Manager Sub-Saharan Africa

At dss+, we are not just your average global operations consulting firm.  We are a Purpose-driven company that exists to save lives and create a sustainable future for our clients, employees and communities. In pursuit of this Purpose, we put people at the centre of everything we do, and we are a consultancy with heart.

dss+ is a leading provider of operations management consulting services with a purpose of saving lives and creating a sustainable future. dss+ enables companies to build organisational and human capabilities, manage risk, improve operations, achieve sustainability goals and operate more responsibly. By leveraging its DuPont heritage, deep industry and management expertise and diverse team, dss+ consultants are on the ground and in the boardroom helping clients work safer, smarter and with purpose. dss+ is an independent firm, with a footprint in over 40 countries.

We are a diverse team of consultants who have hands-on experience working in and leading complex operations across many industries. Our seasoned experts include operations executives, technical and project managers, experienced line managers, qualified coaches and digital natives that have a problem-solving mindset and a passion for what they do. Combining industry best practices, the latest thinking in operations management and proven methodologies developed within dss+, our experts optimize outcomes across a wide range of industries including Oil & Gas, Chemicals, Petrochemicals, Building & Construction, Food & Beverage, Mining & Metals, Utilities and Transportation.

As a Manager you will leverage your expertise in a particular industry or functional area to enhance our impact in client engagements and support the development of new solutions for teams to deliver in future engagements. On top of being the main client interface in project engagements, you will work with other members to design and incubate new methodologies, perspectives and ways of working within the area of expertise to be adopted by the dss+ team globally. You must have excellent communication, leadership and influencing skills coupled with strong expertise and proven experience in a particular domain, for example in:

• Mining, Oil & Gas, or Chemicals industries

• Operational Risk Management or Operational Excellence

At an advanced level, a Manager will lead and deliver complex client engagements that identify, design, and implement effective solutions to produce a lasting impact for clients. He or She will be expected to drive the direction of the engagement and effectively manage the team and long-term relationship with clients to deliver high performance or to deliver the scope of work.  Beyond client project work, the Manager will contribute to the development of new clients and markets and provide regional and global thought leadership to innovate offerings and approaches. He or she must be a self-starter, who is able to work in a fast-paced dynamic environment and must be driven to produce improvement initiatives both internally and with clients.  Excellent communication and client management skills are imperative to maintain positive client relations and high client satisfaction levels.

• Maintaining strong industry knowledge; stay abreast of current trends, pricing and new technology related to industry or technical practice to facilitate and add value in evaluation and recommendation of new processes.

• Identifying proactively opportunities and/or risks, potential solutions, and key trends relating to the area of domain expertise, including development and enhancement of IP

• Developing and publishing thought leadership and new perspectives, including dss+ Points of View, and educating key stakeholders internally and externally

• Living the dss+ Core Values and Mission Critical Behaviors and coaching others to do the same.

• Overseeing project team’s performance and quality of delivery, offering guidance and advice where needed and providing necessary feedback to the team (as an instrumental part of their development) and to management as appropriate.  

• Offering guidance and support to the team - especially junior resources, regarding best practices in project management, execution of deliverables and interactions with clients

• Implementing project management practices to ensure the effective execution of the project, including project planning, project governance and risk management.

• Structuring problems effectively to develop key insights and sound recommendations that identify and close performance gaps for the client

• Writing and presenting independent analyses and recommendations that influence and persuade clients including difficult audiences to achieve desired outcomes

• Facilitating team / client meetings effectively to drive decisions or alignment or manage change among a diverse group.

• Managing high level interactions, developing rapport, respect with key client stakeholders.

• Supporting quality control of client deliverables by conducting peer reviews, etc.

• Providing domain expertise as part of proposal development and support other team members (e.g. Principal / Director) in meetings and presentations with clients to actively contribute to revenue

•  Playing an integral role in drafting and presenting proposals to drive execution of an assessment or implementation project.

• Contributing to defining scope of work, objectives, deliverables, and timeframes to drive execution of an assessment or implementation project

• At an advanced level, playing an integral role as part of dss+ account teams to prospect for new clients and growing existing clients, by supporting dss+ Leadership to proactively identify business leads and targets, build a strong pipeline, and progress opportunities along the pipeline to generate sales.

•     Minimum Bachelor’s degree in a business-related major (i.e. management or finance) or engineering

•     Relevant post-graduate degree in field of expertise (e.g. innovation, risk management, etc.)

•     7-10 years of associated industry / technical and client facing experience / exposure

•     Prior experience in established consulting firms

•     Technical knowledge and expertise in relevant field of experience is preferred

•     Project Management  and strategic planning

•     Excellent problem-solving skills

•     Analytical Skills > Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis

•     Time Management / Prioritization Skills

•     Stakeholder engagement and relationship management

•     Business Development

IT Skills / Trade Tools

Microsoft Office (PowerPoint, Visio, Word, Advanced Excel, Access)

Project management software (Asana, JIRA, Confluence, or similar)