Chief Executive Officer

Purpose of the Role

The CEO of the Localisation Support Fund (LSF) will be responsible for leading the strategic and operational direction of the organization, ensuring it effectively delivers on its mandate of promoting industrial growth, competitiveness and localisation in South Africa. Reporting to the Board, the CEO will build and lead a capable team, ensuring the organization has the necessary skills in key areas such as programme and project development; project management; deal-making; strategy; research; advocacy, stakeholder engagement; and monitoring and evaluation.

This role requires an individual with a deep understanding of the South African manufacturing landscape and the ability to foster relationships with public and private stakeholders to drive the LSF’s strategic objectives

Overview of the LSF

Established as a non-profit company in 2021 and funded by private sector contributors, the LSF exists to catalyse and enable deepening industrialisation through programmatic interventions that enhance the competitiveness of South African manufacturing in ways that both grow exports and increase localisation.

The LSF’s strategy is focused on promoting industrial growth through export competitiveness and localisation in key sectors within South Africa, with an emphasis on enhancing the country’s manufacturing capabilities. This strategy aims to identify and unblock export and localisation opportunities by providing targeted technical support at cluster and firm level, fostering strategic partnerships, implementing initiatives that drive competitiveness and value chain development in ways that address regulatory barriers, and binding constraints in the manufacturing ecosystem and related and supporting industries. The LSF prioritizes technical support, project development, stakeholder engagement, and research-backed decision-making to ensure impactful interventions.

As a network orchestrator within the localisation ecosystem, the LSF facilitates end-to-end connection and alignment between supply- and demand-side participants. It enhances the value of these interactions by funding industry research and deploying technical expert resources to accelerate or unblock growth opportunities in the manufacturing sector.

Qualifications:

• A relevant tertiary-level qualification in business, economics, industrial policy, or related fields.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in a leadership role within a public or private sector entity, ideally with exposure to industrial development, localisation, or economic development at an Executive level.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multi-disciplinary teams and oversee complex projects.
• Experience in dealing with government entities, policy development, and stakeholder management is highly advantageous.

Strategic Leadership

• Execute the LSF’s overall strategy, ensuring alignment with its mission of catalysing industrial growth through export competitiveness and localisation.
• Ensure that the organization’s programmes of support are scalable, impactful, and aligned with the LSF’s strategic goals.
• Lead the design and implementation of new initiatives that address key manufacturing competitiveness challenges in priority sectors with a view to growing exports and/or localisation.

Operational Leadership and governance

• Manage the organisation in line with the strategic plan, in strict compliance with the Articles of Association and the regulatory requirements as a Public Benefit Organisation, and within the limits of authority delegated to the CEO by the board from time to time;
• Develop annual objectives and periodic business, funding and operating plans and budgets for the organisation, recommend such objectives, plans and budgets to the board for adoption, monitor and report such organisational performance to the Board;
• Ensure the efficient allocation of the financial, human and other resources required by the organisation to achieve its strategic goals;
• Oversee the implementation of effective control, monitoring and performance standards and systems relative to the utilization of all organisational resources;
• Ensure appropriate and timely disclosure of material information with respect to the organisations affairs; and

Organizational Development

• Build and lead a multidisciplinary team capable of delivering high-impact projects across different manufacturing value chains.
• Foster a results-oriented organizational culture focused on performance, continuous learning, and adaptability.
• Ensure organizational growth by securing necessary technical, financial, and human resources to deliver on the LSF’s mandate.

Programme Development and Management

• Oversee the proactive identification, development, and implementation of programmes and projects that upgrade local manufacturing competitiveness.
• Establish and enhance processes for evaluating project proposals and ensuring alignment with LSF’s strategic goals.
• Lead the team in managing and executing projects efficiently and effectively, ensuring delivery within set timelines and budgets.

