in our world, and a rhythm of daily huddles which aligns the whole company, includes fun themes and games, and celebrates the wins we achieve every week.

How to apply:

To apply, click the link provided. You will be immediately directed to the first phase of our recruitment process. This includes some cognitive ability tests, personal details and a two-minute introductory video from you, all of which should take 45 to 60 minutes.

If you are successful, we will contact you to proceed further. Good luck!

BMA is an Equal Opportunity employer and preference will be given to Previously Disadvantaged Individuals as described in the Employment Equity Act.