Head: Sanlam Facilities & Real Estate: Job Grade: 14 / 15: SLS: Facilities: Bellville

Date: 2 Apr 2025

Location: Bellville, Western Cape, ZA

Who are we?

Sanlam Life and Savings (SLS) is focused on serving our retail and corporate clients in South Africa and further developing our strategic advantages in the South African market. Sanlam Life and Savings consists of the following business units Retail Mass, Corporate, Risk and Savings, Glacier and various business enabling functions, which includes Finance; Corporate Facilities; SanlamConnect; etc.

The Sanlam Facilities & Real Estate team is responsible for the management of approximately 300 000m² of Building Infrastructure Services and its related Facilities Services to Sanlam businesses in South Africa. We are looking for a dynamic person (with a proven success record) to manage Sanlam’s extended and diverse portfolio of facilities to ensure competitive and quality service that is aligned with user requirements.

Service Offerings:

• Building Facilities
• Contracts Management
• Electrical Mechanical Services
• Data Center Management
• Catering
• Business Support Services
• Occupational Health and Safety
• Compliance

Responsibilities:

• Effective management of the various Service Offerings, incl those through outsourced service providers
• Effective management of SFRE-team.
• Financial Management of the SF&RE budget
• Relationship Management
• Crisis/ Emergency Management
• Safety management and compliance processes, including but not limited to Occupational Health and Safety Management
• Project Management
• Negotiating with vendors, as well as Agreements
• Change Management
• Sustainability Management
• Development of the Facilities Management team, including but not limited to training and mentoring.

Additional Information:

• This role reports to the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) of Sanlam Life and Savings (SLS), with interactions with other senior executives
• The position requires occasional travel for meetings with stakeholders and site visits
• The candidate must be comfortable taking charge and be able to stay calm in emergencies. The position often requires juggling multiple projects or duties at once.

What will make you successful in this role?

Required Qualifications:

• A minimum Bachelor Degree, with a preference for commercial subjects and Facilities Management as majors.
• Applicable courses and seminars on Property / Facilities Management as well as contract administration would be an advantage
• A proven business acumen with Customer Service as a core value
• A minimum of 8 years’ experience in Facilities Management in a medium to large sized organisation would be beneficial
• 5 years’ experience at senior management level

Skills and Experience:

• Exceptional interpersonal skills
• Proven persuading, influencing and negotiation skills
• Composure, persistence, and self confidence
• The proven ability to think innovatively and on a strategic level
• Manage strategic change
• Be results/outcome focused
• Be quality orientated with an appropriate level of attention to detail
• Budgeting experience and strong math skills
• Leadership and interpersonal skills
• Written and verbal communication skills
• Problem-solving and organizational skills
• Knowledge of SLA’s and the Management of Service and Rental Contracts

Technical Skills:

• Knowledge of the building and construction industry
• Technical knowledge and skills of the various Facilities disciplines
• Proficiency in MS Office (MS word, Excel, MS-Teams, and PowerPoint)
• Knowledge of property and contract law
• Knowledge of Data Centre infra-structure management
• Understanding of laws and regulations, along with the willingness to keep up with changes
• Familiarity with construction, architecture, and various systems, such as HVAC and electrical

Leadership Skills:

• Proven leadership and team management experience
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence and collaborate at all organisational levels
• Build and maintain lasting trusted relationships with key stakeholders.
• Visionary thinking and strategic leadership

Personal Attributes:

• High ethical standards and integrity
• Detail-oriented with strong organisational skills
• Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines
• Strategic mindset
• Balances stakeholders
• Business insight
• Even tempered
• Manage own stress levels

Core Competencies and values:

• Cultivates innovation
• Customer focus and stakeholder focus
• Drives results whilst focusing on detail
• Collaborates across departments and with external stakeholders
• Being resilient and being anti-fragile as situation requires
• Leads with inspiration

Build a successful career with us

We’re all about building strong, lasting relationships with our employees. We know that you have hopes for your future – your career, your personal development and of achieving great things. We pride ourselves in helping our employees to realise their worth.

Turnaround time

The shortlisting process will only start once the application due date has been reached. The time taken to complete this process will depend on how far you progress and the availability of managers.

Our commitment to transformation

The Sanlam Group is committed to achieving transformation and embraces diversity. This commitment is what drives us to achieve a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace as we believe that these are key components to ensuring a thriving and sustainable business in South Africa.