Stakeholder Engagement Advocacy

• Act as the primary advocate for the LSF, representing the organization at key forums and ensuring close collaboration with stakeholders across government, industry, and research.
• Build strategic partnerships with industry associations, businesses, and investors to further LSF’s localisation objectives.
• Drive advocacy efforts to promote the importance of industrialisation and localisation in South Africa.

Monitoring Evaluation

• Develop robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks to track the impact and success of LSF interventions.
• Ensure that projects are aligned with the LSF’s defined success metrics and that results are measured and reported to stakeholders.

Project Development

• Expertise in identifying, scoping, and developing high-impact localisation projects.
• Experience in assessing industry needs and translating them into actionable projects.

Project Management

• Strong capacity to manage complex, multi-stakeholder projects from inception to completion.
• Ability to ensure that projects are delivered on time, within scope, and budget.

Deal Making

• Proven track record in structuring and securing deals, particularly in the context of public-private partnerships and funding arrangements.
• Negotiation skills to engage with government entities, financial institutions, and industrial players.

Strategy Research

• Expertise in conducting industry research and developing strategic initiatives to inform policy and programming.
• Ability to align research outcomes with broader strategic goals of industrialisation.

Stakeholder Outreach Advocacy

• Deep networks within the public and private sectors.
• Strong advocacy skills to build consensus around industrialisation goals and drive support from key stakeholders.

Monitoring Evaluation

• Experience in designing and implementing ME frameworks to track progress and impact.

Ability to gather insights and make data-driven decisions to improve future interventions.

Leadership Management

• Hands-On Leadership: Actively involved in setting strategic direction and day-to-day operations while empowering the team while keeping an un-relenting eye on strategic direction. A real team player, neither deferential nor hierarchical, but decisive and takes ownership and accountability.
• Team Development: Focuses on developing and nurturing talent, building a strong, cohesive team, and fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement while being very much part of that team.
• Decision-Making: Makes informed decisions, taking the team and stakeholders along.

Operational Expertise:

• Structure Process creation and optimization: Strong ability to design, shape and determine the most effective and efficient operating dynamic all the way from strategy-setting all the way through to project implementation, translate processes into powerful tools for performance tracking and management.
• Resource Management: Adept at deploying and managing resources effectively, prioritizing investments (of all descriptions) that maximize ROI.
• Project Management: Skilled in planning, executing, and overseeing multiple projects, ensuring they align with the LSF’s strategic goals.

Strategic Capability:

• Strategic Agility: Ability to connect strategy to operational plans allowing the team to refine strategic thinking and plans and action continuously.
• Scale-Oriented: Focuses on scaling impact, identifying new opportunities, and expanding the LSF’s impact footprint.
• Innovation-Driven: Encourages innovation within the team, looking for new ways to deliver value to stakeholders.
• Stakeholder-Centric: Deep understanding of the needs of stakeholders and the manufacturing eco-system, and a commitment to delivering exceptional value through partnerships.

Strategic Relationship Management

• Understanding of manufacturing value-chain and ecosystem stakeholder landscape, ensuring that the LSF is geared towards partnerships and collaborations appropriate to its strategic impact aspirations in a complex system dynamic.
• Securing and building trust-based, mission-aligned, robust and balanced relationships with key stakeholders.
• Deploying a style of empathy and influence, rather than mandate, with key stakeholders and soliciting input from all sides before making key strategic decisions.
• Negotiating contracts, agreements and partnerships balancing between commercial and impact terms with vigour and resilience.
• Creating a stakeholder-oriented mindset and accountability across the team.

Financial Acumen:

• Budget Management: Proficient in managing budgets, forecasting, and ensuring the LSF remains financially judicious and accountable.

Communication Skills:

• Internal Communication: Clear, transparent communicator who keeps the team informed and aligned with the mission and goals.
• External Relations: Ability to represent and amplify the influence of the LSF effectively to stakeholders, funders, and partners.
• Reporting Systems: Oversight of all the necessary systems and processes that allow the LSF to communicate accurately, on financial, operational and impact measures, internally and externally.