Programme Manager

The Transmission Programme Manager role is a technical leadership function located within the Independent Power Producer Office (IPPO). It is a contractual position until March 2031.

The IPPO was established in 2010 to provide rapid solutions to South Africa’s severe electricity supply constraints, by procuring new energy generation capacity from Independent Power Producers (IPPs). The mandate of the IPP Office is to provide specialised services to government, including a) IPP Energy and related Procurement Management, b) Monitoring, Evaluation and Contract Management, and c) Professional Advisory Services. The IPPO’s skills, expertise and success in mobilising and delivering on time is recognised domestically and globally.

South Africa’s energy sector is undergoing a significant transition, driven by the urgent need to expand the national grid to support the country’s growing electricity demands, integrate renewable energy, and ensure long-term energy security. The Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) and the TDP 2024 outline a critical requirement for the establishment of approximately 14,500 km of new transmission lines and associated infrastructure over the next 10 years.

The intent of this role is to lead on the development and implementation of the Government-sanctioned Independent Transmission Program (ITP), which seeks to leverage the expertise and financial resources of the private sector in order to accelerate the establishment of the required Transmission infrastructure that will support the large-scale roll-out of new power generation capacity and support economic growth. The incumbent will drive this program by implementing appropriate project management frameworks, tools and protocols to improve the consistency and effectiveness of the IPP Office’s project delivery and project outcomes as it pertains to the ITP.

Reporting to the Head: IPP Office, the Transmission Programme Manager will be responsible for leading the delivery and management of the overall objectives of the ITP, as mandated to the IPPO by the Minister of Electricity and Energy.

**Key Responsibilities**:
1.Strategic Programme Development and Management of large-scale transmission infrastructure procurement projects

Develop and implement strategies to advance the transmission programme of the IPP Office relating to the procurement of large-scale transmission infrastructure through public private partnerships.
Manage the development and implementation of annual strategic action plans to release tenders on the open market relating to the transmission programme.
Formulate broad goals and deploy strategic plans to address new ways of addressing Programme challenges within the IPPO programmes, in partnership with all relevant IPP functions and external parties
Incorporate the Department of Trade and Industry guidelines into drafts of all Request-For-Proposals and oversee the release of the tenders into the market
Prepare a realistic implementation plan for the transmission programme

2.Tactical Programme Execution for large transmission infrastructure procurement projects

Drive the execution of the Programme mandate through communicating with and tactically deploying the Programme team to achieve the strategic outcomes for the transmission programme
Plan, co-ordinate, oversee and manage the bid submission process
Implement the bid window to receive and categorise bids
Oversee and co-ordinate the bid receipt, categorisation and evaluation
Facilitate and ensure the procurement of a multi-sectoral internal matrix disciplinary team to appraise submitted bids (i.e. Legal, Economic Development, Financial, Technical and Economist support)
Appoint programme team of external consultants / transaction advisors consisting of a multi-disciplinary team of experts (i.e. Legal, Economic,Development, Financial, Technical and Economist support)
Engage with government to facilitate and obtain a range of approvals (i.e. government support frameworks, in conjunction with the Department of Electricity and Energy, Department of Public Enterprise, NERSA and National Treasury
Manage and implement new high-level processes to maturity to facilitate the effective tactical execution of Programme Management

3.Relationship Management

Oversee all aspects of relationship management by:

- communicating changes in ownership levels
- entering discussions with respect to economic transformation
Advise and support both the Head of the IPP Office and the Head of Programmes on the compilation of presentation content regarding the transmission programme

4.Stakeholder Negotiations

Provide input into stakeholder engagement communications from a programme standpoint
Coordinate all stakeholder engagements with key entities such as Eskom, NTCSA, NERSA
Facilitate non-resolution of negotiations between interested parties (i.e. Eskom, NERSA, and the Sellers)
Liaise and build a strong relationship with Eskom to discuss the logistics behind:

- location of power connection
- met