Senior Operations Manager – Africa

About the role

The Senior Operations Manager Africa will lead end‑to‑end operations across multiple African markets, ensuring reliable supply, cost efficiency and consistent product quality. This role also supports regional operational improvement programmes spanning Africa and Asia, and can be based in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania or Ghana.

Key responsibilities

• Manage heads of operations in each African market and ensure implementation of key directives across all terminals.
• Own the regional operating plan, translating business strategy into site‑level goals, budgets and KPIs.
• Control the entire operational cost base for Africa in line with the approved CRC budget.
• Lead, coach and evaluate country/site leaders to drive performance, operational discipline and continuous improvement.
• Standardise operating procedures, escalation protocols and performance governance across markets.
• Oversee operations planning to align demand, supply and capacity across the region.
• Drive operational‑excellence initiatives, including the Yara Productivity System (YPS) and OKR monitoring.
• Ensure raw material and packaging availability through robust forecasting and management.
• Maintain compliance with Yara’s best practices, TOPS and HESQ procedures, and ensure audit readiness.
• Partner with Procurement and Supply Management on contracts, lead times, cost optimisation and inbound logistics.
• Guarantee product specifications and regulatory compliance via strong QC/QA systems.
• Develop and own the Capital Value Process (CVP) for projects, prioritising investments for Africa and Asia.
• Collaborate with finance and leadership to secure CAPEX approvals and define long‑term infrastructure road‑maps.

Required profile

• Proven experience leading end‑to‑end operations across multiple countries.
• Strong ability to translate business strategy into operational goals, budgets and KPIs.
• Demonstrated expertise in cost management, operational planning and continuous‑improvement programmes.
• Experience ensuring compliance with safety, health, environment and regulatory standards.
• Capability to coach and develop senior site leaders and drive performance discipline.

Required skills