General Manager – Home Technology Build And Operate

Mtn Group; Gauteng; On-site; ZAR 1 200 000 - 1 800 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading telecommunications company in South Africa is seeking a General Manager for Home Technology to oversee the build and operational execution of innovative home broadband services. This role requires strong leadership skills and a deep understanding of telecommunications, with a focus on strategic partnerships, operational excellence, and capital project management. The ideal candidate has a proven track record in telecom operations, with extensive experience leading cross-functional teams and implementing cost-effective solutions. This position offers an opportunity to drive significant change in a rapidly evolving industry.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 12 years of experience in telecom operations or network infrastructure management.
• At least 4-5 years in a strategic leadership role within telecom, technology, or digital industry.
• Experience in launching or scaling home broadband operations.

Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end deployment and operations strategy of home broadband services.
• Develop long-term plans for technology operational initiatives.
• Drive cross-functional alignment between teams for optimized resource planning.

Skills

Leadership

Telecommunications knowledge

Operations management

Cost optimization

Project management

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or telecommunications

Master’s degree (MBA) or similar

Job description

Job Description The General Manager – Home Technology : Build and Operate is responsible for leading the Group-wide build and operational execution of home broadband technology services—including FTTH and FWA—acrossOpcos.

The role will lead Group-wide build and operate frameworks spanning across engineering, capital projects, governance, service fulfilment, operations assurance, and field maintenance.

It will play a critical role in standardizing reference designs, driving shared services models, and guiding vendor and partner engagement to support build, operate and monitor phases across diverse market conditions.

The role will be responsible for building and scaling high-performance home networks, including FTTH (passed and connected), FWA (connected) CPE (Customer premise equipment) ecosystems, while ensuring seamless operations.

The incumbent will lead cross‑functional teams across engineering, project management, and field operations, ensuring that home technology offerings are robust, future‑ready, and aligned with customer expectations.

With an entrepreneurial mindset, the incumbent will drive the developing and the implementation of standardized rollout frameworks, digital tools, governance mechanisms, and vendor engagement models.

A key priority is to build operational capabilities at Opco level, equipping local home technology teams with repeatable playbooks, resource models, and support systems to accelerate last‑mile deployment and service assurance.

The role also champions continuous improvement, innovation, and digitization—introducing build and operate best practices, automation, and performance intelligence to enhance home operations and fulfilment speed, reliability, and customer experience.

The General Manager plays a pivotal role in aligning technology operational delivery with Group ambitions, ensuring home broadband growth is powered by resilient and future‑ready infrastructure operations.

Context

The broadband market in Africa is rapidly evolving, with increasing demand for high‑speed, reliable internet access driven by digital transformation, remote working, and the growth of the digital economy.

MTN Group's home broadband services, particularly FTTH and FWA, are integral to the company's strategy of connecting the continent with world‑class broadband solutions.

Global influences: Increasing demand for 5G, smart homes, IoT, and high‑speed internet connectivity is shaping broadband services.

Global innovations and industry trends, such as cloud computing, fibre expansion, and smart technologies, are key drivers of service demand.

Environmental/Industry Demands: There is a significant gap in home broadband penetration across Africa, with growing competition from both traditional and new entrants.

Regulatory considerations and the need for partnerships with local infrastructure providers play an important role in broadband rollout.

Organisational Mission: MTN's vision is to lead digital transformation in Africa, ensuring widespread access to reliable, high‑quality broadband services that drive social and economic development.

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Development

• Deliver on the strategic vision for home technology infrastructure by aligning long‑term network build plans with evolving customer services, emerging technologies, and digital transformation roadmap.
• Support MTN Group's FTTH and FWA strategy, driving its execution and ensuring alignment with the Group's overall objectives and standards.
• Define the Group's Home build, operate & fulfilment strategy & vision, aligning with long‑term technology, commercial, and customer experience objectives.
• Develop long‑term plans for technology operational initiatives, ensuring it supports overall business objectives and adapts to changing market conditions and technological advancements.
• Drive cross‑functional alignment between cross–functional teams to optimise resource planning and ensure that fulfilment processes are agile, cost‑effective, and customer‑centric, leading to reduction in installation lead time, FTR installation rates, etc.
• Provide strategic guidance on operational risk management by identifying potential obstacles in service deployment, proposing mitigation strategies, and ensuring fulfilment excellence across FTTH and FWA environments.
• Provide insights to the development of growth plans, identifying new market opportunities and designing broadband solutions that cater to evolving customer needs.

Engineering, Field Operations & Service Fulfilment

• Lead the end‑to‑end deployment and operations strategy of home broadband and connected services infrastructure, including FTTH, FWA and CPE.
• Define and enforce engineering standards and best practices to ensure scalability, interoperability, and long‑term maintainability of home technology platforms.
• Lead the design and governance of scalable fulfilment frameworks for home services to enhance order‑to‑installation efficiency, reduce activation lead times, and improve "Ready for Service" (RFS) conversion rates across Opcos.
• Ensure efficient and effective home network solutions deployments across the Opcos fulfilling the MTN Home strategy and delivering our mission for accelerating home portfolio.
• Establish and govern critical operational KPIs, including first‑time‑right installations, technician productivity, and fulfilment SLAs—to ensure high‑quality, consistent service delivery.
• Drive the standardisation of field operations, deployment practices, and in‑home activation processes to improve time‑to‑market and operational consistency.
• Guide strategic resource planning, workforce models (in‑house and outsourced), and partner frameworks to ensure fulfilment agility and productivity across diverse Opco environments.
• Oversee the rollout of mobile field force tools, digital workflows, and real‑time tracking systems to increase operational visibility, reduce delays, and support performance accountability.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement by embedding data‑led feedback loops, service diagnostics, and incident resolution mechanisms into last‑mile operations.
• Steer the evolution of fulfilment models by piloting innovative delivery mechanisms that enhance customer experience, reduce costs, and support scale with quality.

