General Manager (Heavy Engineering – Workshops & Site) - Roodepoort

MECS Africa; South Africa; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 2,100,000; Full time

Job summary

MECS Africa is seeking a General Manager to lead industrial operations across workshop and site projects. You will oversee engineering, production and commercial leads, with accountability for performance, safety and client delivery.

The role requires a track record in multi-sector industrial operations, strong P&L ownership and hands-on leadership of teams, budgets and contracts. Travel to sites and partner factories will be expected.

Qualifications

• Degree or national diploma in engineering, operations or equivalent.
• Pr Eng / Pr Tech Eng, MBA or equivalent operations qualification.
• Ten years in industrial / engineering operations with people, plant and money oversight.
• P&L ownership in repair, OEM-support or multi-contract engineering business.
• Evidence of delivery across more than one sector with multi-site exposure.
• Comfortable with NEC / FIDIC / client-works-instruction environments and tender processes.
• Valid driver’s licence and willingness to travel to sites, plants and partner factories.

Responsibilities

• Own operational performance across workshop and projects: output, margin, cash, claims, retention and warranty exposure.
• Keep the monthly director pack honest: portfolio status, exceptions, decisions required, invoicing and procurement.
• Protect payment: valid invoices, activity completion, bonds, retention and late-payment follow-up.
• Approve overtime, subcontract and major buy-in against load and cash, not habit.

Skills

P&L ownership

Operations leadership

People leadership

NEC / FIDIC experience

Travel willingness

Education

Engineering degree or national diploma

Pr Eng / Pr Tech Eng or MBA

Job description

Reports to Members / Directors. Direct reports Engineering Manager, Quality Manager, Production Manager, and project / commercial leads as appointed. Scope Company-wide. All sectors, all projects, workshop and site. Employment Permanent, full time. After-hours cover for breakdowns, outages and client escalations.

Minimum requirements

• Degree or national diploma in engineering, operations or equivalent, plus a real workshop or multi-project industrial background.
• Pr Eng / Pr Tech Eng, MBA or equivalent operations qualification.
• P&L ownership in a repair, OEM-support or multi-contract engineering business.
• Ten years in industrial / engineering operations, of which five are running people, plant and money — not only a single project.
• Evidence of delivery across more than one sector. A one-plant career will struggle here.
• Comfortable with NEC / FIDIC / client-works-instruction environments, factory assessments and tender personnel evidence.
• Valid driver’s licence. Prepared to travel to sites, plants and partner factories.

Accountabilities

Business and commercial

• Own operational performance across workshop and projects: output, margin, cash, claims, retention and warranty exposure.
• Keep the monthly director pack honest: portfolio status, exceptions, decisions required, invoicing and procurement — not a status read-out.
• Protect payment: valid invoices, activity completion, bonds, retention and late-payment follow-up.
• Approve overtime, subcontract and major buy-in against load and cash, not habit.

Delivery across sectors

• Balance power, rail, mining, water, industrial and workshop work so one contract does not starve the others.
• Make sure committed lead times, site dates and outage windows are real before they leave the building.
• Escalate programme, quality or commercial risk early. Informal WhatsApp updates do not replace formal reports.

People and legal

• Build and hold the structure in this pack. Vacancies, acting arrangements and agency briefs sit with the GM.
• OHS Act accountability for the workshop and for work under YNF control on client sites. Legal appointments current.
• Industrial relations, discipline and a floor culture that survives a walk-through.

Clients and partners

• Be the senior face for utilities, mines, rail, municipalities, OEMs and JV partners.
• Do not let YNF be mistaken for an OEM where it is the commercial or delivery lead. Keep partner roles clean.

Authority

• Day-to-day operational authority within board-approved limits.
• Hire, discipline and exit in the agreed structure, subject to Member sign-off on executive posts.
• Stop a job that is unsafe, unpaid, or off the approved technical / quality path.

The GM does not waive quality hold points or change engineering design. Those sit with Quality and Engineering.