Regional Operations Manager Geochemistry and

Company Description

We are SGS - the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company. We are recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. Our 96,000 employees operate a network of 2,700 offices and laboratories, working together to enable a better, safer and more interconnected world.

**Job Description**:
The Operations Manager is responsible to direct, plan and organize all Geochem laboratory operations and/or other activities within Southern Africa and the Southern Africa Region. The Operations Manager is accountable for and ensures that the entire Regional Geochem Laboratory Group meets operational targets and customer expectations in a timely and effective manner while observing corporate quality, environmental, Health & Safety requirements. The Operations Manager will also be directly responsible for P&L management for the regional group with a view to ensuring that target budgets are met or exceeded

The Operations Manager is also responsible to plan organise, manage, lead and control the operations and functions of the Natural Resources Mineral commodities within the Southern Africa region (Excluding South Africa), specifically related to Steel Making Raw Materials, Non-Ferrous concentrates and Metals, Fertilizers, and Industrial Minerals excluding Energy Minerals.

**Geochem within South Africa and Southern Africa**:

- The Operations Manager is accountable for ensuring that all aspects of the Geochem operations within the region are managed within the required protocols in line with efficiency, QHSE, and financial objectives
- Maintaining a full communication channel to the Business Manager and for ensuring that the Business Manager is kept current and informed on all aspects of the Regional Geochem laboratories that have any direct or indirect impact on:

- Environment, Health and Safety (prevents accidents, incidents, perceived or actual H&S concerns)
- Participate in the completion of Management Action Report Card responsibilities, which measures leading HSE indicators to proactively manage Health & Safety.
- Accountability for compliance to local and provincial Environmental regulations for air, waste, water and soil
- Quality (Client complaints, data, personnel performance, turnaround, equipment)
- Client Satisfaction (meeting external and internal customer expectations from a service, quality and turnaround perspective)
- Accountable for ensuring that all site laboratory managers are adhering to all codes of conduct in the line with the enforcement of all regulations as per the Company Health and Safety Manual, and the immediate reporting of any health, safety or environmental incidents, accidents or concerns to the Manager, Health & Safety and the Business Manager
- Complies and ensures that all work follows Quality systems and that quality targets are maintained at all the Regional Geochem laboratories in South Africa and the Southern Africa Region
- Accountable for ensuring that the quality of data, current methodologies and the execution of the methods are in compliance with the current accreditation under ISO 17025, and in lines with the Global Geochem standards
- Accountable for ensuring that appropriate and planned training program is executed and measured for all personnel under direction at the various sites. Accountable for familiarizing oneself with the Quality Manual and ensuring appropriate documentation is current and reliable
- Ensuring that all the laboratory managers have formal succession plans in place for the various sites
- Accountable for the delivery of data to achieve Client Satisfaction by maintaining production and specified turnaround targets
- Monitors production of each laboratory and ensures optimum staff levels to achieve optimum standards for production, quality and financial performance. Monitors throughput and performance on regular basis with laboratory managers, with recommendations to amend where needs be
- Ensure that all operations manage their resources to attain optimum production and cost effectiveness.
- Maintains production targets at the various laboratories and takes proactive measures with the relevant laboratory managers to sustain these targets
- Provides authoritative opinions in their area of expertise and finds new and innovative ways of improving production efficiencies
- Works toward continuous improvement in production and efficiency, delivery of quality data promptly adhering to predetermined schedules
- Responsible for approvals of specified consumables etc.
- Responsible for the overall financial management of the Geochem Laboratories within South Africa and the Southern Africa Region with special emphasis on:

- Adhering strictly to annual budgets and plans accordingly
- Monthly financial performance review with each of the laboratory managers, and implementing plans of action where needs be to ensure financial budgets are met
- Constant review of Year-To-Date and prior Year-To-Date performance with