Opco Enablement & Oversight

• Steer Ops towards building scalable field operations—focusing on technical capability, partner ecosystem enablement, and delivery SLA adherence.
• Ensure the Opco's deliver against the technical delivery roadmap and achieve targets with the required technical resources.
• Deploy toolkits, operational playbooks, and structured training programs to ensure uniform execution and high‑quality customer outcomes.
• Assess operational maturity across Ops and lead targeted interventions to address capability gaps and uplift field execution standards like installation SLA compliance, cost per installation, etc.
• Institutionalise structured engagement and performance review mechanisms to monitor Op Co delivery health, enabling proactive support and escalation management.

Operations Assurance & Performance Monitoring

• Lead the design and development of robust quality assurance frameworks across installation, fulfilment, and support operations—anchored on metrics like repeat visit rate, early life failure rate, FTR installs, and service handover quality.
• Establish mechanisms for deep‑dive diagnostics, root cause analysis, and resolution protocols that pre‑empt failures and continuously elevate operational reliability across Opcos.
• Embed customer‑centric KPIs such as NPS, installation lead time, and service restoration TAT within technical operations to ensure direct linkage between home performance and customer experience outcomes.
• Drive group‑wide visibility and accountability through cross‑market performance dashboards, benchmarking routines, and operational reviews that translate technical insights into measurable improvements.
• Set up governance mechanisms, audit protocols, and escalation matrices to enforce compliance with Group standards, SLA frameworks, and local regulatory obligations.
• Champion the adoption of predictive maintenance, AI/ML‑driven assurance tools, and self‑diagnostic systems to minimise disruptions and enhance network resilience in the home domain.
• Partner with Group Finance to align operational decisions with financial planning cycles, budget controls, and cost‑efficiency KPIs embedded within performance frameworks.
• Institutionalise standardised inventory controls, warehousing practices, and logistics flows to support reliable spares management and efficient field operations across Opcos.

Capital Projects & Deployment Governance

• Lead end‑to‑end capital project planning and execution for home technology infrastructure, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities, budget constraints, and long‑term home network evolution goals.
• Drive the creation and enforcement of standardised rollout frameworks and operational playbooks to ensure disciplined, scalable, and customer‑centric execution of FTTH/FWA deployments across all Opcos.
• Spearhead the development of standardised milestone templates, reporting cadences, and dashboard frameworks to enable Group‑wide transparency and control over capital project timelines and delivery.
• Act as the senior technology advisor to Op Co, guiding home‑readiness, vendor structuring, and execution quality, while sharing best practices on architecture, capacity, and fulfilment.
• Lead Group‑level demand forecasting and capital budget alignment across Opco build programmes, ensuring investment decisions are anchored in business priorities, service ambitions, and execution feasibility.

Governance, Standards & Vendor Alignment

• Define and enforce Group‑wide operational standards for home technology lifecycle management, from field deployment to fulfilment, assurance, and retirement.
• Lead strategic vendor engagement for operations and fulfilment partners, ensuring alignment on performance, innovation, and TCO while driving Group‑wide sourcing consistency.
• Serve as the custodian of Group‑defined governance frameworks, embedding compliance with regulatory, ESG, and sustainability requirements into all fulfilment and field operations frameworks.
• Oversee structured vendor and partner performance management, ensuring that contractual models, SLAs, and escalation mechanisms drive long‑term service quality, accountability, and cost efficiency.

Formal Relationships

• Group Technology, Commercial, Operations, Sourcing & Procurement teams, and respective functional leads.
• Opco Home Business & Technology teams and respective functional leads.

Informal Relationships

• External Vendors, OEMs, Technology Partners, and Systems Integrators.
• Industry Forums, Standards Bodies, and Technology Innovation Hubs.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree in engineering, telecommunications, or a related field. Master’s degree (MBA) or similar postgraduate qualifications is highly desirable.
• Experience: Minimum of 12 years of experience in telecom operations or network infrastructure management, including at least 4‑5 years in a strategic leadership role within telecom, technology, or digital industry.
• Deep expertise in engineering design, network architecture, and deployment governance, with hands‑on experience in translating technical strategies into scalable, customer‑facing solutions.
• Proven track record in leading large‑scale capital projects for home broadband infrastructure, including FTTH, Wi‑Fi, and CPE deployment, with strong budget and timeline accountability.
• Strong track record of driving cost optimisation, operational excellence, and SLA adherence in technology environments.
• Experience in data‑driven operations management, including the use of analytics, dashboards, and KPIs to drive continuous improvement and operational efficiency.
• Familiarity with financial controls, capex‑opex alignment, and demand forecasting models.
• Hands‑on experience in launching or scaling home broadband operations, ideally in emerging or greenfield markets.
• Strong exposure to African or emerging markets, with an understanding of consumer behaviour, market challenges, and localisation needs.
• Experience working in cross‑functional, matrixed environments, influencing senior stakeholders, and mobilising execution across diverse teams.

Core Competencies

• Home Deployment planning and execution
• Home Broadband Operations
• Home Broadband Engineering & fulfilment
• Field Service Management
• Capital Project Management – Home Segment
• Inventory and Financial Control management
• Cost Optimisation & Performance Analytics